The Optimist - Nashville

Went here for a date and honestly it didn't disappoint. Highly worth it. We had fresh oysters, the gumbo (not pictured though super well flavored) we had the chicken with prune, scallops, broccolini, fairy salad. Plus the drinks we had were well made! I personally don't drink and the waiter Jordan accommodated for me and I really appreciated that. Had a few mocktails. So nice of him. Recommend Jordan

Food was very good. Will be back, if back in town. No question.It was an interesting experience. Made a reservation and they pushed it out to a late time. No problem, but we showed up an hour and a half early. Place was large and very few people eating. At least that was our perception. The bar was open so we decided to get a drink. Then decided to eat at the bar.Very few just wait staff, but lots of bar tenders. We were well taken care of. Food was great.We just would have been way more comfortable sitting at one of the many empty tables.

The food was delicious, atmosphere was lively and eclectic, and staff was very friendly. Our server was not great, however, and kept forgetting details of our order, and he seemed overwhelmed (or was using recreational drugs which given our interaction seems more likely).We were a party of 4, and ordered several appetizers and two entrees to split with our spouses. We actually encouraged him to charge us extra for the split plate so they could increase the amount of the side to accommodate the split. He indicated it would be another $10, which was great with us. The waiter forgot all of this though.He apologized and took the plates back to the kitchen and split them himself, which we laughed afterwards because he literally just scraped half the plate onto another plate. That being said….the takeaway here is that the entrees are TINY!! It’s probably the smallest portion size I’ve seen in years at a restaurant with this price point. So don’t plan on splitting with your partner, even with appetizers and salad. I think we had maybe 4 bites to a plate after the split, at $45 $52 for the halibut dish and the scallops. Overall, we still enjoyed the experience but probably will not rush back to this one for a while.

I was not impressed with the Optimist. We were seated at table that had a drip from the HVAC above hitting me periodically throughout the night. We were also seated near the kitchen, and there was a distinct odor we could smell as well. I understand its a seafood restaurant but still shouldn’t have that smell. My wife had the flounder and it was prepared very well. Buttery, nutty. It hit. I had the Halibut and was very disappointed. No flavor on the fish itself, and the sauce it was bathed in did not compliment the fish. I kept tasting a sweet, maraschino cherry flavor, and could not finish the dish. I love halibut and was very disappointed with the preparation. We also had a side of brocolini. It was ok, but it has a sauce with it that was too intense and overpowered the brocolini. Overall, w the meal did not meat our expectation and I would not recommend this restaurant.

Made an early dinner reservation for dinner on Sunday while visiting town. The service was fantastic and food was phenomenal. They do have up stairs bar which is only open Thurs-Sat I believe. It was closed when we were there for Sunday evening. I would love to be back just to check out their bar and also to try different dishes.Food: 5/5