Located in Midtown West, the restaurant’s menu focuses on sustainable seafood prepared in a wood-burning oven. The Optimist and Oyster Bar at The Optimist is simply “The Hamptons meets The South.” We are passionate about sourcing sustainable seafood and preparing it in classic ways. We’re not reinventing the wheel — just perfectly roasting “farm,” fish and shellfish over Georgia hickory. Menu items range from the most authentic seafood gumbo with “pot luck” garlic bread to Maine lobster rolls, Gulf grouper with smoky spring Vidalias, and an ever changing selection of super fresh East and West coast oysters. The cool irony is that we have adapted a historic country ham aging “house” into an amazing space of comfort and escape through inspirations of coastal surf culture. Oh… and if you are not a seafood person, we LOVE meat too! No worries, be optimistic!