The Optimist
📍 77 High St, Northallerton DL7 8EG, UK
About The Optimist
The Optimist is a popular restaurant and bar situated on High Street in Northallerton, offering a modern and vibrant dining experience. With an impressive Google rating of 4.4/5 stars from numerous reviews, it's a firm favourite for those seeking exceptional food and a welcoming atmosphere in Yorkshire.
Guests consistently praise the diverse and flavourful Asian-inspired menu, featuring standout dishes such as crispy squid, duck pancakes, yellow noodle with prawn, and the highly recommended crispy chicken starter. The generous portion sizes and high-quality ingredients ensure a satisfying meal every time. Beyond the delicious cuisine, the establishment is also celebrated for its expertly crafted cocktails, with the team's attentive and friendly service frequently highlighted as a key part of the positive experience.
Visiting Information
The Optimist welcomes diners from Tuesday through to Sunday, with opening hours typically running from midday into the late evening. Payment is convenient, with major credit and debit cards accepted, as well as NFC payments. Please note that wheelchair accessible parking is not available on site.
Location
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📍 77 High St, Northallerton DL7 8EG, UK
from 46 reviews
Google Reviews
Reviews from Google Maps.
Showing 5 of 46 reviews from Google Maps.Last updated 6 February 2026.
Came here for dinner, was wonderful. Had duck pancakes and crispy squid for starter. Can’t fault either! Then yellow noodle (prawn) and crispy beef for mains. Decent portion size and really really tasty with good amount of meat. Service was fab, very attentive and not a long wait at all between courses. Very polite and friendly waitress. Atmosphere is very cool, low light, cozy dining area (heating was abit too warm). Very well done up and decorated. Standard cocktail and drink prices too! Recommended for a date night or drinks evening. Booked on website prior.
Just had a meal here this evening and it absolutely deserves 5☆. A warm welcome in the bar when we arrived, followed by the barman making me the best old fashioned cocktail ive ever had. Seated for our meal in good time and our waitress was spot on. Attentive but not intrusive. Food was unbelievably good. 100% would recommend and we will definitely be back.
Booked for a meal with my sister last week. The waiter was friendly & we were shown to our table promptly. The food was amazing. Honestly one of the nicest meals I've had in a long time. The crispy chicken starter is a must try, 10/10. My only small niggle was that as soon as we finshed eating (we had 2 courses and drinks) we were asked if we could move to the bar as they needed the table. We had only been sat for 45 minutes. Although we were asked politely I do feel they could have cleared the plates and then given us a little time before asking us to move. That's the only reason it's not a 5* as everything else was fantastic. Will recommend and return.
Fantastic food and great service from Adam. This is my 3rd visit to the optimist and it's not disappointed once. Really good vibe for dinning or just enjoying a drink at the bar. We were a group of 4 and we all enjoyed the experience.
Food was spectacular. The lady who seated us was lovely and attentive. The lady who served us was very slow, forgetful and didn't pay us much attention. The restaurant is nice, has a weird nightclub vibe that got moodier around 9pm when the lights dimmed.