Your plan for bellying up to a beach bar, slurping bivalves while feeling sand between your toes is the only thing getting you through the rest of the workweek.

Ditch the mountain of paperwork and make a break for The Optimist, a massive seafood haven from Ford Fry (JCT Kitchen, No. 246).

Kick back in the oyster bar, where the unfinished floor welcomes flip-flops, and natural light showcases your tan. Shuck away at the wraparound bar, and soon sip boozy punch on loungy orange banquettes next to a surfboard (the liquor license is in the works).

Feast on mussels in crabby coconut broth or duck-fat-poached swordfish in the dining room with an open kitchen, exposed brick and wood-accented walls, and nautical furnishings. Gaze at framed photos of coastal locales, knowing you’ll be there soon enough.

Things are looking up.

The Optimist, 914 Howell Mill Road, Westside (404-477-6260 or theoptimistrestaurant.com).

Photo: Andrew Thomas Lee / Courtesy of The Optimist