Foreign Return

First visit in n2024; We like the new egg plant dish, it's amazing. Visited last night in a group of 5. Every one enjoyed the food service and atmosphers.

Celebrated special family event on Fri 1st Sep. Was worth the long drive the great service, the food and busy environment.

Visited Foreign Return with family and friends without proper booking on Sat 21st May 23. The restaurant was jam packed. The restaurant staff tried to accommodate us and provided a great service. Our friends enjoyed the food and drinks and plan to return. This was their first visit.

Caught up with an old friend at Foreign Return on friday 28th April. Enjoyed the ambience service food and drinks.
Had a great time.

Visited Foreign Return last Sunday after a few months and enjoyed the new menu. Dak Bunglow Chicken was superb, also Paneer we tried was very different from whatever we tried elsewhere. Butter Chicken all gueste enjoyed.
Going again this Friday networking with some colleagues. Looking forward to the hospitality of the new restaurant manager Mathew John who paid personal attention and all wait staff was great and provided excellent services.
The new menu is worth trying while the menu changing again for winter soon.

I have visited the Foreign Return three times my first visit in Jul-2021 with big groups. The treatment was special each time with staff very professional making sure we do not need to ask for anything. The food was enjoyed by all guests and special cocktails were the highlight. The experience each time made us visit again and again.
Some of our guests were so impressed and went with their friends again.
The owners give personal attention and staff are professional and well trained in the Hospitality Management unlike students working in many other restaurants.
Jamun gin and tonic and marigold gin and tonic so great
you can feel like home with taste of jamun after every sip.must try.waiting for lockdown to finish to have party there with friends.hope it ends soon.
Bira beer is great too.

We actually saw a bit of marketing on socials and thought the menu seems a bit less samesy as related to Indian cuisine in Sydney. Food was very average, particularly both prawn starters being dry and not fresh, and one doused in an extra sauce (vs the other). Rest of our food was okay and average. A couple of missteps which really influenced the rating: 1. The sparkling water is basically flat spring water (also not sealed) and didn't improve on replacing. 2. Tipping shoved in your face. Guys we aren't in the US and staff actually gets paid a salary (and not depend on tips). I don't mind paying tips for good service. However it is extremely annoying when you have tipping options of 15% upwards by default on your payment gateway. 3 entrees and 1 desssert, 2 drinks - $125. Definitely better options around.
The positive was the bhapa doi dessert which was the saving grace. All the best.

Incredibly delicious food - would go as far and say best in Sydney. The staff was very attentive and made great cocktails. Make sure you have Qasr-e-Pukhtan - the best dish for vegetarians!

3 of us visited in Oct '22. I sent a long private email to the owner. No response at all! So decided to write a public review (summary of the long email) :
1) Service - Great
2) Papadams - Not freshly made. Was soft, not crisp. Fried and stored in a box! When asked, was told, "someone left the lid open".
3) Raj Kachori - Shells were good, but average taste.
4) Prawn Koiliwada - prawns were under cooked; They had used high heat, so the outside looked deep fried and dark. But they forgot to give the prawns time to cook.
5) Chicken 65 - Chicken was a bit under cooked. Too soft inside, whereas 65 should be a bit more crisp. Flavour wasn't great. Not marinated properly. I have eaten this in the restaurant in Chennai that created the original recipe. So, I should know.
6) Ponakos - This is really Bhajji from South India
We had wet flour (uncooked) in some of them. The onions were raw - normally this is crispy cooked. It was a total failure.
7) Dal Pachmal - Underwhelming dish. Dhal wasn’t really cooked well, this can create issues especially when it is Chana Dhal, which is more difficult to digest
Flavour, spices etc.just ordinary and quite bland.
8) Malabar Curry - Fish
Another failure. It needs to be tangy and normally you need to use ground coconut. Dish was really bland and insipid.
Just adding tamarind, curry leaves and chilly doesn’t make it a South Indian dish!
9) Rice - This was great. But obviously you can’t get a good review based on doing this well!
10) Prices - Don’t mind paying premium prices for great food and ambience.
BUT, cannot provide this quality of food and charge such high prices
POSITIVES (nothing to do with food)
1) Amazing decor. Really pleasing colours and great lighting. Congratulations to the designers!
2) Vibe
Nice vibe and ambience in the restaurant
3) Your write-ups
Journalists have given you very good reviews.
4) Social Media & PR
Obviously 10 out of 10. Your ad agency has done a great job promoting you.
I am sure many patrons like your food and will keep coming back. But at some stage, they are going to find out that “The emperor has no clothes”!
PS: I am a South Indian

Best place for a good time. We came here for bottomless brunch, and every dish is so tasty and packed with flavour. Generous portions and they try to cater for preferences. The Pomelo salad, Prawn Koliwada, Akuri Bruschetta and Chicken Tikka were a hit with everyone. On the regular menu, the butter chicken is a stand out and we ALWAYS get it no matter what.

The bottomless brunch menu also came with an extensive list of drinks which was great for variety. Our table may or may not have had a million spicy margaritas.

Service was friendly and attentive too. Lovely and classy ambience.

The food wasn't bad, we started with the chops starter, taste was good but expected more of a char as it came out of the tandoor, I had the butter chicken as a main, the taste was good, nice kick but it was more sauce than chicken, the chilli smoke garlic naan was really good and the waitresses were good, poilte and friendly, but when were got to pay they had an issue with their machine which kept giving an error. I'm not sure if it was the manager or owner got annoyed after my phone showed a blue tick (successful payment) and he insisted it didn't go through. I said I would like to check before I try again and he stormed off annoyed, reprimanding his staff in front of everyone. Turned a decent meal into a bad experience. We just spent $180 in your establishment, have some common decency and respect.

We wanted to get some really authentic Indian with friends for dinner. The owner came and told us all about the recipes of the dishes we chose and helped us match cocktails to the food. It’s the best Butter Chicken I’ve ever had and I’ve had A LOT of Butter Chicken. Even the desserts were authentic Indian. Great service to boot.

ORIGINAL: An Indian friend of mine suggested we try Foreign Return for our first post-lockdown dinner together. We were absolutely not disappointed. Authentic food (based on my friend's opinion lol), friendly and efficient service, amazing cocktails. Yes, as some as commented, it is not on the cheap side but you absolutely get the quality you deserve.

EDIT: I've been back twice since and the quality went down each time to thee point that I don't think I will go back. Admittedly, the last time was 9 months ago so perhaps it's improved again.

India is where I felt I was, after having the food at Foreign Return. Authentic taste and absolutely amazing service. This place is a must visit for their innovative and unique cocktails. The menu is not the typical curries, which you get anywhere and everywhere. Taste is more authentic than I have eaten anywhere else in Sydney.
Good luck to the team and hoping some more locations pop up soon.

We had a terrific time enjoying the bottomless brunch. All the cocktails were great and there was more than enough of the well-presented and really tasty dishes.

Excellent service. Nice ambiance. And yummy food. We had good time here and all the dishes we ate were delicious.
Will visit again definitely.

We had $99 Brunch with bottomless tea cocktails. Food was amazing as usual, service was quick and great hospitality. We are very happy. Will come again.

As an Indian, I am very particular about Indian restaurants. Most are good but what I’m on the hunt for is the best of the best. I can proudly say that Foreign Return makes the list. The staff are so helpful, kind and punctual. The service was immaculate. The food was tasty and really stood out amongst other Indian restaurants. Follow my Insta (@aisha_fiji) to watch me look for the best of the best ️? ! So glad I visited this place!

Incredible fine dining food with a good proportion of quantity, throepughly enjoyed all the flavours and fusion cocktails

Amazing food, customer service, decor is beautiful. Absolutely loved it and we will be back!

We visited Foreign return for our anniversary celebration. The restaurant is so beautiful, aesthetically pleasing. We had the chef menu and the starters were absolutely the best. The main course however was not that great, probably should have gone with the vegetarian menu. Rasmalai was absolutely delicious and the cocktails too.

Always love the food from here. This time we tried the Saturday brunch, which was wonderful. A modern but still delicious interpretation of Indian flavours in each course, looking forward to going back for seconds!

Quite simply the most exciting Indian cuisine I’ve ever had! The flavours were spectacular and deeply original. Every dish offered something different. A very special experience!

One of my best experience in Indian food. You will taste different food from different parts of India and will be familiar with the Indian culture. Highly recommended

Absolutely gorgeous restaurant, and first grade service from all staff.
The food looks and tastes fantastic.
Added to our favourites