The Room
Foreign Concept opened in 2017 on 1st Street SW in the Beltline. Duncan Ly to Vietnamese-Canadian, ex-Catch, ex-Hotel Arts. Runs the kitchen as a modern Southeast Asian programme that pulls from Vietnamese, Thai and Cantonese traditions. The dining room seats 70; the booking window is one to two weeks.
Service is small-team and well-paced.
The Food
The kitchen runs a chef's tasting at $95 alongside an à la carte side menu that includes pho, banh mi, dim sum and seasonal mains. Cocktails are the bar's anchor. Pandan gimlets, lychee martinis, lemongrass-pisco creations.
Best Occasion Fit
First Date: Foreign Concept's Beltline room is the first-date for the diner who wants the night to register as Southeast Asian-knowledgeable.
Team Dinner: The private dining room seats 18 and runs a set Southeast Asian menu.