Foreign Correspondents

The food here is really fantastic and I would definitely go back a second time.
The fish curry and the squash are excellent. The friend herbs with the special sauce get a little heavy after the first few bites.
The grilled chicken was cooked to perfection.
I would definitely go back!

Last week, I went to dinner a group of girlfriends at Foreign Correspondents, the new (ish) Thai restaurant in Houston’s Heights neighborhood. Before diving into the food menu, we started off with some cocktails. Several of us (myself included) opted for the restaurant’s namesake, the Foreign Correspondent.
The concoction of Ford’s gin, Thai chili green chartreuse, cucumber, and bitter lemon tonic was light, tangy, incredibly refreshing, and had a little kick to it. This drink would be perfect served poolside!
To start, we ordered the restaurant’s much-​raved about crispy fried herbs with special sauce. Instead of tossing the herbs in its usual pork and shrimp sauce, our server offered to bring it to us with the sauce on the side to make it vegetarian. The fragrant herbs were absolutely outstanding. They were lightly battered, super crunchy, and bursting with various lively, earthy flavors. In addition to the pork and shrimp sauce, they were served with a creamy «special sauce,» which cut through some of the strong flavors a bit and offered a very nice balance. This was an awesome appetizer and definitely one of my favorite dishes of the evening. I certainly see what all the fuss is about!
In addition to individual portions of food, the restaurant offers different sized prix fixe family style options, should you decide to go that route. We opted to order the dinner for four, as well as add on a few items from the vegetarian menu, which they provided me with when I told them I didn’t eat meat or fish.
First off was the roasted tomato chili dip, which came with the dinner for four. Our server explained that this was a newer item on the menu, and that people often compare it to salsa. And we all agreed! The acidic, chunky, tart dip was delicious and INCREDIBLY spicy. Definitely cleared everyone’s nostrils right up! The root and winter vegetables served alongside the dip were steamed al dente and served as great vessels for this sassy dip.
Next up with our food, we tried the stuffed sticky rice from the vegetarian menu. I LOVED this dish. Coconut sticky rice was mixed with mashed sweet potato, then grilled in some sort of leaf. The dish was so simple, yet SO good. It was sweet, soft, absolutely delightful, and hands down my favorite dish of the evening!
We also were presented with individual servings of sticky rice in adorable basket containers (because «basket containers» isn’t redundant) to have with some of of our entrees. Our server advised us to eat it with our fingers, and we happily obliged!
Next up from the restaurant’s vegetarian food menu we tried the vegetarian chiang mia curry (gaeng hung lay). This briny stew was earthy and soul-​warming. Sweet potatoes, turnips, and butternut squash were swimming in a hearty broth and sprinkled with peanuts. I was a huge fan of yet another very fragrant, and very colorful dish!
After that, we tried the khao soi from the vegetarian menu. This was probably my least favorite food item of the evening, and not because it was bad. Thick and creamy with dry-​fried vegetables, crispy noodles, and a hard-​boiled egg, the dish was aromatic, sweet, and filled with tropical flavors. It was almost too tropical for my tastes though, and bore a strong resemblance to a drink I often order from the zany tiki bar Lei Low (also located in the Houston Heights area). So basically, I’d rather drink this dish than eat this dish (and maybe light a sugar cube on fire and throw a little rum in there? #help).
For a unique take on Thai food in Houston, look no further than Foreign Correspondents. Each dish was vibrant, fragrant, and bursting with a multitude of flavors that differ from the norm. The service that night was great, and the prices were very reasonable, given the amount and high quality of food we received. This great Houston restaurant is definitely worth a visit!

Loved the place! We got a few cocktails. Speedboat Panther was delicious and the finishing taste stuck with you in a good way. We got the dinner for 2(more like dinner for 3 or maybe even 4) and was impressed with every dish. Some were a little spicy for me but I’m a baby when it comes to spices.
Definitely recommended!

I have mixed feelings about this place. The food was great, drinks were okay but I was not impressed with the service. Our waiter seemed bored and rarely came to our table. In fact all of the wait staff did not seem attentive at all. Maybe it was an off night? I don’t know but they need to work on it.
The food — get the sticky rice with sweet potato. So good we got another order. The cracklings with green dip — this was a disappointment. Only 4 small pieces of cracklin were on the plate. The dip that came with it was awesome but please don’t call it a cracklin dish if there are barely any on the plate. The whole fish dish was actually good. I’m usually not a fan but it did have good flavor.
I wouldn’t mind giving it one more shot but I will give a little bit before returning.

My husband and I went to Foreign Correspondents on a Tuesday night. Luckily, we had no problem getting a reservation. We tried four dishes: Fried herbs, Waterfall beef, Stir-​fried pumpkin with basil, and Chiang mai pork curry. All of the dishes were delicious. However, I do not think I would order the pork curry again. Instead I would try something else.
We will definitely return!

Not your typical Thai place — no Panang curry or pad thai! But there is Thai iced tea, which I was happy to see. I almost gave 3 stars — I enjoyed it, and will likely return but don’t see myself here all the time, appreciate unique menu, thought things could be just a bit better. The restaurant definitely has a modern feel with its neon signage and bright, space-​themed mural, which adds to its uniqueness.
The Thai iced tea tasted a little off from others I’ve had; not the worst, but not the best. I think biggest disappointment about it was the size, just a small glass for $ 4.
I came for lunch and my friend and I shared two dishes: the stir-​fried squash with Thai basil (phat fak tong) and the khao soi with pork skewer (khoa soi muu satay). The squash was definitely my favorite — it includes pork, FYI. I don’t think I’ve ever had duck eggs before, and since they were scrambled, it was hard to taste distinctly, but I feel like they made the dish rich. Would definitely get again. The khao soi was good (noodles in curry broth with chicken), but didn’t amaze me. Probably a good dish when you’re under the weather.
Looking at their website, I see they are farm-​to-​table and also serve brunch!

My friends and I (group of 7) went on Friday night. I’m glad we made a reservation because there was a lot of people waiting to be seated.
We chose a few drinks to start off with:
–Mekong Mule: ⁵⁄₅ This was probably my favorite out of all of them. It’s really similar to a Moscow Mule and was light and refreshing,
–Thai Cream Soda: ¹⁄₅ This drink was not for me, it has a lottt of flavor. I think the hibiscus was too strong and the basil seed made it have a weird after taste. My friends said that after it sits for a while and you mix it all up, the flavors get better, but I didn’t give it a second try so I can’t say for sure. Maybe it’s one of those drinks that grows on you.
–Feather Weight: ⁴⁄₅ basically an old fashioned with rum instead of whiskey. Nothing special but still tasty if you like an old fashioned.
–Foreign Correspondent: ⁴⁄₅ The flavors of this drink work pretty well together as I was skeptical about the lemongrass. It tastes pretty «Asian» but it’s pretty good and worth a try.
As for food, our waiter told us about dinner for 6 for $ 160 so we went with that.
–Crispy Fried Herbs with Special Sauce: ⁴⁄₅ I’m not sure exactly what herbs they fried, but the dish was pretty good. A lot of batter on the herbs but it wasn’t overly oily, and the herbs were still crispy. There wasn’t too much of the special sauce on the herbs which provided a good balance for the dish. It’s an interesting dish, but nothing special. If you’re a huge fan of tempura/​fried food you should get it.
–Stuffed Sticky Rice: ⁵⁄₅ i’m a huge fan of sticky rice so this dish didn’t disappoint me. I believe they stuffed the sticky rice with sweet potatoes as it was a sweet filling. I could have probably eaten the entire dish by myself, so I would definitely recommend this dish!
–Garlic Pork Skewers: ⁴⁄₅: Grilled pork on skewers with a soy sauce and fish sauce mixture for dipping. The pork was tender and the sauce was delicious. One of my friends kept the sauce at the table to dip other foods in.
–Roasted Tomato Chili dip: ⁵⁄₅ When this dish arrived, I was like oh roasted vegetables with tomato dip… meh. But I tried it and the dip is sooo good! It’s similar to salsa but tastes fresh and has a good spicy kick to it. The variety of vegetables provided to dip was also good — broccoli, beets, squash, carrots.
–Thai Papaya Salad: ³⁄₅ I love papaya salads, so maybe my expectations for this dish was a little high. But the flavor just wasn’t there. Maybe they didn’t marinate it in the sauce long enough before serving. You can probably skip this dish here.
–Waterfall Beef: ⁵⁄₅ The beef wasn’t as tender as I thought it would be. But the flavor of the beef was really good. The spices were really reminiscent of the flavors I had in dishes when I had in Thailand before. And rarely can you find authentic Thai flavors in Houston so I was very impressed.
–Lanna Laap: ⁵⁄₅ Again, the flavors were really good. This dish is minced meat made with chicken I believe. It is served with lettuce so you can make a mini lettuce wrap.
–Isaan Laap: ⁵⁄₅ Similar to above, this dish is minced meat with duck. I never thought I would have minced duck, but it was good! Also comes with a lettuce wrap.
–Mixed Stir Fry: ⁴⁄₅ Stir fry of mixed veggies like brussel sprouts, Chinese broccoli… and somethign else. It’s similar to any other vegetable stir fry. The sauce was a little salty for my taste, but still good. It had a caramelized taste to it.
–Squash with Thai Basil: ⁵⁄₅ Another one of my favorites of the night. I’m usually not a huge fan of squash because it is hard to cook perfectly. But Foreign Correspondents did a great job and it was soft but not mushy. The Thai basil adds a nice flavor and with the sweet squash this dish had a good balance.
–Chiang Mai Duck Curry: ⁴⁄₅ This is served with jasmine rice but by this point, I was already pretty full, so I just tried the duck curry on it’s own. This doesn’t taste like a Thai dish. It was more flat compared to other dishes (less spice, and less of that Thai sweetness)
–Fish Curry: ⁴⁄₅ I would consider this more of a soup. It didn’t have the texture of curry but it was really good. There were a lot of veggies in it and is made with a coconut milk base and that flavor really comes through.
–Grilled Chicken: ⁴⁄₅ Chicken was grilled well, nothing special about the chicken but it comes with 2 sauces, a chili sauce and tamarind sauce. I preferred the tamarind sauce as it had more flavor.
–Whole Fried Texas Tilapia: ⁵⁄₅ This is amazing and you have to get it if you ever go! The tilapia was fried crispy on the outside and the meat was so tender on the inside. It’s topped with chilis, limes, and cashews. Sooo good!
–sticky rice: ⁵⁄₅ Everyone get’s their own mini basket thing. The little container is so adorable!
We were all really full at the end of it and it’s a really good portion for 7 people. I would highly recommend going with a group and sharing so you can try all of their signature dishes!

My own private restaurant.
Arriving at the beginning of their dinner shift, I had the place to myself. The staff was very friendly and my server made excellent, informed recommendations. The beef small course and the chicken big course each held wonderful flavors and complimented each other. The sweet Thai tea was kept full, something I’d not seen before and helped ameliorate some of the spicier/​hotter bites.
A bit pricey, but a great dinner. Meals are served to the table family style so dining with others makes for a sharing experience.

So we went last night and got the $ 120 dinner for 4 — what a deal!
It was a crazy amount of food for just the 4 of us, and most items were great. Highly recommend the fried herbs, the whole fried fish, the laap (delicious and lots of lime in it), the Isaan grilled chicken. The stir-​fried pumpkin and the garlic and blood rice were okay — nothing to write home about. Both items were a little hard not tender.
Cocktail menu looks great! My girlfriend and I stuck to wine though and they do have a decent list.
The fish and makrut lime curry soup was quite bland — we had to add quite a bit of salt to make it edible. This was the only miss!
Please get the ice cream at the end — coconut w basil and other toppings. Amazing!
Will Definitely come back

In a super random part of town. It looks like a club from the outside because of the weird neon lights. The theme, I guess, is like colorful astronauts? I’m not sure. I don’t think I was hipster enough to understand.
There’s plenty of parking. Service was alright, but our server never once smiled even though she said nice things. It was weird. Just like the mural on the wall.
We shared the fried shrimp laap and the other thing on the top of the right column. The menu is pretty small and had little stars and spaceships drawn on it to fit the theme. It was pretty cute. There were maybe like 3 other tables during lunch on this Thursday, but the food took forever to come out. Admittedly, I didn’t mind because we were having great conversation, but if I was with anyone else, it would’ve been mind-​boggling.
Oh, I also got the Thai tea which was less than stellar. Especially since it was a small cup for $ 4.
The fried shrimp laap reminded us of the popcorn shrimp we used to get in middle school for lunch but much better and more sophisticated. It came on a small dish, but there was definitely quite a lot of shrimp! The other thing on the top of the right column had two pork skewers that were so tough that I pulled the whole piece off the skewer when I was just trying to take a bite. Still pretty yummy, though. It also came with some kind of curry noodle with crispy fried noodles on top and two duck or chicken legs. I didn’t eat them and clearly didn’t read the menu well so I wouldn’t know. Either way, the noodles were good but not great.
Would I go out of my way to go back? No. If a friend wanted to try it out, would I go with them? Yes.

Dined here with family on Christmas Eve and was pleasantly surprised. The menu is not your typical Thai fare and I was concerned it may not go over so well with certain folks in my party. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about! The food and service were great. We tried the pork curry, sticky rice, brisket, pumpkin, and chicken dishes. Shared it all family style. I would order the curry and pumpkin again. Cocktails were good, with the foreign correspondent being the least favorite, mule the best.
Lighting above our table was a bit harsh, but it looked like other tables in the restaurant had better lighting. I would ask not to sit in one of the booths, as it felt like we were sitting under a spotlight.
Love the space murals and the Foreign Correspondents signage out front. I would come back!

Our waiter was super slow. Sat down and had to wait for him to bring us the food menu then we had to wait even longer for him to come take our order. We ordered the fried herbs, duck larb and khao soi.
The fried herbs arrived at the table a minute after we put the order in so it did not taste very fresh. It tasted like it was overly fried in some really old oil. We couldn’t even finish it because it was so bad.
The duck larb was bland and tasteless. For $ 13 it was a huge disappointment.
The khao soi was probably the only dish that was decent but the chicken was really dry and over cooked.
This restaurant was a huge disappointment. I would not recommend wasting your money here.

So I was on Treadsack Eggnog Quest. This was our final stop and we were pretty hungry.
We started with a few house cocktails and the crispy herbs. Drinks were both good but nothing now. The real star of the crispy herbs was the shrimp and pork sauce on top of a large pile of the batter and fried herbs. Then we had the waterfall beef. It was flavorful and spicy but a little lackluster and lacking a little some char on the beef. We finished the meal with the pumpkin, egg, and basil dish. I found it interesting that the chicken, a major part of the dish, was a side note. Everything on this plate really came together for the awesome sauce to the perfectly cooked egg and pumpkin. I think this was the favorite of the day. One thing I can say for all of the dishes is that they are respectable size and they all felt like they were worth their value.
Service was really good. Felt very taken care of and with the dishes being a little spicy it was nice to have water and cocktails looked after.
I think this place could really benefit from a bar. I wouldn’t mind stopping in for a drink and a small plate, but would feel awkward sitting at a table.

I had a fantastic meal here a couple weeks back with my wife and two others. We tried a large portion of the menu, sharing plates between the four of us and had a wonderful time. I took copious notes and had a great detailed review half written before accidentally erasing it. Here’s my attempt at remembering everything.
Treadsack, who owns Downhouse, Hunky Dory, Bernadine, D&T Drive In, and a few others, has recently opened Foreign Correspondents, featuring farm-​to-​table Northern Thai food. Much of the food on the menu will seem very foreign to the uninitiated, as the fare varies greatly from the Pad Thai realm of the countless Thai joints around the city. That’s not to say the food isn’t fantastic though. You’ll just need a little help and hand holding from the eager wait staff to figure out what to order.
The interior is modern and spartan with stained concrete floors, wood booths and tables, and they have a crazy outer space theme mural on the back wall. The kitchen is semi open, so you can peer into the plating station and see the orders coming out.
Service was very good. They did a great job helping us navigate the menu as well as breaking down each ingredient. Food came out in a timely manner and they were really happy to show customers a new favorite dish.
They have a great drink menu that offers multiple mixology style cocktails with chili, lemongrass and other thai herbal notes. If you’re not into sipping cocktails, beer, wine, and sodas are available as well.
The food was really great and full of so many new spices, discoveries and surprises for me. I’d strongly urge you to try the crispy fried herbs which was my favorite starter. Foreign Correspondents sources thai herbs from local farms daily, so the ingredients change from harvest to harvest. The herbs are then tempura battered, fried and then doused in a sweet and spicy chili sauce. Really a great dish.
Another surprising standout side was the water spinach. The water spinach comes out looking like a bowl of greens but tastes like a buttery bowl of pasta and oil.
The standout entrée for me was the whole fried Texas tilapia. The dish was, as it sounds, a whole fried tilapia. You can tell it’s a Texas tilapia because it was huge! Our waiter explained that they source their tilapia from aquaponic farms that use the fish to filter and fertilize their plant’s waters before ending up on a plate in Foreign Correspondents. They score the fish, lightly batter it, then fry it up before slathering it with chili, chopped scallions, onions, nuts and other herbs before bringing out to your watering mouth.
Desserts were very good and equally exotic.
Prices are very affordable and you should be able to navigate a multi course meal without breaking $ 30-​$ 50 per couple. (Fried Herbs were $ 8, Water Spinach $ 9, and most entrees run $ 12-​$ 15 a plate, though tilapia was the highest end at $ 30)
Highly recommend dropping by Foreign Correspondents and letting the wait staff show you a thing or two about Northern Thai cuisine. You won’t be disappointed!

Northern/​northeastern Thai tapas concept.
Stuffed sticky rice — we chose the salted mackerel filling. Definitely a sweeter dish, the sticky rice is cooked in condensed milk? The salted mackerel was an interesting contrast. Not for all!
Khao soi — a lighter curry, but it had good flavor and kick of spiciness. The egg noodles have a softer consistency than the rice noodles I’m used to eating with Thai curry noodle dishes. Liked the dish better without the crispy noodles on top.
Stir fried pumpkin with thai basil — strong fish sauce + soy sauce flavor… I liked it. Wish the pumpkin was cooked a little bit more… kind of hard.
Overall, a nice change to Americanized Thai food. I like how the dishes come with sticky rice :). The flavors are definitely more pungent and bold… different…I can appreciate it.
Did not care for the mixed drinks… pretty sweet.

This space has transformed SO much from what it was previously! It looks out of this world. (Pun totally intended) The mural in the back is pretty cute/​entertaining. The service is s-​l-​o-​wwwwww so don’t expect an American paced meal. As for the food and drinks, you have to order the right things as the items are hit or miss.
— fried greens — a huge bowl of tasty fried goodness with a magic sauce on top.
— stir-​fried pumpkin with Thai basil — delicious! It tastes like pad see ew but rather than noodles, there’s pumpkin.
— khao soi — not many Thai restaurants carry this soupy curry noodle. It’s worth having if you’ve never tried it but if you’re a veteran, don’t expect Vegas’s Lotus of Siam quality.
— laap — Since they ran out of another dish we wanted to try, they recommended we get the laap instead. I would not recommend this as it’s so salty which doesn’t make the flavor very enjoyable.
If you’re looking for adult beverages, they’re all of the clear variety. If you’re like looking for ambers or a good red wine, you won’t get it here. But I had a taste of the Speedboat Panther which was the single amber colored cocktail. I didn’t quite enjoy it as the balance of bitters made it taste like medicine. But it really was a strong drink. The Chenin Blanc on the menu was pretty solid as it was smooth and refreshing to pair nicely with our meal.

This place gets 4 stars for convenience, knowledge by the staff, and the coconut sticky rice and chicken wings.
Most of the dishes were family style. We tried the coconut sticky rice stuffed with salted cod, chicken wings, Thai salad, crispy herbs, some type of pumpkin /​egg dish, and a pork curry. The sticky rice with cod was savory and I loved the texture and presentation. The chicken wings were very crispy, flavorful, and had a zesty, spicy sauce. I also enjoyed the comfort food aspect of the pumpkin dish.
Unfortunately the dried herbs tasted oily and the curry was quite bland. I also tried the spicy bourbon drink which tasted like a cinnamon schnapps drink (I wasn’t a fan but my friend who likes cinnamon loved it).
We went on a Monday night and were seated immediately. I liked the space-​Mars type theme but the vibe was a little cold. The price was reasonable and they encouraged us to take our leftovers.

I was prepared to say how this spot could not possibly be as good as say updated Asia Market Thai Lao Food, or the new Asia Market Thai Restaurant. All within a few miles and as authentic as I know of in the city. Though knowing the Treadsack guys, and loving this kind of food I had to give it a try. In my mind, knowing that it could not hold up to some of my favorites… I never doubted the food would be good, just did not expect to love it as much as the other aforementioned spots.
You walk in and a hostess will seat you. This has a minimalist, but trendy feel. With a big mural on the back wall, and a mix of big booths a tables. A relaxed vibe, and one completely different than the other Treadsack concepts. The biggest difference is no bar, though a full liquor menu which is well chosen. One beer tap, which is Dogfish Head Namaste, that pairs particularly well with most the offerings. As well as a good cocktail menu and wines to boot.
I had read the service was on the slow side, but that was not my experience. The spicy papaya salad came out in about 10 minutes. Then I ordered the Chiang Mai Pork Curry, which came out before I could finish my salad. The salad was supper spicy, and well made. I am hard pressed to tell the difference between this and the Asia Market Thai Lao Food salad, which is what I judge all by in this city. The pork curry is amazeballs. The pork belly is perfect, with the great soy sauce and curry sauce. Along with peanuts, pineapple and ginger. Man, the ginger really snaps here. Let alone the fact this curry can feed an army, with probably more meat in the dish than I have seen anywhere else. So I am much more willing to accept the $ 17 price tag.
All together, maybe a little more expensive than most Thai/​Asian restaurants. Though still far from over charging. Especially considering this is as good as any other spot in town, that I have been to. Even though I love this group of Heights restaurants and bars, I was vary much prepared to say this does not hold its own with other Tai/​Asian places in the same neighborhood. Though, I am beyond impressed. Another spot in the group that will take more of my money. Do’h.

While looking for a place for our Tuesday night date I stumbled across Foreign Correspondents under hot & new. Reviewed the menus both food and cocktail forwarded it to the husband and it looked like we had a winner.
We arrived about 8ish and were seated immediately. I’m glad there wasn’t a wait because I’m not sure where we would have waited bc there isn’t any place to wait. I guess outside.
The atmosphere has a cool trendy vibe with concrete floors, minimalistic furnishings topped off with vibrant Thai influenced art installations.
We were given menus and the search for the perfect meal and drinks began.
We started with cocktails, of course. I ordered the Foreign Correspondent and was really excited to try it but after a lengthy wait for my drink (by lengthy I mean our appetizer had arrived) I was told they were out of an ingredient to make their name brand cocktail. Here’s a novel idea, send someone to the store. A little confused how you are out of ingredients at the start of the week. But I persevered and ordered the Mekong Mule. It was very tasty and I was happy with my drink.
On the recommendation of our waiter we ordered the dried herbs as an appetizer. It was really just okay. It was kind of a weird dish in that some bites there were beautiful fresh bursts of herby flavor and other bites were heavy a bit too greasy tempura batter. I probably wouldn’t order it again.
For my entrée I again went with my waiters recommended choice and had the Khao Soi. It was truly delicious. You could taste the curry and the coconut and it had a perfect amount of heat for me. My perfect amount of heat may be more than others so be ready. It’s spicy!
Foreign Correspondents has still some growing to do but I see great potential and I look forward to going back and upping my stars.

New Thai theme fusion resturant that has been open +2 mos. I was introduced to this resturant by my co workers.
Food, service and atmosphere were on point. Small plates with reasonable portions.
Favorites/​Highly recommend: Chiang Mai Pork Curry; Crispy Fried Herbs w/​Special Sauce; Stir Fried Pumpkin with Thai Basil; Waterfall Beef And Green Papaya Salad. Dessert: Coconut Fried Ice Cream
Recommend (if you like spicy): Isaac Duck — very spicy. Good flavor but if you are not a fan of hot –then beware.
I will definitely return to try more dishes.