Foreign Affairs Wine Bar & Bistro

I just had an astonishingly good meal this evening and felt compelled to post immediately. We had a mussel appetizer that made me reevaluate my opinion of mussels. They are typically nothing to get excited over, but these were larger than usual, very meaty, and pinkish as opposed to the little grey things you usually get. They were cooked in a broth I would have been happy to just sit and dip bread into for the rest of the evening. This was followed by a short rib entrée and my boyfriend had the hanger steak. Both incredible. Mine was served with a creamy parmesan sauce and fried brussels sprouts.
The only reason why this review is not five stars is due to the noise level. As other reviewers have indicated, there is some sort of acoustics issue that makes it sound as though everyone is drunk and screaming at each other. It’s the absolute only thing that would ever make me think twice about returning.

The Bloody Mary’s at Foreign Affairs are fantastic. They have multiple different styles of Bloody Mary mixes including a Siracha mix, a Serrano Pepper mix and even a mix using a house made Kimchi!!! Not only that, they have an entire Bloody Mary Bar where you can pick and choose any additional ingredients to add to your beverage. Everything from bacon to dilly beans, delicious gouda to fresh celery sticks you name it. That’s not all, the brunch on Sunday is to die for. Fresh farm to table menu with multiple different styles of eggs benedict they have heirloom waffles, omelets the list goes on. Also live music on Sunday. This place is a must for brunch.

Dined there recently with the Mrs. We sat at the bar and got great service. I had a very good burger and my wife had a salad that she didn’t care for. But, it’s not that the salad was bad, it just wasn’t the dressing etc. that she cared for. The reason for 3 stars is because the place was cold. I found it a little cold, but my wife had to keep her coat on. And, I turned around and saw at least 4 other diners with coats on. Do you think that just maybe at least one employee would notice that people were cold?

I came here with a friend for brunch and went back the following month it was so good! The three-​piece jazz band set the perfect ambiance. They we lively but not so loud you couldn’t hear the people at your table. The staff were friendly and attentive without being intrusive. The best part was the food! Very well prepared, everything was delicious! The menu changes based on local availability but our favorites were the caramel toffee sticky bun, the steak and eggs, and a pulled pork southwestern dish that was a special. Our only disappointment were the Bloody Marys; the base mix tasted diluted. We had to ask for more tomato juice that we doctored up at the Bloody Mary bar, but even that was met with a smile!

The Sunday brunch is amazing. So many items to choose from. (I went with the seared scallop Benedict) C’est magnifique! And the live music… perfect. Henri smith’s voice and music compliment the experience at foreign affairs. And who can beat $ 1 wellfleet oysters?! I garnished my own Bloody Mary with bacon, lime and this special green spicy sauce after the bartender’s suggestion, and some horseradish from the extensive Bloody Mary bar. Bottom line: Foreign Affairs can’t be missed on a Sunday!

Great place and food! They didn’t have a spot for me and my friend. However the waitress took our number and said she will call us if someone cancels. And she did — after 30 minutes — just when we were about to order at some other place! We were so happy she called back — and that too just in time! The ambience of the place and the FOOD!!! And everyone serving us was super nice too!

Well… where do I begin? This is the first time that we have ever eaten here. Our usual spot had a 30 minute wait and it was late so we chose to come here as we had heard good things. This will be our last visit. Let me tell you why.
We ordered and watched everyone around us get served… and finish eating. Finally, the hostess came by to say that our appetizer would be on the house as the kitchen had been swamped. (This was the best moment of the evening.). They were just starting our appetizer order and it would be right out. We waited. It finally arrived.
After we finished our appetizer, we waited… and waited… again. Finally, our meals arrived. My husband had ordered a burger which he rated a ⁶⁄₁₀. Meh. I had ordered a vegetarian lasagna with eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, and mozzarella served over greens. The lasagna was… ok. Just ok. It was dry and had only a little cheese for moisture. The flavor would have been better if it would have been baked longer as well. It could definitely have used more cheese and it would have benefited from some tomato sauce. However, it was served on basically raw chard (I normally love chard, BTW) with thin slices of baby beets (raw as well, but they were definitely more tender than thickly sliced raw chard), some raw cauliflower, and some other veggies. It was served with a steak knife which should have cued me in. All in all, it wasn’t worth the wait. The taste was nothing memorable and the raw chard (with stems) was quite off putting.
The hostess came by to ask how things were and I said to her that the lasagna was a miss. A ⁵⁄₁₀. She tossed her head and said, «I’m sorry.» And started to walk away. I called her back and said that this was the first time that we had been here, but we wouldn’t be back. (My husband is willing to give them another chance, but I’m not.) I got another toss of the head. I asked her if that was her only response and she said, «Well, you told me that you weren’t coming back. What else should I say?» (Maybe a bit of conversation with a real apology for what was clearly not a good experience and a promise that, if we did come back, the next experience would be better would be a good place to start.)
If you are in Manchester and want a good place to eat, this isn’t it. There are several other establishments which are far, far better than Foreign Affairs
Oh, additionally, the noise level makes conversation absolutely impossible to top off a forgettable evening.

Super over priced. Terrible margarita. Scallops were tasty but 32 dollars for 4 scallops. Not right. Beer was flat. Wait service was long. We won’t be back.

Sometimes the quality of the food just can’t make up for the poor and neglectful service. We went to Foreign Affairs about 8 days ago. The food was very good, but the service was poor. Our total bill including tip averaged $ 101 per person (party of 3). The waitress did not pay much attention to our table and a few times we had to ask other restaurant service people to refill our water or bring additional bread. Less then 5 days later we were back again with friends who had just arrived from out of state. We felt the food was worth going back a 2^nd time. We had our fingers crossed for better service.
Our 2^nd time the food was not as outstanding as the 1^st time. The menu was not as extensive as our first visit. There were only 2 salads to pick from and a smaller list of appetizers. Foreign Affairs does change its menu. We are not sure if it is done weekly or daily, but the difference of menu offerings within only 5 days was disappointing. The previous week there were at least 4 – 5 fish entrees. On our 2^nd visit is was more limited. Two in our party ordered the tuna/​pasta entrée which was tasty but the portion was not what we would consider a main entrée portion size especially since the week before one of us had had the scallop and pasta entrée and there was enough for the other two people at the table to sample some.
The cheese tray appetizer did not have nearly as much brioche as was needed to enjoy the assortment of cheeses. Not seeing our waitress for what would be a reasonable length of time, we had to ask another wait staff for additional brioche and it took over 10 minutes to get some. Then yet another wait staff walked towards our table with a plate of brioche and first attempted to deliver it to a table which was 2 tables away from us, but we called her over to our table because she clearly looked confused as to which table need the brioche. She didn’t leave the brioche on the plate and put the plate on our table. She dumped the brioche on top of a semi-​eaten cheese tray, so we had to move the brioche to the side in order to see where the remaining cheese was.
Our waitress was still no where to be found and considering this is a very small restaurant, it was very annoying that at least 20 minutes had transpired without our waitress ever checking on our table. We order 3 bottles of wine that evening at a cost of over $ 60 per bottle and other than the first pour from each bottle, our waitress never made an attempt to come and refill our wine glasses. I might add that on our first and second visit to this restaurant, both of our waitresses spilled the wine down the outside of the wine glass on at least two of the wine glasses when they did pour the wine. At over $ 60 a bottle, the waitress should be paying more attention when she is pouring the wine. The calibre of the wait staff is not up to the level of food this restaurant is attempting to serve.
On our 2^nd visit we had to again ask the hostess and other wait staff to refill our water glasses because our waitress was not checking on our table. On our 2^nd visit, the total bill was an average of $ 100 per person including tip for a party of 4. We spent over $ 700 at this restaurant in two visits. We feel the food is a hit or miss. We were lucky we had such a great meal the first time because it caused us to go back a second time, but we were disappointed because the restaurant’s food quality and quantity was not consistent. But the over-​riding reason we are giving this restaurant a one star is because of the service. When you spend at least $ 100 per person, the wait staff should be paying better attention.
If you haven’t already been to Foreign Affairs, take it off your list as a place to try. It is not worth the money or the frustration.

This place is amazing!!! From the atmosphere (live jazz), to the great service, and the incredible food you can’t beat this place. I had the Panko scallops Benedict… I’ve NEVER had better Benedict. The oysters were the perfect temperature and clean. My husband has the quiche… so light and fluffy! The drinks were the perfect pour and the bloody Mary garnish bar was awesome!

Local and unique… Very friendly staff and wonderful food. I tried the seafood sampler… Delicious! And A to the berry trifle!

Popped in for a late lunch, early dinner on a Sunday.
We love this place. It’s modern and nice inside. There was a 3 piece jazz band playing (they were good, but WAY too loud for the small space — we had to shout a bit to talk), which was cool.
Our server was great, very attentive and gave good opinions.
We shared a Waldorf salad, which was a big salad with a lot of fresh ingredients — mostly fruit, and a yogurt/​honey dressing. It was actually surprisingly filling, even with the two of us sharing it.
I followed our server’s suggestion and had a scramble mix with ground beef, bacon, steak — added the offered ketchup to it and it was great. Huge, flavorful, every form of meat/​protein you could imagine. Quite enjoyed it.
My fiancée got the fried crab sandwich, which was loaded with avocado and a nice thick sauce. She really enjoyed it.
We finished with the brownie sundae — a huge gooey half-​cooked brownie covered in chocolate and caramel sauce, a scoop of yellow vanilla ice cream, and nice thick whipped cream. It’s heaven.

Great addition to the north shore dining scene. Busy on a Saturday night and the accoustics are not great, but the food was worth it. Had the soft shell crab appetizer and the wonderful pork chop. Both perfectly prepared. Kudos to the kale caesar salad, Salmon, duck and chicken– all good.
Will definitely revisit.

Dinner, lunch, brunch… It’s all phenomenal. Really thoughtful and well executed menu, warm and accommodating staff, and great drinks. I even mentioned a dish I’d loved, but that had been removed from the menu. Chef Doug told me to come for brunch that week, and there it was at the top of the menu. Great people. Great food.

What a gem!
Most restaurants make big promises but Foreign Affairs delivers. Chef Doug Papows is a very talented man; his food is consistently excellent, the menus are thoughtfully designed to showcase the best available ingredients, and the preparations demonstrate a high level of skill and passion that is seldom seen. Not to be outdone by the kitchen, the front of house staff also take their jobs very seriously; every host and server is completely attentive without any of the intrusive hovering…
All of this in addition to a beautiful setting, ample off-​street parking, special wine dinner events that are equally delicious and informative, and live music during Sunday brunch. What more could you want?

We went today for lunch. I thought I had emailed the restaurant about a reservation for brunch but maybe the email never reached them and there was no reservation on file. We waited by the bar and a young nice woman came over to us and said the drinks where on the restaurant because we had to wait Very nice! Very considerate! We sat at the bar– lovedthe «vibe» of the place, presentation, and the flavors of the food. I do restaurant seo, email blasts so we go to many restaurants. We live in Charlestown and you know Boston is a foodie town so we have quite a bit to choose from but today my wife and i just wanted to take a ride to «the country» and it was worth the trip! So in summary we loved everything about Foreign Affairs and we will be back!

We moved here recently and have visited three times now. All the experiences — especially dinner — have been positive.
The ingredients are amazing in and of themselves, and the creative applications are fun and interesting if you are looking for unique flavors. The meat and vegetables have always been hot, and temped correctly without exception.
On our most recent visit, the rice/​kale mixture served with my salmon, though tasty, was quite salty — the kind of salty that hurts and lingers, not just a little heavy-​handed. Despite this, it was still tasty enough to eat about half of it with bites of the fish.
The servers have always been extremely competent and accommodating. It will remain our go-​to for nice dinners out when we don’t want to travel far from home. In fact, it feels like a privilege to have such a gem this close to home. The seasoning issue was surely a fluke and does not represent my other experiences at all.

We went again this evening, to try out their new menu. I had sea scallops over Delicato squash and spaghetti squash, garnished with locally foraged mushrooms. Amazing. My DC had the pork chop, which was huge, over roasted vegetables. Very autumnal and the pork was was really flavorful.

Atmosphere A+. Love the feel/​ambiance.
The food — really good, but not wow amazing. We’ll keep trying, and look forward to a brunch there.
The service is excellent, although the bartender not so much. Nice enough guy, makes good drinks, BUT his service is sporadic and way too weak for the higher end dollars dropped on a dinner.

Happy to report they now make fresh French fries instead of frozen (as some have rightly complained)
Great burger with complex flavors.
My wife had salmon with ratatouille full of flavor. Definitely Bistro quality.
Sasquatch band was playing during the brunch.
Beautiful day just made the experience perfect.