The Surry Hills site where Erez Gordon's The Bishop previously traded has risen again with new operators and a new concept, aiming to do for Indian food what the next wave of Thai operators achieved in shaking loose colour-coded curries and facsimile menus.

"We want to serve food as you'd have it back in India, unaltered," Foreign Return co-owner Gaurang Gahoi (GG) explains.

"There's a real focus on North Indian food in restaurants here. We want to offer [a broader spread] of regional dishes."

That swathe of dishes swings from a crab curry from the Chettiar community of Tamil Nadu to a lamb brain street food specialty, and a venison curry from Rajastan. "The royals used to go out and hunt for it," GG says.

"Even the butter chicken here is different. It's more like you'd find in Delhi – the gravy isn't as sweet, the use of the spices, the base is more comprehensive."

GG has teamed up with Delhi 'O' Delhi's Javed Khan and hospitality veteran Kunal Patel at the start-up. Chef Siddharth Kalyanaraman, who trained under Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar is in the kitchen.

Foreign Return has a couple of cute takes on Indian food traditions.

You can grab a tiffin box of eggplant simmered in a spiced nut and poppy seed curry, and the spiced cocktails have a very COVID-era story.

Mixologist Nitin Tewari is consulting remotely on the cocktail menu.

"We often get asked, what does 'Foreign Return' mean? It is an endearment for an Indian expat who has left its birth country and returns home, as so many do. We affectionately call them a 'Foreign Return'," GG explains.

Open Thu-Sun lunch; daily dinner.

527 Crown Street, Surry Hills