Foundation Social Eatery

Ate here twice in a two week period– I live in Midtown, this is a great halfway point to meet friends who live OTP. Great service, a nice variety of food (I am a vegetarian and there was more than one thing for me to order!) in a cool atmosphere (cute women’s bathroom!). Easy parking lot. Big covered patio area for groups. Would recommend and will definitely be back!

I’ve known this place since when it was still new. It went from empty at lunch time place to really popular amongst locals place in about 2 years. To me, it has always been my favorite place. They have the famous octopus leg appetizer which scared my friend and the pâté that they have with cured meat and cheese plate is amazing. I would go back just for the pâté I’m really glad that FSE is in suburban Roswell while hip places like this tend to open in East side Atlanta or midtown. I will continue to be a supporter of this place.

Yum yum yum! I had been wanting to go here since it opened and it was well worth the wait! We had dinner outside on the patio, they had heaters going and it was quite cozy.
We ordered the cheese/​meat plate. I can’t even pronounce the names of these things but they were all delicious, the pineapple relish and goat cheese being my favorites. Everything was fresh and it drove my tastebuds crazy with all the different flavors. Next, we ordered the mushroom ravioli and the octopus, both were excellent, however the octopus looked a little smaller than the pictures on Unilocal I had looked at earlier but still yummy.
For drinks we had the mule (fantastic drink) and another one with tea, lemonade and vodka I think, it wasn’t mine but I tasted it and it was good.
For dessert we had the poached pear with maple gelato and the pot de crème, both were delicious!
Last but not least, Erin was our server and she was energetic and very friendly, she even offered to take a picture of us. Also, very knowledgable about the menu and the food items. We left her a great tip caused she made the evening even better! Also, the GM came by and checked on us.
All in all, very cool restaurant that has a great wait staff, chefs and food! Will return!

This was one of the best experiences that I can recall having at a restaurant. The crab salad was so different, light, bright and tasty. The burger and fries were great as well. The chicken entrée was wonderful. The Brussels sprouts were as delicious as everyone else has claimed. The standout for me was the roasted vegetable salad that accompanied the chicken. I could eat this twice a day for the rest of my life.
Everything was seasoned simply, yet perfectly. I am excited to return and try more.

Food is refined and good, very nice ambiance. Menu items are seasonal so can change a few times. Cocktails were watered down by way too much ice and the endive salad could have used a little more dressing/​seasoning.
Service was on point!
Will give it another shot.

Foundation Social Eatery lives up to all the good reviews. I made reservations for a Friday night dinner to celebrate my fiancé’s birthday. Last year we went to Better Half and were sorely disappointed for the $ we spent, so this year, I thought FSE would be more middle-​of-​the-​ground and not as far of a drive for GOOD food.
When we pulled into the shopping center, I was quickly reminded of how much the storefront reminds me of Common Quarter especially in terms of its location in the shopping center: off center to the right. I’m sure I’m not describing the décor well, but everything about it just feels friendly. Ample space, not too tight. I like that we got a corner booth near the front of the restaurant. The booths in the back of the restaurant seem to have brighter space, but I like that our booth felt more intimate and just the right distance away from other diners.
Here’s what we ate:
Crisp Spanish Octopus: This drew us in from the get-​go when we looked at the menu and our octopus tentacle seemed a little smaller than others’ pictures but this was still really tender. We found out from our server that they actually use a sous vide to «cook» the octopus.
Salt Cod Brandade: I didn’t know what a brandade was, but the way it’s served at FSE is that it’s like a deviled egg. Lots of good flavors. That sprig of dill makes such a big difference of giving this more depth of flavor.
Pork Osso Bucco: Fall off the bone meat. It’s tender and yet there’s that good crisp on the outside of the pork. Very generous portion and I really liked the chickpeas that came with the dish.
Sauteed Scallops: My fiancé ordered this and I almost wanted to ask that we trade after the first bite he let me try. I don’t know how else to describe this dish, but the scallops were cooked just right.
Service at FSE was one of the best. Our server Katie was attentive, knew the menu well and was quick to serve our drinks. I would gladly come back to FSE again to try their housemade pastas or other items on their menu.

This place has fresh delicious gourmet food made in house. The staff is excellent, very friendly and helpful. Sitting at the bar our bartender Jamie is wonderful and very knowledgeable. Would definitely recommend to friends and family!

Having grown up in Roswell for most of my life, it was refreshing to finally see that a fine-​dining restaurant, such as Foundation Social Eatery, was being established in Roswell.
My girlfriend and I decided to come here for Roswell’s restaurant week this year, being one of the better choices amongst all the participating restaurants.
The exterior of the restaurant has an industrial appearance, which I liked, while the interior of the restaurant has a more contemporary design to it. The interior of the restaurant was quite spacious, being able to accommodate a good number of customers. We sat in the heated patio area, which was quite nice.
I’ve been wanting to try the food here ever since I saw all the positive reviews on Unilocal.Because it was restaurant week, they had a prixe fixe menu ($ 33), serving three courses. Before ordering our three courses, we ordered the charcuterie/​cheese plate, which included: príncipe speck (a type of prosciutto), molinari hot coppa (pork shoulder), and coulommiers (brie), served with the house-​made country loaf (excellent), pickle, FSE mostarda, and herb salad. For our first course we had the option between the purée of turnip soup and the seasonal mushroom ravioli. We both opted for the seasonal mushroom ravioli, being a popular menu-​item here. For our second course we had the option between the beef short rib *sugo* and the wood fired oven-​roasted chicken. We both opted for the beef short rib *sugo* again being a popular menu-​item here. For the third course we had the option between the chocolate cheesecake and the classic French Canele. I chose the chocolate cheesecake, while my girlfriend chose the classic French canele.
Both the presentation and the quality of the food here were excellent! The seasonal mushroom ravioli was delicious! The ravioli was cooked perfectly, and I could taste all the wonderful ingredients in the dish, such as the red-​wine truffle sauce, grana padano, and chives. The beef in the beef short rib *sugo* was very flavorful and tender, while the cavatelli pasta was nicely incorporated with the traditional Italian *sugo* sauce, roasted garlic, black truffle, and parmesan. The brussels sprouts and cauliflower in the dish were good, but I felt that the use of baby carrots, celery, or red potatoes would have been a better pairing with the dish. The chocolate cheesecake was rich in chocolate with subtle hints of coffee caramel. The classic French canele was beautifully spongy, and I really enjoyed the caramel sauce and the brown butter gelato, which was a great choice in pairing the canele.
As for the service here, the hostess, the manger, the other servers, and the rest of the staff all seemed very friendly and accommodating, with the exception to our own server. While our server was professional and knowledgable about the menu, she unfortunately seemed very apathetic and unfriendly towards us. This was a confusing scenario to me because while she was definitely not rude towards us, she just seemed liked she didn’t really care? Maybe it was just our server’s demeanor, but as a server at a fine-​dining restaurant, you should at least attempt to smile or seem interested in pleasing your customers. I would love to come back here to try their other menu-​items, but I am now a little hesitant because of my personal experience with the service. However, I will eventually give this place another try in the future, only because the food is just so amazing.

This was one of my recent bookmarks and it just happened to be one of Roswell Restaurant Week (1÷25−1÷31) participating restaurants, so we made a visit.
It’s located in one of the shopping strip of Roswell, along with other eateries like Aqua Blue and Tsunami Taqueria. On the exterior, it looked industrial but once you step in, it was more contemporary.
Restaurant was pretty huge. There were at least 4 different sections/​rooms plus the patio. We opted to sit out in the patio since the weather was so nice. Plus the covered patio was heated and was nicely decorated with lights, live small plants, and firewoods. Slight misses were the funky baby lotion smell and dirty white chairs. These chairs needed some scrubbing but the smell became forgotten once food came out.
For restaurant week, Social Eatery offered awesome set menu for $ 33. Naturally I chose the favorites from the set menu and started with the mushroom ravioli. Hmmm… I’m a mushroom person, but the ravioli was just not what I had expected so I can’t agree with the majority on this dish. The presentation was perfect but the flavor was just too simple; salty gravy sauce.
Aside from the set menu, we also ordered the
charcuterie. We went with speck, coppa, and brie. Speck was my favorite, along with the brie. I was a bit disappointed with the sides it came with, however. Not so spicy mustard seeds, bland jam, and not so greatly pickled green beans. I guess I was expecting too much because I was thinking the charcuterie board from Paris with delicious unforgettable house made pickles. Also, we got jipped on our meat. It clearly states 5 pieces on the menu but when I looked at our pictures afterwards there were only 4.
Okay, so we started with a bumpy start but the entrée was the turning point. The short ribs sugo was delicious! It had roasted veggies, delicate tender meat, perfectly cooked pasta, sprinkled with fresh greens and parmeasan soaked in truffle oil. R u drooling yet?! Needless to say, I cleared the plate and would totally recommend this to you.
For dessert, we ordered the chocolate cheesecake and french canele. I enjoyed the canele more as my bf enjoyed the cheesecake, so it worked out pretty well. Canele was warm drenched in chocolate with gelato on the side. It was great but did notice that it wasn’t on their regular menu. Maybe it was a trial… I would support it being added to their main menu.
Overall, for a Roswell restaurant, it was pretty darn good. I have this negative preconception of trendy restaurants anywhere else other than downtown/​midtown. Well, this place proved me wrong, and I guess the suburbrians have to eat too, without having to make the long drives on special occasions.
Oh and not a big deal, but our server was a bit unfriendly… maybe the server wasn’t fully awake yet… who knows.

Consistently a great dining experience. This time we visited during Roswell Restaurant Week. We each ordered from the prix-​fixe menu and all got the same thing… I know boring! We did order an additional appetizer, the Spanish Octopus, served with fingerling potatoes and a chorizo sauce. It was very good, I enjoyed this dish much better this visit than my previous. Each of us got the Mushroom Ravioli, which they are known for. This dish is rich and full of flavor.
We each got the Beef Short Rib pasta, served with cauliflower, brussels sprouts and a black truffle sauce with parmesan cheese. We did get the different desserts. 2 of us got the chocolate cheesecake, that was delicious, we thought it didn’t taste at all like cheesecake, but that was fine with us. The French Canele was a french pastry served with carmel sauce and brown sugar ice cream. Both desserts were a hit.

I stopped here for a quick bite at the end of a business visit before heading to the airport. It was 6:30 pm or so and I was seated quickly in the bar.
The place gives and immediate modern, trendy, and classy vibe. It’s quiet and comfortable.
I had the Seasonal Mushroom Ravioli and it was… words fail me. It was out of this world. Savory, rich, delicious, beautifully presented.
If I am ever within range of this place again I will do my best to return and sample more of their menu.

I was visiting my in-​laws from LA and we stopped at Foundation Social Eatery right after they picked us up from the airport. Even though I was tired, it was more than worth it. I loved this place and will want to go back the next time I visit.
We shared many of the appetizers (octopus, charcuterie plate, ravioli, and something else I can’t remember) and it was all very good.
My dinner was the highlight. I got the short ribs (actually a pasta meal), and I’ve been craving it since I had it last week.
And everything else was great too, the service, décor, …

My first visit to Foundation Social Eatery and it is an amazing place to eat. Everything was fresh and delicious. The service was exceptional. I highly recommend giving them a try. I had the Beef Short Rib and my wife and daughter had the Short Rib and Shrimp BLT sandwiches. GREAT!!!

So, this place has been in the back of my mind for quite some time, and my wife keeps remind me that we needed to go. Since we were meeting some of our good friends I ended up just making reservations and we gladly made it out last night. It was coooold by the way. Anyways, we got in, quickly got seated as we did dinner reservations for 5:30pm. Waiter was pretty amazing (wish i remembered her name.). As we got seated we got our menu’s and decided to place our drink orders. Menu is well designed, yet it is so difficult to pick: everything sounds amazing! Wifey wanted to try the Crispy Spanish Octopus as her meal, so we ordered the seasonal Mushroom ravioli as an appetizer. Let me tell you something about that Ravioli, it was delicious. came with that red wine truffle sauce that was insanely good. Wish we had some bread or something to dip in it because it was just that good to let it go to waste! Our friends ordered the FSE Gnocchi which I tried, and it was really good, savory… and that lamb, thumbs up!
After appetizers, it was time to put our entrée orders in: I picked the Beef short Rib Sugo, which was a lot better than what I expected, soft short rib mixed with cauliflower, brussels sprouts and cavatelli. Best part of it, it was not salty (which i greatly appreciate, good for my blood pressure, ha) Wife killed her Octopus, which she raved about for the rest of the night. Our friends enjoyed the Halibut, and Hand Cut Linguini, which I think i’ll order next time, it looked delicious and he told me that it was slightly spicy, I love spicy food!
Overall, we had a good time here, seems like a very chill spot to have some wine, a very good meal and conversation. Try it out!

Foundation Social Eatery is located right next door to Taqueria Tsunami, the only other restaurant alive in this plaza on a Thursday night. I was worried about getting a table for 5, so I made a reservation through SeatMe on Unilocal.
Service was great from our young server (wish I could remember her name). She came back pretty often to offer us suggestions or water.
We ordered the following:
Beginnings–
Seasonal Mushroom Ravioli — red wine-​truffle sauce was AMAZING. Give me any mushroom pasta and you’ll have me raving. Definitely a must order.
Crisp Spanish Octopus — not what I expected. But the flash fried octopus was tender and delicious.
Crispy Pork Ribs — crispy and tender at the same time, as promised in the menu description. The flavors are a little overly Asian for me, but the texture was on point.
Braised PEI Mussels — the sauce was rich and the mussels were plentiful. Not memorable for me, though.
Plates–
Beef Short Rib «Sugo» — Holy. Cow. This was my friend’s entrée and it was tasty. The beef was tender and flavorful while the cavatelli was perfect. Definitely a must try.
Meats by Linz — more beef! I loved the salsa verde atop this 8oz pre-​sliced steak.
Sautéed Scallops — I didn’t like the sound of «sautéed» but they still came out well. There were FIVE scallops (which you never see in a scallop entrée anywhere), granted each scallop was medium sized. Tasty with a interesting flavor profile: Apple and brown butter jus? Almond, wild mushroom and cauliflower? But as the server promised, it just worked.
FSE Burger — I was expecting great things from this burger, as I do believe it had made a food list at some point. But it was just ok. The burger didn’t have a classic bun. Rather, they used toasted bread. As much as I like caramelized onions, I didn’t like them on the burger: overly sweet and a little soggy.
Desserts–
We had a birthday so the server brought us a complimentary dessert for our birthday girl: a small honey cake (I can’t remember the name for the life of me) with brown butter gelato. After she blew out her candles, the server brought us our other two orders:
Blueberry Bread Pudding — I love bread pudding. So I always order it if I see it on a dessert menu. Wasn’t a huge fan of this one, although it was served warm and a la mode with the brown butter gelato. I was a bigger fan of the gelato than the pudding, though. The blueberries were a bit tart and not right for the fall season.
Chocolate Cheesecake — this was not what I expected. This was rich and heavenly. I couldn’t stop eating it. The crushed coffee beans really made the dessert. It was a smaller dessert but since it was so rich, it didn’t seem very small. A tasty dessert for those who enjoy heavy sweets. Aka me.
Overall, a solid meal. Although a bit disappointed with the burger, the Beginnings and desserts really stepped it up. I never thought that Foundation Social Eatery would be about the tapas but they provide hearty tapa options that you would be a fool to pass up!

I hadn’t done a review of this place from a year ago so here’s a brief, quick review. We went with another couple and everything about FSE is awesome. We sat at the bar and ordered couple drinks, mine was a Moscow Mule while my partner ordered beer. The moscow mule came highly recommended from the manager as well as the bartender. It was awesome! At the time of our reservation, our friends joined us at our table, which happened to be chef’s table.
Sadly I don’t remember the specific dishes we ordered but almost all of our food was great. Someone had a pork chop, the massive chop they have on their menu, which was the only thing that wasn’t memorable.
The service was friendly and the food impressive. Even a year later, we both agree it was some of the best food we’ve had in Atlanta (being new to the city). I’ve been meaning to get back to FSE but haven’t had a chance to revisit. Definitely make it a point to go. The chef knows what he’s doing and has a team that executes flawlessly.

I thought I had reviewed this fabulous restaurant already but apparently not.
All you need to know is it’s great. From the drinks, to the food, to the staff, it is all top notch. I have eaten here over 4 times and everything I have ever had was amazing.
I remember the moment I fell in love with this place… the dessert. I am SO picky with desserts, it really takes something special to peak my interest. Foundation has this cherry /​custard bowl of happiness. If I could sell my soul and eat this everyday without gaining a pound, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Do yourself a favor and try it out, you will be impressed, I was!

We tried out this restaurant based on numerous positive reviews on Unilocal and it lived up to its reputation. It’s located in a strip shopping center just east of the intersection of Holcomb Bridge Road and Old Alabama Road. Parking is plenty at the shopping center. Décor in the establishment is simple, yet modern and chic. I saw some tracks on the ceiling with moveable wall panels — maybe they can set up a private room for event?
I had the porchetta — it was explained as roasted (?) pork shoulder wrapped in pork belly — I know right! how can you say no to that? I really like the dish. The pork is tender and juicy. Everything on the plate is tasty… I especially like the grilled peach, which provides additional texture (crunch) and flavor (sweetness). My only complain is the pork skin. Although quite crispy and edible, it’s still a little too chewy and tough. 4 Star.
I also sampled beef short rib «sugo» and the hand-​cut linguini. Be advised, the «sugo» is a pasta dish with shredded braised short ribs. Flavor is absolutely heavenly and love the texture of the cavatelli pasta. I’d would give it a 4.5 Star. The linguini is flavorful, but there’s some unusual flavor in there… not bad but not good either. I wonder if that’s the nduja butter. 3 Star.
For dessert, I had the white chocolate-​lychee mousse. It comes with lemongrass, white wine, and pineapple purée, few very thinly sliced fresh pineapple, and a slice of very thin pineapple «wheel». Love it! The flavorful mousse is served on something similar to a graham cracker crust. The fresh and dried pineapple is a nice touch that provides contrast in texture. Everything is so good that didn’t even pay attention to the intriguing sounding purée. 5 Star. Wife’s blueberry bread pudding was good… not nothing really special. 3.5 Star.
Overall, a very solid restaurant with very good food. It’s worth a return trip and see what else they offer… the mushroom ravioli and octopus appetizers sound mighty tempting.

So on my «to try» bookmark list sat Foundation Social Eatery. And it sat. For a while. Why? I am not certain, but I think it is because we simply don’t travel to that side of GA 400 much anymore. FSE sits in a strip mall sort of like an anchor store, but this ain’t no Big Lots. Parking was ample and I got a spot right up front. Nice because it was raining and I didn’t want to melt. We had reservations, but I am not sure that they bothered to even check. We were seated immediately. Then… the fun began.
Our server, Rebecca, appeared immediately and introduced herself. She asked if we had questions and took our drink order. We then studied the menu. Drinks came out and we decided on our beginnings; mushroom ravioli and crisp Spanish octopus. Let’s begin with the crisp Spanish octopus, shall we? It wasn’t clear from its appearance if it was Spanish, but it was not as crisp or charred as I typically prefer. But, let me elaborate here. Placing on the fork a piece of Chorizo, a slice of octopus, then a piece of fingerling potato, slightly dragged through the sauce, and shoved into my pie hole… was delicious! It truly was. Now the muchroom ravioli? This was a taste from out of the stratisphere. OMG! The server brought what I thought was a serving spoon for the ravioli gravy. Yeah, well, that became the feeding utensil. We had to get every single drop of that deliciousness. Man! I need to stop thinking about that ravioli. Or would that be correctly described as dreaming?
Anyways…
Delicious starters? Yes. I ordered the only Pinot Grigio by the glass they had on the menu and was not a fan. I tasted as though it was made with adult grapes who were still living at their parent’s house. I had hints of vinegar and no body. So with in mind, I switched to a very tasty Zindfandel for my entrée course.
Selecting our entrees was frustrating, because, despite the fact that the menu is not vast, there are so many delicious choices. The wife selected the Artic Char and I chose the Porchetta. The Char was perfection — crispy skin and cooked to medium. I wasn’t a fan of the asparagus-​tarragon purée. I think it was a textural thing, but the wife loved it. The fava beans and the lemon-​pecan-​shallot relish rounded out the dish nicely. This was a winner. The porchetta? Well, if you don’t know, this is comprised of glorious pork belly wrapped around pork loin and roasted. It is served with pork jus. This dish came with roasted garlic bean purée, lady peas, and a grilled peach. This dish was a taste explosion on so many levels. I have actually made porchetta in my home in the past so my expectations were a bit different perhaps, but I did wish there was more of a balanced ration of belly to loin as in more loin. This was mostly belly. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love pork belly, just i wanted a little more chew from the more meaty loin. The rest of the plate was just as high on the taste Richter scale as the entire meal. We were not disappointed in any manner.
We managed to order dessert. We had no idea where dessert was going to go, but doing our best glutton impression, we ordered the blueberry bread pudding. Because… well because bread pudding. This was served with lemon-​poppy seed anglaise or cream and brown butter gelato. Again, this was meant to be worked. By taking the spoon through the gelato, down into the cream and poppys, across the plate in through the pudding, created the perfect bite. Nothing too sweet or sour, just perfect! I enjoyed this plate with a really nice Port.
The service througout the meal was spot on. I would have like Rebecca to have recommended the wine, but I managed okay. The place gets pretty busy so noise could be a factor to some. The prices are reasonable for what is served. We plan to return in the not-​to-​distant future to see if maybe I can upgrade the score to a 5. The potential is definitely there.

What can I say that hasn’t already be said about this place? FSE is my new go to spot in Roswell for top notch quality food and presentation.
Let’s start with the restaurant, which is one of the finer establishments in Roswell. Be sure to make reservations ahead of time. They are usually booked to capacity and you will probably either have to wait or sit outside on the balcony which isn’t too bad either (great view) I ended up doing that. The décor is very urban and hip (check out my pics for a better look).
I would describe the menu as a blend of Italian and American. They have a lot of small dishes (beginnings is what they call it) that are great to eat while your main entrée is being prepared. A cool one to mention is the sea mussels, which come from Prince Edward Island and vary in size depending on the breeding season of the mussels. The main entrees are pasta, steaks, and burgers just to name few. I included a link to the full menu below so you can explore it better yourself. They also have a wine and alcohol menu, definitely check it out as well, if you’re looking for something to spark up the day.
I ended up ordering some charcuterie (cold cooked meats) and cheese, braised pei mussels as a starter. Those were very well prepared and they all tasted great. It was a decent amount as well, that looked like a lot of food but ended up feeling very light after finishing it. For the main entrees, we decided to go the pasta route and ordered the hand-​cut linguini and house-​made fetuccini which were both excellent. After eating that was I pretty much stuffed and had no room left for dessert (maybe next time).
The staff is very professional and well trained. They give great recommendations if you are not sure what to get or need a better description of the menu items. They do a great job of just making you feel comfortable and will be happy to assist any of your needs.
Overall, this place ranks high on my list of Grade A quality food with excellent presentation and service. A must try for any food lover!
My Recommendations:
–House-​Made Fetuccini
–Charcuterie and Cheese
Menu: