Giggling Squid Crawley Review
Giggling Squid
Crawley
Reviewed by Amanda Hayes
On an early Sunday evening I went with my husband and 8 month old son to the Giggling Squid in Crawley, Sussex (a Thai food restaurant). We had already visited their website and viewed the menus, which looked great, and so had starved ourselves all day in anticipation. We thought we might be eating on our own as it was only just gone 6pm but the restaurant was busy with half the tables full already, and a nice buzzy atmosphere. The interior was warm and welcoming with just the right mix of contemporary and retro.
We introduced ourselves to Win, the manager and were soon seated and a high chair brought out for Ethan. Win spent plenty of time going through the menu explaining what would be suitable for little mouths and pointing out some recommendations for us based on how hot we liked our food. He was very helpful and we did actually need help choosing as the menu was extensive.
We decided to try the Thai beer which was brought out quickly and icy cold. Starters soon followed, I had decided on the seared scallops, my husband the pork dumplings and Ethan the Thai fishcakes as starter and main rolled into one. All three starters were well presented with fresh crispy accompaniments and hot and spicy dips. For main I had the sizzling orange and honey duck which was very tasty indeed, not oversweet, and served with a fresh orange salad. My husband went with the recommendations and chose the masamman curried lamb shank, this was particularly tasty and had lots of meat on it, so often lamb can be fatty and disappointing, but it wasn’t the case at the Giggling Squid. Ethan meanwhile had eaten every scrap of his fishcakes so I can only assume he liked them!
We were pretty full by now but were tempted into the chocolate mousse which was light but rich, and the hot bananas and sticky rice parcels, which were very filling and served with ice cream.
We declined coffees as we were so full but spent the next half hour chatting with Win about the various locations of the Giggling Squid, there are nine in total, the service and food quality and also our families.
We would highly recommend the Giggling Squid. Mains cost from £8.75 and wine from £16.00 per bottle. Vegetarian options are even cheaper. It is perfect for a monthly treat or meal out with friends. The lunch menu is considerably cheaper.
The food was very good, so was the atmosphere, they are very child friendly and there is plenty of free parking outside. The Crawley branch is definitely worth a visit.
Rating: 4.5/5
For more information or to view menus visit www.gigglingsquid.com
