I’ve recently come back from Dunwich in Suffolk after a lovely beach holiday with my family (though it rained most of the time!). My grandson, William, who is nearly 16 and is head and shoulders above me, and granddaughter, Victoria (13), both brought friends with them for the week. And, of course, Rollo the dog came too – he was looking forward to paddle boarding with the kids!
When you don’t live with teenagers, you forget just how their brains seem to stop working whenever they’re asked to do anything. I wasn’t prepared for how long they lie in bed in the morning, and just how long it takes them to get themselves together to leave the house. It seemed to be lunchtime before they’d even finished breakfast!
Anyway, we’re home now and the Thai restaurant chain, Giggling Squid, invited my husband and I, along with William and Victoria, to their newly opened Muswell Hill branch (London N10).
The first Giggling Squid restaurant was opened in Brighton in 2002 by Andy and Pranee. Since then, with the Muswell Hill site being the latest, they’ve built up a chain of 50 restaurants and there are more sites in the pipeline.
Even with the prospect of trying out a new restaurant, it still took nearly an hour to get William and Victoria up, dressed, and out of the house – and apparently that was quick!
But all the yelling, coaxing, and threats were worth it when we arrived. The weather was absolutely glorious – sunny, baking hot, and just what you want summer to be – so we elected to sit outside under the shade of a massive parasol and surrounded by greenery.
William immediately took charge. “Let’s have mocktails,” he suggested, and told us to all “order something different.” And so, ever compliant, we did. William opted for a virgin mojito, Victoria a sweet jungle colada, my husband had a ginger hothead, and I went for a strawberry cooler.
We then had great fun swapping straws and ranking the drinks in order of preference. Turns out that we all rated our own choice as number one! The drinks were accompanied by Thai prawn crackers with a sweet chilli dip.
Both kids then spent ages examining every aspect of Giggling Squid, from the décor and abundant greenery to the menus – carefully talking about the foods they loved and didn’t love. Then, with a nod towards Victoria, William announced that he thought we should order a sharing selection.
The Giggling Squid menu has lots of dishes geared towards sharing, so we chose the salt and pepper set from the lunch tapas menu.
This included chicken massaman curry, salt and pepper squid, Giggling wings, and jasmine rice. From the sharing platter we selected Bangkok Bites (which are yummy duck spring rolls), golden money bags, crispy slow cooked beef, and spicy Thai herb sausage.
I’ll be honest – I’ve never been to a Thai restaurant before (I know – what can I say, I’ve led a very sheltered life). I’m also not really a spicy food person, so I’ll admit I was a little apprehensive – but, oh my goodness, I’ve been missing out. The food was sublime.
Whilst we were waiting for our food to arrive, the critical twosome went inside to check out the loos and came back with a thumbs up, commenting on everything from the tiling to the choice of handwash.
The friendly staff showed them around and insisted that they had a pic taken inside the ‘birdcage’.
“Very romantic” one of the young staff members said, “but not with your sibling” quipped William.
Back at the table, the pair whispered (very loudly) that they “felt like VIPs,” before proceeding to try out each dish that arrived.
I’ll admit, I hated the thought of even trying squid, but in the spirit of fairness and under intense pressure from the “VIPs,” I succumbed. Whilst I wouldn’t choose it as a main dish, I have to admit that it wasn’t the chewy nightmare I’d envisaged and was really quite tasty!
My favourite dish was the crispy slow cooked beef and William loved the salt and pepper squid, whilst Victoria and my husband just loved it all. The one dish we all rated as “okay-ish” was the spicy Thai herb sausage.
Literally licking the plates clean, William and Victoria decided they still had room for more so we opted for another round of lunch tapas.
William, who is something of a young foodie, commented “that the food was as good as any I’ve had previously, and the refreshing drinks perfectly complemented the meal.” Victoria waxed lyrically over “the beautiful oasis of a garden” and William chimed in saying “that it was a step outside the bustle of London.” It really was as if we were on our own little green island.
They decided that they still had room for dessert. I had the signature black sesame ice cream, which tasted odd on first mouthful and then became increasingly moreish. My husband, a cheesecake aficionado, had a sublime cheesecake, William had a fruit laden lychee ice cream platter, and Victoria opted for a mini melting chocolate dish.
I’d wondered how the restaurant had got its name, and it turns out that Giggling Squid was the nickname of one of the founders’ children. Well, we certainly did quite a lot of giggling and William devoured the squid.
Luckily, my local town (Bishops Stortford, Hertfordshire) already has a Giggling Squid. And for someone who’s only connection to Thai food was a jar of Thai curry paste from the local supermarket, I’m a real convert.
Giggling Squid is also not too pricey. We spent about £35 per head, though it felt like a real treat. My husband has promised we can go again, and I can’t wait to expand my Thai food taste buds.
If you’d like to give it a try, you can find your nearest Giggling Squid restaurant on their website. Or, to have a go at making your own delicious Thai food, why not check out our article; 8 traditional Thai dishes to cook at home?
Do you enjoy Thai food? Have you been to Giggling Squid before? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below.