A thai tastic experience at Giggling Squid

Ever since we saw Giggling Squid in Stratford Upon Avon, we’ve always wanted to go, but in the ever popular tourist area of SUA you could never get a table. Now with two new venues in the West Midlands – Harborne and Sutton Coldfield- we’ve finally had the chance to visit.

The newest one in Mere Green is certainly a beautiful floral feast. The large interior features pastel murals, florals and a romantic corner birdcage for two, the perfect place to enjoy a cosy dinner. Like all the Giggling Squids, it’s very floral and feminine but in large well-lit spaces.

We had some virgin cocktails to start – Lychee Angel (lychee peach and cold brewed jasmine tea) and the mango and chilli mocktail which also had a dash of pineapple and lime.

With a wide variety on the menu, the hardest part is certainly what to choose. There are a lot of great choices and so a basket of prawn crackers was almost demolished whilst we thought about what to have for lunch. 

We started with the popular Chang Mai starter platter served on a large straw platter with three dipping sauces. This consisted of Hawker-Style Moo Ping, (cumin and coriander marinated pork skewers with that juicy, chargrilled texture of barbequed street food served with a tangy tamarind sauce), Salt and Pepper Squid in a light crispy coating, chunky Spring Rolls and the cutely named Giggling Wings. These sweet,sticky chicken wings were crispy fried with a gentle spicy kick.  All your popular favourites on one platter at £17.50 for 2 people. Bargain.  With so many tastes and textures it sent our tastebuds crazy.

We also had to have the juicy lamb chops marinated in yellow curry paste and aromatic lemongrass, garlic and crushed pepper. This was a wonderfully big portion with three large chops sizzled to perfection - big bold flavours that were lip-smackingly good and an absolute steal for £9.50

This was turning out to be the best meal we’ve had all year and we hadn’t even tackled the mains yet!  

As for mains, again we were spoilt for choice. I had someamazing succulently spicy prawns made as a Chilli and Basil Gra Pao for £13.95. Even the side of Garlic Pepper Steamed Noodles tasted amazing.

My dining partner had the lightly battered crispy squid, prawns and hake tossed with mussels,
krachai (similar to ginger), green peppercorns and coated with caramelised honey and lime sauce. £17.95. Big bold flavours that were mouth-wateringly good.

Both dishes were beautifully presented and piping hot. Hands down, it’s one of the best Thai meals we have had in ages.

If you get the chance to visit, do head down to Giggling Squid. We would give it ‘five out of five’ for food and décorand we will definitely be coming back to try the other dishes.  Plus you get service with a smile and refreshingly good cocktails.

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Author: Dine Hub Team