Giggling Squid - Cambridge — Restaurant in Cambridge

I finally had the chance to experience the Giggling Squid today for my birthday, after seeing pictures of this beautifully decorated restaurant and reading lots of lovely positive reviews.

Okay so I want to say that I’m only leaving this review because I think this restaurant is worthy of keeping lovely, and so I’m hoping that the owners will tidy up the areas where it’s starting to look tacky,

Front Entrance.. This is in desperate need of repainting correctly, as there were areas that had been touched up here and there that were different in colours to other areas, and there was junk and mess all around the desk, couple of cartons of Tropicana, and it looked grubby around the doors and walls. Basically it just looked rather run down!, which is such a shame because it’s an absolutely stunning building, which was clearly decorated to a very high standard. The grubby smell which occurs in some busy restaurants hit me as I walked in. I think you need better cleaners, and not just someone who cleans for the money but someone who actually loves to clean, and who takes pride in the cleanliness and appearance of your restaurant.

Toilets… Loved the toilets as they are very vintage looking yet still kind of lovely, although again I will say needs cleaning better.

Uniform.. The shirts and aprons the staff wore are all lovely in colour and design, but how scruffy it looked with all the different style casual jeans and running trainers. I found the bottom half of the attire completely bizarre, specially to wear in such a beautiful restaurant.

The food.. We booked our table for 12 noon, so only about three other tables had customers at. So it wasn’t busy when I placed my order. I had the vegetable tapas selection, which was all delicious apart from the button mushroom in the mix vegetable, (I love mushrooms by the way), but they tasted a tad old. My prawns in ginger, half the dish was hot and half cold, it was like it had been pulled out the fridge already prepared and thrown in the wok, but then not cooked for long enough. The sticky chicken and vegetable spring rolls are absolutely delicious, both those two dishes are a 10/10 from me and my daughter. Actually the green Thai curry was a 10/10 too. Garlic noodles were not very pleasant in my opinion.

The Staff… The ladies and gentlemen were all very professional and polite who served us, 10/10 from me

Table… I found the red napkins and place mats looked odd with the beautiful colour scheme, but that’s just my opinion.

It just seemed like something so beautiful was starting to slowly become run down!, that was my initial first impression of the front entrance, and it made me feel sad. I don’t want to criticise or upset anyone, but you must raise the standards higher so that you will remain open in many years to come. I wish all the Giggling Squid restaurants a prosperous future. Although it maybe a good idea to maintain the restaurants you have to a high standard before...

Exceptional food, absolutely fantastic decor, questionable service and stock managing.

Came here once before in the wake of covid and the midst of supply chain issues, and so it was understandable that there were a few things on the menu that they didn’t have - had a great time overall and the food was amazing!

This time however, in May 2023, four of the items we ordered they’d run out of. A drink, a starter and two mains (including my favourite from last time - a delicious pork dish with a green & red curry sauce). We couldn’t quite believe our luck that so many of the things we chose were out of stock 😅

We ordered other dishes instead and the food arrived in good time and was as wonderful and delicious as ever! However, another thing that slightly hampered our experience was that my friend and I ordered passion fruit G&Ts that came out exceptionally strong, which we later found were doubles (which we were charged for), but overall the meal was very enjoyable!

We then asked for the bill, only to see that we’d been charged for the two double gins and two extra main courses. Our waiter (who while nice didn’t seem the most experienced - no harm no foul, we all start somewhere!) adjusted the bill accordingly and charged us the correct amount. When I brought up the double gins originally they tried to explain that the option we ordered only came in doubles, which we promptly corrected them on after showing them the drinks menu (nowhere did it say our particular gin only comes in 50ml options).

While the meal itself was lovely, the thing that took the biscuit a little for me was that a service charge was still added on when the corrected bill came back. It would have gone such a long way with us if the restaurant had at least gotten rid of that considering there were four items we were told we couldn’t have and that we had to correct the waiter on the menu and were overcharged £30+ on the bill. I completely understand that it’s “optional”, but let’s be honest, who is going to ask for it to be taken off - especially when it might dishearten a young member of staff who might be on their first week of the job and have the potentially to make an amazing waiter!

I do love the Giggling Squid, it has fantastic food and an amazing vibe. I just think it has a few ever so slight kinks that need ironing out for it to be a truly wonderful, flawless dining...

I recently visited Giggling squid for a special anniversary dinner, and unfortunately, it fell short of expectations on multiple fronts.

Food: 2/10 The culinary experience left much to be desired. Despite our anticipation for a memorable meal, the dishes lacked the promised flair and taste. We found ourselves grappling with the menu, with no guidance from the waiter on essential sides like rice or noodles that would complement our choices. The absence of this advice significantly impacted our overall enjoyment of the meal.

Service: 3/10 Service, unfortunately, mirrored the disappointing culinary experience. Our request for a special acknowledgment of our anniversary, which was specified during the booking, was overlooked entirely. The timing of the waiter's interventions was off-kilter; while rushing to clear our plates prematurely, they left us waiting for an extended period to attend to the final details.

Value for Money: 4/10 Considering the underwhelming food quality and disappointing service, the value for money wasn’t up to par. It felt like we didn’t get what we paid for in terms of the dining experience.

Ambiance: 7/10 On a positive note, the ambiance was decent. The atmosphere was pleasant and somewhat made up for the lackluster food and service, contributing positively to the overall experience.

Overall Experience: 2/10 The overall experience was notably disappointing. Beyond the specific issues with the food and service, the ambiance and atmosphere did something to salvage the evening. The lack of attention to detail and the failure to honor the occasion of our anniversary created an air of indifference that permeated the entire dining experience.

What one hopes for in a celebratory meal is not just a culinary delight but an ambiance that complements the occasion. Moreover, the disjointedness in service, with its rushed and untimely interventions, further compounded the dissatisfaction. It felt like a series of missed opportunities to elevate the evening into something special. Overall, the culmination of lackluster food, indifferent service, and a lack of acknowledgment for our special occasion made this visit to a regrettable choice for our anniversary celebration. The restaurant failed to create the magical, memorable experience one anticipates on such...