Giggling Squid - Norwich — Restaurant in Norwich

Oh my goodness, where to start. I previously knew this restaurant as La Tasca (Norwich tapas). Today is one of those few occasions as a reviewer I'm left struggling for words, because it was absolutely fantastic. I was in a party of seven, and the politeness and genuine care of our waiter was amazing, he couldn't of done more to make our experience truly memorable. We ordered our drinks and they duly came, and then we ordered our starters, I decided to go for Thai pork skewers on a bed of coriander and red pepper and beautiful bowl of pak choi and tenderstem asparagus, in a medium spiced broth which was warm by not too spicy. One thing I loved was the variety of things on the menu for main courses, and my eyes settled on beef stir fry with cashew nuts.. with a side order of spinach noodles . Oh my gosh.. Not only was the main flavoursome and expertly cooked, it had an element of spice and heat but it wasn't the overriding factor, it was beautifully tasty, I could taste so many combination of flavours with the beef, cashews and spices which added to the simple complexity of it being so fantastic. In between courses, I had the opportunity to use the mens toilets, and oh my.. this even accentuated the beautiful meal, they were immaculately clean, hot and cold running water, hand soap which actually nourished my hands and a really powerful hot hand dryer. This restaurant is an absolute staple of Norwich city dining, the aesthetics inside were pleasing, the care, shown by the staff, the food which for its wares is priced reasonably in my opinion. All equated into the most fantastic, experience one can ever have when eating out, I definitely will return to this fine establishment hungry for more beautiful inventive...

edit. I have since been contacted by the regional manager for giggling squid who was prompt and professional with dealing with my review. I am happy with his assurance that this was a one off situation and steps have been taken to prevent a repeat of our experience and I would be happy to return to try them again.

Ok food well presented , but felt that the attention to detail was lacking, with old rice on the table from the previous night which is definitely from night before as we were first in the building at 12 noon, drinks menu was completely wet through with cold coffee and when I suggested it was binned was then taken and just popped in with the rest at the serving station. Stair rails were sticky to the touch so think they could do with deep clean. Main courses were tasty and flavoursome but cheap meats used. Happy to eat cheap cuts cooked well but when they are tough and chewy isn't good. £8.74 service charge that was "included", I wish that restaurants would pay their staff a better wage rather than rely on us to top up the wages. At least that way if we get good service we can tip properly not add it on for us first. Happy to pay for good food but £96 for family of 4 , 2 adults 2 kids under 10 was very steep and only 2 courses. Plus didn't realise that when the waitress asked if my daughter wanted the noodles with her dish it was an extra cost and a cereal bowl of noodles and bean sprouts was £5.95. I do not begrudge a business a profit but felt this was too far. Think for a "family" based chain they need to re-examine their values and pricing. Happy to talk to staff or...

We have visited Giggling Squid several times as it’s my son’s favorite restaurant, so we chose to return for his birthday. Unfortunately, this visit was disappointing, and it makes me wonder if there has been a change in management or the chef, as the food quality was not up to the standard we’ve experienced before.

We ordered the Salt and Pepper Squid as a starter and also requested one as a main meal. However, all of the squid was brought out together as starters. When I mentioned this to the waiter and explained that one was meant to be a main meal, he replied, “I’ll take it back and just reheat it for when you’re ready!” When the main course was brought out, the squid was stone cold. It was returned to the kitchen and reappeared within minutes, which made me suspect it had just been microwaved.

We also had the Giggling Wings as a starter, which were cold, very dry, and burnt. To make matters worse, there was a hair in one of our main dishes.

When the bill arrived, we noticed we had been overcharged for some meals. Although the waiter did correct the bill, I felt the manager was watching us closely as we paid, especially since we used a mix of cash and card. As we were getting our coats, I saw the manager question the waiter and double-check the bill, which gave the impression we weren’t trusted to have paid correctly.

Overall, it was a really poor experience, and we won’t be returning, which is such a shame. We were excited to share this restaurant with others who hadn’t been before, but they have also said they won’t be returning after...