Giggling Squid - Farnham — Restaurant in Waverley

We had visited a giggling squid in Bristol and enjoyed the food so when we saw there was one in Farnham, we decided to book as we were in the area for one night. The only booking they had on this Saturday night was 5pm which was early but we booked anyway. Our taxi got stuck in traffic due to an accident on the motorway so I called ahead as per the request on their website to explain we would be ten minutes late. They were fine. When we arrived we were informed we had to vacate the table by 6:30pm. Also fine, with the Covid situation we both understand how difficult it must be for the hospitality sector so we just thought we would be as quick as possible. I really liked the setting- it seemed to be an old house made in to a restaurant with lots of higgledy piggledy little nooks and crannies. We were seated right away in a cute table at the back by the kitchen with fake wysteria hanging above us. Someone came to take our order fairly quickly and we promptly massively over ordered- a sharing platter to start, plus dumplings, plus Thai prawn crackers plus a main each and noodles to share. The prawn crackers and drinks came quickly where as the food was relatively slow. We didn’t mind this as the restaurant was busy and we had ordered a lot but it was a relief when it showed up to the time constraints on the table! We absolutely loved all of the food. It was so yummy, lots of dipping sauces and different bits to try. Highly recommend the pork dumplings if you’re an omnivore! The calamari left a bit to be desired as it was a wee bit bland but once dipped in a sauce was delicious. For mains the husband had slow cooked lamb (if memory serves) and I had a duck curry. The sauces looked identical and tasted similar in that they were both coconut based but mine was slightly spicier and actually they were both delicious with very well cooked meat which isn’t always easy to do in a curry, especially with duck. We didn’t bother with dessert which was lucky as our table was needed for the next set of guests. We paid around £85 for the two of us (couple of beers each- bottled not draught) and off we went with extremely happy faces and full bellies. We would visit again if we saw a giggling squid as the range of food available and the quality of food is much better than you find in your common or garden...

We looked forward to our first meal at the Giggling Squid in farmham. We have eaten at many authenticThai restaurants, its one of our favourite food genres having travelled across Thailand. Having read the good reveiws we thought we were in for a great meal. Sadly it was not the case and it doesn't stack up compared to the reveiws on Google. The restaurant has lovely decor and the front of house staff on our arrival and our server for our meal was great. However, some of the food we received was very very disappointing. The Phuket mussels we shared was ok, but was served with a luke warm generic red curry sauce and the mussels were basically tasteless and didn't taste fresh. The 4 pork dumplings were very small but were enjoyed by my son and also his Red Duck curry which we all tried and was ok, but with the same generic red curry sauce. The sea bass was cooked well but everything else on the plate was frankly awful. The Stir fried Swetheart cabbage, broccoli and shallots never saw the wok, they were raw with absolutely no taste at all. Very poor. The Ruby noodles with beansprouts were tasteless with no flavour at all. Very very bland. The chilli and basil prawn was also a complete let down. The vegetables again in this dish were awful. Raw Hard green beans, raw bamboo shoots, raw red pepper and onion. Its clear they never even saw the wok. It was also served with what appeared to be a watered down version of a generic sauce. The sticky rice was fine but you can't really get that wrong. Overall its difficult to understand how they can get the food and taste all so wrong. Its very sad to say but the food served to us overall was extremely poor. It totally lacked any depth of any flavour with none of the essential lovely tastes that we expect from Thai food. For the prices they charge, this restaurant just doesn't cut it. Most of our food was awful. It was also pointed out to our server how we thought about our food. The 10% charge they add to your bill is embarrassing. We didn't pay it and tipped our server in cash. Its disappointing to say we will not be visiting any Giggling Squid restaurant...

Have to say was very disappointed with my trip to the Giggling Squid today.

Travelled up from Somerset for a friend's birthday and was looking forward to a nice meal. Things started off ok, but things just got gradually worse.

Took a long time to have our drinks brought across, had to ask three times for water. When it finally did come the waiter dropped a tray of water and a beer over the table. This went over my wife's coat and also her lap. The waiter was apologitic of course but they didn't seem overly concerned about the coat smelling of beer. They only cleaned the floor, they didn't clean the table or offer my wife anything to clean herself up. They didn't give us any new napkins and cutlery until we asked.

The starters came out cold and also staggered so we couldn't eat together. My main was also delayed and had to wait a fair amount of time for my meal to come out.

The food itself was just....average. I've had plenty of Thai food but this was just plain. The chicken satay was the oddest texture, I honestly thought it was a meat substitute at first. The curry I ordered was very dull. Another member of our party couldn't eat her fish dish as it was so bad.

Then when I went to pay no one offered anything to apologize for the poor service, cold food, delayed servicing or spilling drinks on my wife. Instead they gave me the bill and had the cheek to add on the 10% charge for a tip!

Definitely won't be going back again to any of these restaurants...