Giggling Squid - Welwyn Garden City — Restaurant in Welwyn Hatfield

Let me first express my gratitude to Amelie and a few of the waiters for the wonderful and cordial service they provided during my daughter's birthday. We appreciate it.

At least 90% of the food we ordered at the restaurant was excellent; we can give it a good 5 stars. The Chang Mai platter's chicken wings smelled awful, and the Tom Yom rice was very bland and of poor quality. These were the only minor issues. As I've already mentioned, the remainder received 5 stars. We went there for a birthday, and everything was wonderful. The atmosphere is very family-friendly.

When we made our reservation or arrived, the restaurant failed to indicate or explain the 10% service charge, which we found to be unacceptable. It's acceptable to pay a large bill for a family of four or five at around £126 (it has to be cash!), but adding a service charge without informing the customer is unacceptable and has completely changed our experience in this restaurant. We left without feeling completely satisfied, and we are not sure if we will return. We paid the bill in full, including the service charge, and left a generous tip. The manager claimed that you would receive a complimentary dessert for a birthday party, but we did not receive this; instead, one ice cream was provided for one person (imagine three kids on the table), which was very embarrassing. We had a sizable birthday cake and a great cup cake, which we even shared with guests, but why does this kind of deceit have to occur? The 2* review is the result of the above factors, and I hope it will be useful for future visits to this restaurant. This review is now posted to TripAdvisor, Google reviews, and...

Misbehaved staff My child who is 18 months ONLY, was very much asked again and again to not draw on the table by me. As a responsible mother I checked that it was coming off without any difficulty, it's a crayon and not a sketch pen, so I didn't snatch the colours from my baby which would cause my baby to get angry and fussy. Plus it was an outdoor table and metal. When you are giving colours to such a small child I would imagine you taking this into account. One lady from the staff comes and says can you ask your child not to draw here. Of course I did what do you think of me? I told the lady I checked it comes out by just placing a hand but she went on arguing, my baby's colour fell on the ground and I said don't give colours to my baby but the staff women very rudely says "no other children do like that". Are you kidding me? If you have the knowledge to teach such a small child then pls try it yourself because I did. I left the place because of her rudeness, because she was trying to prove that I have not taken care of my child's action and not taught well. Also, if you have such insecurities plz do not give colour to such a small baby. Such small babies don't even eat properly themselves, they don't know right or wrong INSPITE OF TELLING THEM. Also, there's a polite way of saying things, and not in a anger, we are paying for hospitality & not to be treated like this. If you would have said it nicely we still would have not barged out. So sorry no, we are local and very active in eating outside, you just lost a...

If I could give a zero for service I would.

After making my reservation I contacted the restaurant to request my booking be shifted by half an hour due to unforeseen circumstances. When speaking on the phone the gentleman that I spoke to was very dismissive and made me feel unwelcome prior to even arriving at the restaurant!

When we did arrive however, there were some younger waitresses that were incredibly welcoming and kind while we decided on our food and drinks.

After our food had arrived and we were eating our waitress changed to a middle aged lady with short brown hair who, with no exaggeration, made me feel more uncomfortable than I ever have in a restaurant.

Her demeanour from the beginning was poor and it felt like she was rushing us out of the restaurant as she asked us if we wanted any desserts and rushed us to pay the bill following our meal. Me and my friends would have been understanding of this had it been close to time of closing but this was at 9pm!?

We had not seen each other for a while so were hoping to enjoy the company for a little while longer. Unfortunately due to the waitress and what felt like her racially motivated biases we were forced to leave early having had our night ruined.

I’d like to stress this is the only negative reviews I have ever left but my hand was forced due to this ladies behaviour.

The only saving grace for this restaurant was our earlier waitresses and their...