I am a massive fan of Thai food and love a good curry; the flavours, spice and fragrances are just mind-blowing and an absolute feast for the senses as well as quenching my appetite. Despite living locally I have never dined in Marlow until now when I visited the Giggling Squid for dinner which was a lovely treat.
Giggling Squid Marlow
The quaint restaurant is set at the top of Marlow High Street amongst beautiful period buildings oozing character and charm. With quirky low beams, rustic wood, exposed brickwork and gleaming cutlery and glasses the restaurant is an eclectic mix of old versus new and is dressed and set to perfection.
When I visited the restaurant was fully booked and every seat taken, a hub of cheerful diners and graceful staff that made the experience so memorable. In all of the restaurants I have visited I have never know such impeccable service from the waiting staff, refilling glasses, collecting plates, taking orders and delivering fresh, vibrant and deliciously sensational food in super quick timing having served our entire dinner from start to finish in under an hour. As soon as I put my cutlery down a smiling waitress cleared the table, offered more drinks and asked how the food was. I have no idea how they tended to such a busy restaurant with total calmness and impeccable manners but it made the evening so wonderfully memorable as we felt incredibly welcome and well looked after.
I started my meal with the Vegetable Tempura which is slices of red pepper, aubergine, fine beans and mushrooms costing £5.20. The vegetables were beautifully crisp and fresh with a crunchy light batter that melted in the mouth without being gooey or soggy. Served with sweet chilli dipping sauce it went down a treat with a glass of house white wine and was surprisingly filling. The juicy mushrooms were a nice switch in texture to the al dente battered green beans which I’d never tried before but loved.
When I have Thai I always gravitate towards a green curry if I fancy creamy citrus or a red curry for a zingy kick of spice, but I wanted to try something entirely different today so I went for the Pad Prik which is a medium spicy chilli paste with Thai long beans and kaffir lime leaves served as a stir-fry red curry for £7.50. As the main dishes are ordered separately and can be prepared with meat, fish or vegetarian to suit your taste I ordered a side of Jasmine Rice costing £2.95 to accompany my curry. The Pad Prik was sensational with a smooth and glossy red curry sauce and vibrant, crisp stir-fry vegetables. The broccoli was rich and succulent and the peppers sweet and juicy, complimenting the wilted cabbage and uplifting cress garnish to perfection. By the end of my main I was perfectly satisfied and my taste buds tantalised leaving me not even an inch of space in my stomach for dessert. The food at the Giggling Squid was astounding and the staff impeccable with such a quirky chic interior for which I can’t wait to return and eat my way through the rest of the menu; an absolute must try for every Thai lover.
www.gigglingsquid.com
Twitter: @gigglingsquid
01628 483047
24 West Street
Marlow
Buckinghamshire
SL7 2NB
