Restaurant review: Giggling Squid, Knowle

Pre-dinner drinks

The Dry Spy was fabulous, we were there 7.30pm on a Friday night and it was full but not over-crowded. The staff helped us find a table, took our order from the table so we didn’t even have to move, and the décor is lovely – opulent and cosy. As we had a meal booked, we had to leave just before the guitarist started to play which was a shame.

Dinner

When we got to the Giggling Squid our table wasn’t quite ready, so they offered us a drink at the bar. When we sat down our waitress was lovely, very friendly and attentive. We asked for recommendations, and she told us some of their most popular dishes, which we opted for, including duck spring rolls and ‘moneybags’ (pastry parcels of chicken and vegetables) for starters. They were definitely hot and crunchy, with a little bit of spice but not too much. For mains we ordered a chicken and prawn Pad Thai and a chicken stir fry with roasted cashew nuts, mushrooms, peppers, onions and chilli.. The stir fry was hot and fresh, I should have ordered a rice with it as there was a rich and sticky sauce that needed mopping up. My partner said his Pad Thai was ok – it featured rice noodles with tofu, beansprouts, onions, and peanuts. There was nothing wrong with it, but nothing to write home about, excuse the pun!

If you’re looking for a Thai restaurant in Solihull, it’s definitely worth a visit. Overall the atmosphere and décor was lovely, the restaurant was busy but not too noisy, and the colourful and bright décor was really uplifting. The service was excellent, and the food was fine – not amazing, but good enough, it was probably what you’d expect from a chain restaurant.