Giggling Squid in Tunbridge Wells

Went here with all my family for my 29th birthday last week, what a shame it was. I’m sad to write this as we had a great time here a few years before that, however this time it was really bad. 1.) The staff were not good. First girl that served us seemed like it was here first day, and was totally inexperienced on taking orders Ect, it took forever. She then went into bring out 2 of the drinks totally wrong. Wrong beer, wrong wine Ect. Our service was then taken over by a girl that seemed to be in charge, maybe 28 years old. The first thing which totally shocked me was the fact that she was aggressively chewing gum the entire time she was serving us and taking our orders, with her mouth open too! Totally disgusting and very unprofessional to chew gum serving customers, we all thought she was eating food while service to start with! Very wrong. She also seems extremely miserable the entire time. No even a glimpse of happiness or a tiny smile when serving us, could clearly see it was my birthday and we spent around £400 there! No gratitude for our custom or general politeness at all. Such a shame. Is it really that hard to engage with your customs even a tiny bit, and not make it so obvious you hate your job and don’t want to be there. It really impacts our experience as customers! 2.) The food was just so average. As I say, last time we came the food was good, this time, totally average. Maybe we picked the wrong dishes, but it was just so so average it was painful, and not cheap either! 3.) The toilets are disgusting and smell like they are NEVER cleaned. Someone really needs to sort them out. We will never be returning here. I hope you read this review and be warned about this place. I’m a professional undercover shopper that has reviewed 100s of places. This happened to be a random visit with my family but I’ve ended up having to do a full report due to how bad our experience was. Sort it out giggling squid!

What a lovely evening we had here. Great service, speedy and cheerful. Highly recommend! Louis and Asia were great too, they were very clear and attentive.

Good food in a nicely decorated restaurant. Staff not very smiley, but I think perhaps they were just a bit busy. Red Thai Chicken curry with coconut rice was very good.

Great food, Thai tastes, well priced. Atmosphere could be even more Thai but clean and nice restaurant.

Staff were amazing. The food was quite good, but the beer overpriced and they didn't have any of the large Changs which would have been cheaper per ml. The lighting was a bit too bright.

Superb food great friendly staff and attentive

Food was absolutely delicious. Very flavourful. I got the Pork Belly starter- melted in my mouth and was absolutely fantastic. I also had the Thai green curry main which was very flavourful with the perfect level of spice. Creamy and very moreish. The service was great. Eva was very friendly and made sure everything was to our tastes! Were given a complimentary dessert as it was my sisters birthday which was very kind, again thanks to Eva. The atmosphere was fairly dead but we did eat at 7 on a Sunday so not much more we would expect. Overall it was a brilliant dinner and we will definitely be back!

Had a trip to Tunbridge Wells so thought we would try the Giggling Squid as its restaurant chain that we both like. Service was good. They didn’t have the drink we wanted from the menu so chose an alternative. Starters were fine, my Sticky Chicken was soft not crispy as per the menu description. We have eaten in three Giggling Squids now and unfortunately this was the worse out of the three but still ok.

Try to book table for my partner because of his birthday dinner but all tables booked. Don’t like to disappoint him so call to customer service for help and you know what they tried to arrange a table for us in short time window. OMG they saved mu as life. We always love Giggling Squad and always try their food wherever we are. Best service, great and delicious food. Atmosphere always on top and perfect location as well. Highly recommend and really appreciate for helping me out.

Had dinner here last night. The food was absolutely amazing, you can tell the chef puts a lot of thought and love into what they're making and the staff were very friendly and welcoming. Thank you for a great experience, we will definitely be coming back soon.

Fabulous food, fresh tasty and so well presented, service is prompt helpful and friendly. Don’t change anything about how your doing it Giggling Squid it’s superb 🥰 two friends had never been and now they love you too!

Very nice food good service, a little pricey for the drinks but an enjoyable evening

Was a 6:30 table on a Wednesday, very quiet when I got there but got slightly busier. Service was the only small issue, I guess they were new to the job as didn’t seem to know what I was ordering, but they were lovely people, friendly and will probably be more efficient in a few shifts time!! Great decor inside and out, food selection good and very tasty. I had Giggling Squid bits in batter with a very tasty citrusy tasting dip. Then the Penaeng curry, slight kick and very tasty, would defiantly have again. Recommend anyone to visit here.

Used to be very good but some of the food in our takeaway this time had been reheated/refried and tasted stale and greasy. Won’t be going back.

Great place. Food is excellent. Have been a couple of times this year for celebrations. Doesn't disappoint!

We went here for my mums 80th meal as she wanted Thai, what great service, lovely staff, amazing food, had a lovely Thai lager and an amazing mint tea which came with a mini desert, all in all would definitely go back and recommend to friends if they asked, the prices are okay.

So love this place , great food and service thanks you very much

Lovely restaurant and charming staff. As other reviewers have said - an oasis of calm. The food was a bit more mixed however. I had a chicken, chilli and basil stir fry and it was very much on the sauce/gravy heavy side. Ninja e eaten a lot of Thai food and never had this dish with ANY gravy. I can’t help but feel the authenticity of the food has been lost. Shame.

Extremely tasty, extremely friendly. Thank you 😚

First visit to this lovely restaurant. Went with a group of friends attending a gig at the forum Great service and great food. I had the sticky chicken with egg fried rice. Very tasty indeed

Came here to visit some friends and found a great spot for Thai Lunch! Staff were friendly and the atmosphere was great! Will definitely visit again!

Amazing food, great service and a good night out 😋

A lovely restaurant with great food and service. Id recommend the scummy and feasting sets from the lunch menu.

Very good! Great service, great food and selection of alternative menus! So delicious and fairly priced!!

Late night Thai takeaway ftw. Fresh food prepared quickly, well packaged and delicious. What more could one ask for?

Excellent food from an inviting menu

Good food and ambience. Service was quick.

Great evening to celebrate a birthday. Will definitely be back!

We really like the place, good decor and very friendly service. Couldn't say the food is totally Asian authentic, but they try Pad Thai was good, though not very spicy Jungle curry was excellent

Our first time to eat here, and the food was absolutely incredible. Starters, mains and dessert. If I could give 10 stars on food, I would. Service started a bit slow, but another young lady took over and the experience was amazing. Will certainly be back.

We popped in to celebrate a birthday. The two person seafood sharing platter was quite simply fantastic and although fairly expensive, well worth it. The mains were both great. Service was attentive and friendly without being excessive. For the price the food and portions were excellent.

Lovely evening with great food and nice service thanks

Everything about my experience was amazing, the food was simply divine on a cold rainy day. This food could only be made by a master chef!! Well done!!

Booked here as my daughter has moved to Tunbridge Wells and we liked the look of the menu. Lovely restaurant with really friendly staff. We had superb food, 3 different mains and 3 desserts plus drink for around £30 per head. We will be back

Brilliant place to meet for lunch! Love the four dish plates!

Belated birthday meal Enjoyed a midweek meal here to celebrate my birthday and I have to say it was very enjoyable and the atmosphere in the restaurant was also first class. I mentioned I have an intolerance to scallops so I was given a QR menu code to scan which showed me which allergens would be present in each dish. The food I ordered was delicious, although I wish you didn’t have to see how many calories you are consuming, as it makes you feel guilty in your food choices! Thank you, for a lovely meal. Will definitely try a takeaway next time.

Huge thanks to the awesome team for making our evening without our kiddos so special. The food was absolutely top notch and the Portuguese red wine was great! A sweet little cheesecake was produced at the end, to top it all off , with a candle to mark hubbys birthday. We go to G.S elsewhere often but this one is our fave when we are staying away from home. Thank you. 🦑

Went here with friends for an evening meal. The restaurant and facilities were run down and the whole place needs a refurb. Mop buckets on display in the restaurant and the place was generally untidy and grubby. Toilets downstairs and not great. Staff couldn't be bothered. Food not good and sent back. No way would we visit again.

Nice food mostly, avoid the crispy squid bits as no squid was detected just greasy batter. The main issue is we have been here several times but always feel like they want our table again as soon as possible.

Wonderful atmosphere and definitely recommend the true Thai experience of sharing platters! Great food and service, thank you!

We had a great time at Giggling Squid in Tunbridge Wells, the food was absolutely excellent and the service was friendly and attentive. Thank you!

Great food, not the cheapest but worth the price. A bit quiet when we went (Sunday lunchtime), but we were quite happy with that.

There were other customers at the door telling us not to go in because there is no sticky rice or beef. We did get a beef dish but no sticky rice. The supply was not done well. However the service was not bad and the food was delicious as usual.

Went with friends last night. Our starters of pork belly, salt and pepper squid, crispy squid and salt and pepper mushrooms were all superb and large portions. Our mains were also good and again cannot fault the portion size. Beers and wine are quite expensive which is why I haven’t given it 5 stars. Staff really friendly and helpful.

This has to have the best allergy list and access I've known for a restaurant. Having a shellfish allergy and knowing a lot of Thai food has this in regular meat dishes, I have basically stopped eating Thai. Recently I was invited to a birthday dinner and fully accepted I was going for the bland option (sorry I just don't like tofu however dressed up). But the QR code with all the allergens listed was given, I went through all the filters and found, not only was there more than the bland on offer.... Thai red, green and massaman were back on the table for me. It tells you everything including the curry paste ingredients. More restaurants should offer this, instead of making you sign waivers and telling you there's basically nothing we can offer. Nice work giggling squid Tunbridge Wells

We ordered a Takeaway from the Giggling Squid last night and specifically I ordered Pad Thai with prawns. It was expensive (almost £15) and very average. It was barely warm, with not much flavour, and pieces of battered tofu which was very cardboardy and dry (and I wasn’t expecting tofu in it anyway. It was very disappointing and we won’t be ordering again.

This restaurant was welcoming and conveniently situated near the Mall. Food was excellent and so tasty. Staff Jack and Luc were friendly and welcoming. Very attentive.

Fabulous service, fantastic tasty food, couldn’t fault at all….well I could…..didn’t want to stop eating ! Taste buds were having a party on my tongue !

I love the giggling squid. All the food is cooked really well , really tasty. Recommend

Disappointing food, cold, oily, poor quality. To be avoided.

Fabulous evening great food and super staff

Me and my family had an amazing meal for my mums birthday, a big thank you to our waiter Lawrence who made the meal even better than it should have been

Have been going here since it first opened. Massively gone downhill over the last two years. Quality of food is consistently well below average with prices still high. Not sure what has been going on. Chef has changed? Will not be going back.

First time for us. Food was amazing, staff friendly, professional and happy. Makes a lot of difference. If you haven't been, go soon you'll love it.

I had probably one of the best takeaways ever! John

We booked over the phone as online it said it was fully booked. When we arrived there seemed to be a problem seating us even though there were a few tables available. We were told we’d be seated upstairs. We were shown into an empty , cold space which we refused to be seated in, the waitress was saying something about the tables downstairs were reserved. I explained I had an email confirmation of my booking. We were then seated downstairs. The head waitress came over to say we should have said if we wanted to sit downstairs when we booked. We were never given the option and how would we know there was a choice having never seen upstairs before. No apology. She just said next time you should say. The starters were very tasty, the mains extremely bland, which is quite disappointing given its a Thai restaurant. The staff were very efficient and friendly. There won’t be another visit.

Excellent food, clean, tidy and just had a refurb

Way way way too loud!! We went for a family meal and had to talk very loudly so our kids could hear us. Good was nice but expensive for what you got.

Casual meal out for two in the early evening. Good choice and really tasty food that is well presented. Efficient service and when we were there the service was quite quick. Definitely would go there again.

Lovely welcome and really appreciated the great service throughout. We didn't book for a Saturday night but didn't have an issue getting a table for two. Had a different Old Fashioned cocktail to start - a more mild whiskey taste than most so even my wife enjoyed it. Food was excellent from starters to mains. Would recommend the Thai melting beef.

We ordered a takeaway through deliveroo which turned up cold and with dishes missing. The restaurant couldn't have cared less and just told us to ring the deliveroo helpline. Terrible attitude, and to make it worse the overpriced food we did receive was bland and tasteless. Would never use this restaurant again.

It was all about Jack. I will not sleep until I sleep with him for that lucious service. These are the words of my girlfriend I'm happy to watch If I can just have some more massaman

Starters great. Didn’t like any of the three mains we ordered.

As OAPs and it was our anniversary we tried this restaurant with a bit of not knowing what to expect. It greatly surprised us, as we both ordered meals that we had no idea what they tasted like. We were stuffed with the amount that we received, and the staff boxed up what we could not eat. As a type 1 diabetic I asked if they could give me the weight of the food so I could calculate my insulin. This they happily did. Will definitely go again.

A truly enjoyable evening. The food was great and reasonably priced. The young serving crew were super attentive, friendly and efficient. Highly recommended.

I think it's expensive for what it is but the kids enjoyed it and we ate everything.

Delicious Thai food served quickly. Very nice staff.

Good food and service. I went on a Sunday afternoon so it was pretty quiet, but reckon it would be buzzing on a Friday evening.

Delicious food and great service.

Lovely food, good choice, friendly staff

Amazing food and service. Food and drinks really high quality, the clow cooked beef was truly amazing. 2for1 cocktails which were really good And friendly and helpful staff. Only wished we lived locally as would go every week.

The food was very bland and a bit underwhelming. The portions were also quite small. I don't think I will be visiting again. It's a shame because the restaurant is nice and the staff are also lovely.

Great service. I appreciate that they offered me something else when they noticed I couldn't eat what I had ordered because it was too spicy!

Second visit after refurb. for lunch. Tapas menu not offered only a la carte menu and yet tapas is available. I wonder why ? Be warned.

This was a takeaway order. Food was good

The food was really delicious and fresh. The team were helpful and quick to attend to every order. It's a beautiful space, well thought through

My favourite spot for Thai dining

I'd been wanting to try this restaurant for ages and was aboout to head off to the one in Sevenoaks when I realised there was actually one in Tunbridge Wells. Its housed in a beautiful Georgian Building with a very nice internal decor. The food was prepared with care and served quckly. I am new to Thai food and hope to try a lot more of the dishes in the future. The Salt and Pepper Squid and the Chicken Massaman Curry with Coconut Rice were delicious. The only downside was that it was so quiet. Very few customers were in there between 6.30 - 7.30. which seemed a shame with such an affluent High Street all around. Go and Visit!

Fresh nice food. I liked the environment of the restaurant, staff are nice 👍

Had a fantastic time again at the GS! Always a warm welcome from all of the staff. We come here to eat so regularly and each time the food is just immaculate. Service is always quick and staff are helpful and friendly. Will be back very soon!

Great shout and they're springing up everywhere

The starter my hubby had was really nice , salt n pepper squid . I had green curry for main , it was OK.ar best . I had their trio for desert ( the mist expensive) but the chic cake was dry so I asked fir cream or ice cream , I was happy to pay for this but they said they where out of both . Tiatal BS , anyway do desert was dry Overall , not worth the money . Toilets not very clean

Excellent!. one of the best Thai meals we have had outside of London/Thailand!!

A really lovely clean and refreshing place to eat! I left feeling good about my food choice!

My first time in a Giggling Squid. Lovely food. Great service

Really tasty food! Things go wrong when working at a restaurant but we were left for about 35 minutes for the main course. The place wasn’t bursting with people so not really an excuse but delicious food

Absolutely gorgeous food and cocktails. Exemplary service. Highly recommended.

Thank god we were upstairs as downstairs was like a school Dinner hall, with tables crammed in. Unfortunately they had ran out of quite a bit on the menu which was disappointing Food was ok- no stand outs- starters tiny and expensive Service though was good and wine nicely chilled

We arrived slightly late (815) for our booking but our table was ready and we were seated and menus provided. We ordered drinks and perused the menu until drinks arrived. We then ordered food - a mixed starter and five mains. The starters arrived and were all hot and tasty but we were then informed that one of the main courses was unavailable and they were out of roti which was the part of the dish for three of the other mains. Rice was offered as a replacement for the roti but we didn't really want rice. So - back to the menu for four out of five of our table to order alternative mains. When we came to ordering dessert we were told the first four items on the dessert menu were unavailable which really only left ice cream (and one of them was not available). We decided to order coffee and requested milk - the coffee came but no milk and by the time the milk came the coffee was lukewarm. The food we had was okay but a restaurant like this should not have so many things unavailable in the evening. The service was slightly chaotic (not being told what was unavailable before ordering and milk for coffee taking so long to come). On the way out we virtually had to step over boxes of food that had been delivered so I guess that was our roti and desserts! A slightly disappointing experience and will not be returning soon.

Packed on the Saturday night we visited, booking is essential here. Food was all amazing apart from the dessert which didn’t quite live up to the description. But that aside the ambience, customer service was fantastic - all fresh, flavoursome and served promptly. Will definitely return to this one or another in the chain.

Fantastic experience, the restaurant was very busy but the service was fantastic. The food was exceptional and now we have moved to the area it will become our local.

We have no reservation but thank you for fit us in for a busy night, will recommend to my friends 😄

This was our third visit to this branch of Giggling Squid. On previous occasions, we have had the set menu which covers all our favourite dishes and is perfectly portioned for lunch. The food is always excellent. Yesterday however, we were only given the a la Carte menu, and as this was our first weekend visit, we thought this was due to it being a Saturday, so we selected our regular options, at higher price, but essentially everything we would have had from the set menu. As our food was about to arrive, a table across from us ordered the same from the SET MENU! This did tarnish our experience slightly, as we were paying over odds and unsure why this was being held back from us.

The delivery was cold , food was not good , poor quality and ingredients Never order again Portions was small

Ordered yesterday evening via Deliveroo which failed to arrive. Restaurant showed no concern or sympathy didn't care about us at all! I found this lack of empathy awful. I realise they could not help very quickly. Will use a restaurant which cares about its customers...

I had a really nice meal once in the Brighton restaurant so I got a takeaway from the TWells one to try. The flavour was nice but the beef was so chewey I couldnt break it own and the sticky rice was , at a...

My trip to giggling squid exceeded my expectations. Food was delicious and staff were very attentive. Looking forward to my next visit!

I had a lovely meal out with some friends over lunch and a couple of drinks, what a pleasent surprise for a first time visit.

Fantastic food lovely staff first time visit in here so enjoy it I will recommend to my friends and my famy

Went with my family very highly recommended, it’s my partner birthday thank you for the small cake..