Giggling Squid - Cardiff St David's in Cardiff

7.5% service charge added on an already steep bill!! And whilst it’s optional we felt too bad to ask not to pay it because it was on the bill automatically! Stir fry main doesn’t come with noodles, (which is a standard part of the dish typically) and we were told it cost £3 to add them, and reluctantly we did. Turns out it was a fiver for a small portion of noodles…Although food was lovely, the service felt rushed and we were often times ignored, leaving a sour taste in my mouth. £80 for two of us, and we only had soft drinks! Will NOT be returning unfortunately.

I mean the food was absolutely amazing, even if it is a little bit on the pricier side. The service was quick but that was only when they seem to want to. Lady frequently just walked past our table ignoring us. The worst part is on an already pricey bill there’s a ‘discretionary’ service charge which while it is optional is automatically added onto the bill so you need good eyes to notice it. While it is optional, having it automatically on the bill makes you look bad if you reject to pay it. The staff do not mention this service charge whatsoever. Paid 80 pound for 2 of us and we had 2 cokes each as drinks

We were having a wonderful time anyway, but Gareth made it an absolutely unbelievable one! The best service I’ve ever had in any restaurant! It was especially appreciated as it was a birthday, too :)

WOW what an amazing set lunch, I am super fussy and I love Thai food......this place is absolutely amazing. I would recommend it 💯

No draught beer or large bottles for evening service forcing you to buy the smaller ones at more cost . Potions getting smaller and prices going up . I have come to various giggling squids for years but after tonight will be going back to family run Thai restaurants

Very decorative and pretty location. Staff were friendly and attentive to detail. Food was fresh and tasty. I like that there’s a “set” meal type of dishes, so you can try different foods (We ordered lunch tapas sets and a la carte - Hawker set, Giggling set, Scrummy set, Giggling wings, salt pepper squid.) Would recommend.

Great food and fantastic service. I removed one point for atmosphere just because when crowded it gets painfully noisy

Fantastic celiac friendly and dairy free options, everything was so tasty and perfectly cooked. Alcohol free cocktails, friendly helpful staff. Couldn't recommend more!

First visit to Giggling Squid and didn’t disappoint, great food and excellent service, really enjoyed our visit

My first visit here the food was excellent we had the crab dish and hake dish with sticky rice and jasmine rice delicious !!!! I will definitely be going back there again good service staff very friendly.

Food was beautiful and plentiful,seafood starter was amazing !

Food is decent, nothing outstanding. There was a long wait between starters and mains. Tom Yum fried rice was disappointing and didn't really relate to Tom Yum soup. Everything was as expected for a chain restaurant .

The food is okay, but I would say it is far from a traditional Thai food experience! The lack of options on the lunch tapas set meals is really frustrating, as there are so many meat ones to chose from! I found the red curry looked so different to the meat red curry in texture and flavour. Really disappointing that no effort had been made to offer vegetarians more variety on the tapas sets. If you are going for lunch, you need to ask for the lunch menu. After going a couple of times, these have never been handed out.

Great food, server friendly and professional. Thanks to the manager for changing our table booking time at short notice.

Had a great meal here with a scenic view of the river. Food was great and not too pricey. Really enjoyed the Fisherman Curry.

I love your food and I really like your costumer service, nice restaurant

Some absolutely amazing food with excellent customer service. The decoration is absolutely beautiful and can’t wait for more meals down there. Head over to instagram for full review @keemanaans_food_blog 🤙🤙🤙

Visited yesterday and was so looking forward to our much anticipated meal as I have heard such great things about this restaurant however this did not transpired during my visit. We was sat down ten minutes after waiting to be seen at the door, I understand it's a very busy day and time so this was fine as I made sure to book a timely slot so my friend and I could make our show at 7pm. We were eventually served after waiting a while, again, busy so understandable. After being at the restaurant for 1.5 hours we had only received a round of drinks and our starters, I eventually got a bit fed up and asked a lovely waiter to see what had happened to our mains and it materialised that our mains were never put to the kitchen, I did make it clear we had 30 minutes to leave as we had a show to attend, the waiter could not have been more helpful and was an absolute credit to the staff here, I appreciate his honesty! He rushed our order through and within ten minutes we had them. The food is great however the atmosphere was incredibly chaotic and service was incredibly slow, there was a noticable disparity in service quality between our table and a neighbouring table. We felt like spare parts and it just wasn't an enjoyable experience on the whole, really disappointing as I was really looking forward to this experience. I do hope to visit again and experience a less chaotic and more relaxed environment with better service as I felt this really let's our experience down. The food was incredible and I cannot take that away from the giggling squid!

Nice but portions are small and extortionate. Not sure why we were sat on peoples lap when there were some other nice tables free the whole time.

The shop looks nice, the food isn’t the best. The curry is mid, the order was okay speed was okay however I felt like they forgot one of my orders so we had to ask again to make sure and after we asked they realised that they forgot and they brought the food. I wouldn’t go again because I’m not really a curry fan

Food was very disappointing. The Thai red curry was like a ready made meal. Very powdery. The restaurant can do much better

The food and the ambience was very good. Although, I must say that the food menu, the vibe, and the name of the place are not in sync. The name has a very casual ring to it, but the interior has a tearoom like ambience. And you get Thai and Indian food. Nothing wrong with any of these, just not in sync.

A truly exceptional Thai restaurant. The food is the best of its kind in South Wales. The staff are very good and the quality of the food is extremely good.

Enjoyed my dinner with friends at giggling squid! The food is great. We had the Pad kee mao. My friend really enjoyed her Thai tea as well. However, the highlight for me was the mini desserts. Small, cute portion but sure to satisfy your dessert cravings. Lovely ambience. Great for date nights / special occasion dinners.

Delicious food and very good customer service as the hosts were very attentive; however, the portions are ridiculously small. Compare to other curry serving restaurants, this one was a bit disappointing on the portion part. Also, I ordered a plate believing it could contain noodles as it mentioned it would be a stir fry, but as the hostress brought the plate, I mentioned this to her and all she said was " I know it looks a bit misleading". Overall I enjoyed it but could of been much better for the ££ paid.

Came here for my birthday and had the loveliest time, Ellie was our server and she recommended food and drinks for us and made sure our food was up to par, the desert was lovely as well, will definitely be coming back because of ellie’s wonderful service

I would have given 5 stars and tipped but they added a service charge onto the bill.

A very enjoyable dinner for me and my family.

We went during a packed lunch time service. Food was nice and lovely atmosphere.

Absolutely amazing, best place I’ve eaten here. Food was amazing, toilets were immaculate, i will eat here ever weekend now.

We had never been to a Giggling Squid before & noticed this new site last Summer. I made a reservation & asked for a booth for myself, my husband & son The server took us to a table in direct glare of the sun but I asked for a booth & he did seat us at a booth The restaurant decor is lovely & themed well Menus were given to us & almost immediately we were asked what we wanted to drink We needed more time & asked for tap water which was given to us , one glass each The menu is varied but we were not given any help in deciding We ordered starters which came quickly & were well presented if a little on the small side Mains came in good time but again, the portions were very small. A sharing bowl of noodles was about half the size of one portion from a takeaway We were offered another drink when we all had about half a drink left but no further offer The server did not actually bring our food to us & wasn’t rude but was not over friendly either. He didn’t offer a dessert menu or even wish us a good evening He didn’t check if we were enjoying our food Usually when I have a starter & main I walk out the restaurant pleasantly full but not from the Giggling Squid The food was tasty but not amazing & portions were tiny Disappointed

Amazing food and portions. Vibes were immaculate aswell.

The duck stir fry and the duck red curry was better than imagined. Tender, tasty, and plenty of duck in these dishes.

Well worth a visit! Absolutely beautifully decorated and well maintained. Staff very friendly and our lovely waitress took the time to discuss dishes with us. We had a sharing starter Bangkok Bites then I had cashew duck and the other half had the Rising Star Red Duck curry. All the food was delicious, well presented and service was fab. We considered it a bit on the pricey side (over £100 for the two of us with 2 drinks each) but that won't stop us from going back on our next visit. Highly recommend 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Very good food and a very beautiful place to eat ,it's a very reasonable price ,excellent 👌

Disappointing. Service was lackluster, had to chase up a waiter as the milk had been forgotten for our breakfast tea. Ordered coconut rice and received Tom Yum Rice instead (which ended up being the nicest part of the meal!). Had to wait an age for the bill after asking for it, despite there only being a handful of people in the restaurant. Pad Thai was tasteless, the portion size for the Cashew Stir fry was laughable. 8% service charge added on top, which isn't mentioned at all by the staff. The place itself is gorgeous though

The flavours of every dish were just immaculate. I would strongly reccomend the starters, they were the best. The chicken and lamb is halal, and there are many vegetarian and fish options.

Attractive decor, uplifting feeling the minute you entered with welcoming staff who judged the service perfectly, delicious food and wine at fair prices and a sense you could stay as short it as long a time as you wanted. A great choice for our first night in Cardiff.

First time dining here. Food was fine and a great portion size but have had tastier Thai food elsewhere. Service is really just ok and it felt as thought the staff were quite unhappy.

A truly lovely meal with excellent service. The appetizers and entrees were excellently prepared and beautifully presented. They are very aware and clear on navigating the menu with any dietary requirements of food allergies. Ample vegan options as well. We highly recommend the appetizer: 'One Bite Salmon' served with betel leaves to cup the deliciousness in.

Beautiful venue Excellent punctual service Very good food

Food was good, service ok but didn’t particularly make us feel special. It was nice but didn’t feel special enough for the money to be in a hurry to return.

Our trip to Cardiff , we had a very nice dinner in this busy restaurant, amazing decorations, food very delicious and staff friendly and helpful, from us 5 stars and we recommend to have food in this restaurant.

The food was good and the interior design was beautiful. But the service from the manager (I assume) was next level, very conversational, very confident and welcoming. He made the visit smooth. The food is all bursting in flavour and arrived hot, i definitely recommend. The chicken and lamb are also halal.

The waiting time is long and the food is served very quickly.

Afternoon graduation meal with our son. Food great as always and friendly service.

I was with some friends and ,when we finished shopping we thought to stop there for a meal We liked the menu and looked nice inside! We sited in the staff was very good The food is 10/10 everything was perfect ! Im looking forward to come back again! 10/10

Food wasn’t good enough , not worth the money. Ordered egg fried rice but didn’t had good amount of egg. The curries me and my friend ordered was bad.

Sorry to say this Food was too bad even if the presentation was good. But the food was not tasty, and they are having additional charges like service charges and so on. Please make sure before you are going to there

Food and drinks were delicious and beautifully presented. Fatima the waitress was very friendly and chatty, we had a great experience.

Absolutely love this place. Really good prices too. Staff were fantastic 👏

I like Thai food. Enjoyable bright joyous venue. Food was good.

A taste of disappointment awaits those who regularly eat Thai food. This style over substance restaurant has good service and high levels of cleanliness. Sadly the food is overly westernised.

Food great and we were put on a lovely corner table which enabled us to appreciate the decor - however, the service let it down - we just felt a little forgotten and several different servers came to our table when and if - empty plates were left for ages whilst servers were chatting at their station. We had to get their attention for more drinks and for the bill. It was a pity as everything else was excellent.

Had a fabulous meal and the staff especially Jost made it a very special birthday meal with my daughter thank you

Giggling Squid has a nice atmosphere and friendly staff. The food was decent, but some dishes lacked flavor and the portions were small for the price. Service was a bit slow, even when it wasn't busy. It's a decent place with potential, but there's room for improvement.

Be careful when eating here. They charge extra for everything, even the supposed "complimentary" prawn crackers. If you order a pint, you need ask for a top up as they give short measures. They also add an automatic service charge which isn't legal as prices in the UK should be listed as the final price to pay by a consumer per product, inclusive of all taxes etc. Any gratuity should be purely discretionary.

Booked a table for two at 9.15pm. Admittedly we turned up 10 minutes early but as the place was not busy at all we were given our table straight away. However this seemed to mean that we would not get served (or at least asked if we wanted a drink) for over 10 minutes despite the waitress coming to the table next to us to take a payment. She ignored us and then went to a large table to take their order. Waited for a while longer but decided to leave. The person who showed us to the table did acknowledge we were leaving but decided not to ask why. Also the gluten free options were extremely limited. Won't be going back.

I tried a variety of Malaysian tapas and they were delicious. I have our waiter(Jacob) to thank as it was his recommendations that we tried. My partner and I had 7 dishes and drinks for £50 which I thought was excellent value.

Busy restaurant in the centre of Cardiff. There were 4 of us for a mid week dinner. We were hungry and ordered lots of their sizeable dishes and did not think we ll finish them all ( we did …) Loved every single one of them - even our trained chef friend said ‘can’t fault any of these dishes’. Would definitely go back and have already recommended this place to friends. Good service and atmosphere.

Went for a meal on my birthday. The food was excellent, and the portions ample. Nice surprise at the end

First time at the giggling squid but it definitely won't be the last the food was amazing every dish was perfect. Delicious cocktails and fantastic service. Can't fault anything. Highly recommend

Absolutely fantastic place, a must visit for everyone, really great food and great selection.

Really unique place, not many food places are decorated like this. Food was great, we had the tapas version of Chinese cuisine. Really good, will be back to try the rest.... staff friendly and efficient too

First visit Very impressed with service Delicious food Thanks

I recently dined at Giggling Squid st David branch and had an expectional experience.The ambiance was warm and inviting, perfect for a relaxed meal.A standout aspect of my visit was the service, especially from Akhi Alter.Akhi's friendly and attentive demeanor made the afternoon more enjoyable.

Absolutely amazing food and drinks ! The quality of the food was perfect and very friendly atmosphere.

The food was very tasty and the atmosphere of restaurant was awesome especially the staff Akhi Akter was so friendly and helpful

Absolutely brilliant lovely decor. Great vibes. Food was outstanding. Price was good especially due to how good the food was. Will be going again for sure.

Thank you for your service, Fatima! You were amazing; really kind and helpful! The food, service and atmosphere were great :)

Really worth a visit. Great food.

Great food and a good price. I’m not normally a salad person but the Thai salad was superb. Main courses had a great taste and good level of spice that didn’t detract. Definitely recommended!

Delicious, fresh food with great service! Definitely worth a visit 😍

Decent Thai fusion restaurant, a bit pricey but was expected. Got big potion of two curry, rice and roti. The pork bell are a must for sharing

Lovely interior decors and great food, jakub was one of the friendliest staff there and always paid attention to our food service. He went beyond our expectation.

2 sat for a meal one had a vegetarian red curry and one hand prawn Pat Thai. Have to say the pad Thai tasted premade and lacked flavour and texture although the prawns were very fresh. The red curry although flavoursome can only be described as a little average, if we are honest.

One of our favourite Thai restaurants in Cardiff. Special thanks to our wonderful waitress Nell, she was very polite, pleasant and quick with service. We will be coming back and recommending this restaurant.

Staff were awfully rude and unwelcoming. Not a great experience.

Terrible service, staff were rude and refused to let us sit even though we had a booking. Don’t reccomend

Was in Cardiff for the weekend and I loved this place so much on my first day I went back on the second day. The food is outstanding! The restaurant is also the most beautiful I have ever seen. 100% recommend!

We just had the most amazing dining experience today. The food was absolutely delicious but the deserts were out of this world. The restaurant is very clean, nicely decorated and authentic. You must try salt&pepper squid, desert to have is pandan tres leches. Very happy and helpful staff. 10 out of 10

The food it's really nice, plenty of flavour and textures. Service was pretty good, the manager was a bit to much for our opinion. The ambience was nice, and the cocktail bar really tasty and balanced. A bit pricey. A shame the only Vegan dessert was and ice-cream.

I was really looking forward to trying Giggling Squid, the menu is great and promises something amazing. Unfortunately, the service isn't great and it's very crowded, if you're sat under one of the arches you'll be sat next to another couple, about a foot apart. The food came luke warm at best, one plate was cold and had to be sent back, however this was deducted from the final bill, which is a great gesture that we appreciated. The quality of the beef wasn't great, it was over done and tough with a lot of gristle through the middle, considering this dish was one of the most expensive, it was disappointing. Perhaps you'll have a different experience, the decor is lovely and I'm sure some of their other dishes are incredible, but I can only share my experience.

Fantastic place, good price and nice atmosphere with excellent food

Family meal - everyone enjoyed the food. Very friendly, helpful staff. Good menu choices, although a couple more vegetarian starters would be nice 😊

Loved it. Lush food. Good servce.

Fantastic, the food was great, service outstanding and overall a great experience! Recommend a larger group for trying many dishes.

Amazing food,great atmosphere, good service

Lovely food and very friendly staff. Enjoyed all the foods we had tonight. We will be back again to try other foods they offer.

Very disappointed, food was not good, pork skewers to start was tough and fatty, we had to send our main course back as it was cold rice was dry as it was premade, and kept warm

For some reason they let some people sit outside and refused other customers. I find it a bit silly that they would serve some people and not serve others but oh well I will not be coming back :)

It was a mixed bag really we went on an incredibly busy night in fairness the place was rammed. We were met at the the door at 19:55 for an 20:00pm table the front of house said the table would be ready in a few minutes and we were asked to wait in the waiting are .. At this point it would of been nice to be asked if we would like a drink while we were waiting (an extra few pounds of revenue missed as we definitely would of). He may of thought that we would be seated quickly ?? We were seated at around 20:15 and we then spoke to our waiter at around 20:35 again no offer of any drinks until the main meal was ordered. The drinks came around 20 mins later after ordering so we had been in the restaurant for an hour before we had our first drink (we would of been on our second possibly by this point and added another £30 to the bill) When you get a touch point for a client it's always great to see if they want something else in my view (although I'm not from a restaurant background) When the food order was taken, one of the items was missed from the starter but this was dealt with quickly in fairness so that was great. The food was excellent for the 5 of us a little bit weird were the Prawn crackers which were hit and miss with some of the party but they were a 3 / 2 split on whether they were liked or not. The mains were brilliant very tasty and everything correct and really well presented we were there for our daughters birthday so it was nice at the end to get a little slice of cheesecake for her and a plastic cup as a memento. As the Giggling squid got quieter there was a marked note of the service levels increasing and the staff seemed to have more time to engage with the people eating and you could tell this made a huge difference to the atmosphere as things seemed to calm down. The Manager was excellent and really pleasant at the end of the night and had time to explain why they were so busy and they are a great credit to the business. (by the way we're not moaners so we weren't back and forth extolling on the wait or lack of service etc you could really see they were stressed. I wouldn't of liked to see the breakages bills for the night as there were lots of them when the service was busy.) On the whole a solid 3.5 - 4 I think it was more of a staffing levels issue which I know can be difficult to get right but I do think that an extra staff member would probably create more than enough revenue to ensure that their paid for and leave some healthy profit. For us alone I know if the table had been seen more regularly our bill would probably of been another £100 more. Would I go back , yes 100% would I check what was going on in Cardiff before going there 100% a great meal overall with the staff doing the best with what they could. So we will be back and hopefully see that things have settled down a little.

Everything was perfect. Food was top quality and service was fantastic. I'm definitely going again

Service wasn’t the greatest. It was way too busy aswell. It feels way too crowded. The food was alright, I didn’t enjoy it much in my opinion but some of my family members did.

Great atmosphere, beautiful venu, tasty food and super friendly staff. What more could you ask for. Special shout out to Toni who made our visit very special.

It was busy but the server was very attentive. We didn't have reservations but still managed to find a table for two on a busy Saturday evening. Food was delish.

Two visits last week. Staff were welcoming friendly and helpful. The food was excellent especially the curries

Great atmosphere and the service was great. The food was good but my "fiery hot Thai green curry" was not as spicy as i expected, but then again I eat really spicy food. Other than that I would recommend it, oh and the roti and pork skewers were amazing. Would recommend to anyone looking for a good Thai in Cardiff.

The restaurant offers a delightful dining experience with its tasty dishes and beautifully crafted drinks menu. While the portions could be more generous and prices are slightly on the higher side, the quality of the food is impressive. The ambience is aesthetic and cozy, perfect for a relaxed meal. The staff is incredibly polite and friendly, ensuring a pleasant visit. Worth checking out for a special occasion or a nice night out!

Loved the food. However, the chairs/benches are built for tall people - which ruined the whole experience. Will not go back unless pickong up to take home. Extremely uncomfortable furniture!