New Giggling Squid Restaurant Opens In Guildford

Published on: 28 Jul, 2015
Updated on: 30 Jul, 2015

Guildford has a new restaurant. Giggling Squid opens on Monday, August 4, as a 90-seat restaurant in Chapel Street.

One of a growing family of Giggling Squid Thai restaurants, it will be found on the site of the former Cafe Rouge and follows major refurbishments there.

Giggling Squid restaurant opens in Guildford in Chapel Street on Monday,  August 4.

The new venture will become Giggling Squid’s second restaurant in Surrey, the first having opened in Reigate in July 2013. The company plans to open in Esher early in October and expects to have a fourth site in Surrey before the end of the year.

Husband and wife team Andrew and Pranee Laurillard opened their first Giggling Squid in Hove in 2009. The couple relocated from Sussex to Surrey in 2013 as a more central location for their ambitious expansion plans and have recently moved to Merrow.

Guildford is set to become home to the 13th venue of the “Thai Tapas” concept.

“We very happy in Surrey and the locals tell us that they love our fresh, rustic take on Thai cooking – our Reigate branch is going great guns and is one of our most successful venues,” said Andrew, adding, “Customers from Guildford visiting other branches have been pushing us to open here for some time.”

Giggling Squid already operates 11 restaurants, and has also announced new venues – in Billericay, Bury St Edmunds and Bath and hopes to become the country’s first national Thai restaurant group.

The food, described by The Times as “exciting” and Time Out as “simply divine”, is prepared by master Thai chefs using fresh ingredients, sourced locally where available.

Giggling Squid prides itself on authentic, rustic and fresh Thai cooking with the emphasis on coastal specialities. The food, described by The Times as “exciting” and Time Out as “simply divine”, is prepared by master Thai chefs using fresh ingredients, sourced locally where available.

“Ultimately, we’re a food-led business and are still having great fun,” said Pranee Laurillard, “We are immensely proud that our customers compliment us for still having the welcoming feel of a one-off independent, which is why people think of us as a family of restaurants rather than a chain, whilst critics love the authentic rustic cooking.”

Meals are freshly prepared from scratch and the healthy tapas menu has proved popular, especially at lunchtime with office workers, “yummy mummies and “ladies who lunch.”

Drift wood and reclaimed timbers are aimed to create a modern chic environment.

Having introduced the “Thai Tapas” to the UK, the Laurillards deliberately set out to look and cook differently – using drift wood and reclaimed timbers to create a modern chic environment.

The lunch menu offers a choice of Tapas-style“tasting sets” that allow diners to sample several different dishes in a single sitting with a more extensive evening menu with about 40 dishes available.

The Giggling Squid’s signature dish.

The restaurant’s signature dish is “Giggling Squid”, hence the restaurant’s name – steamed baby squid filled with minced chicken, squid and herbs with basil and chilli.

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