Kid’s Review: Giggling Squid Berkhamsted
Alfie is a big fan of international cuisine. His dad has Indian heritage, and Alfie has inherited a love of curries, and is really interested in the way spices can add different flavours to food. He loves vegetables, so we will sometimes buy exotic bits and pieces from Indian and Chinese food specialists to try at home. In addition to this, Alfie loves visiting restaurants specialising in international foods and Thai food is no exception…
When Giggling Squid came to Berkhamsted, we were a bit skeptical at first… The write ups mentioned “Thai tapas” and we weren’t entirely convinced that would work. However, we wanted to give it a go, and who better to try it and give us their honest opinions than our 4.5 and 3 years olds?
When we arrive at Giggling Squid, the staff are all very welcoming and really friendly. The decor inside is obviously Thai-themed, with lots of stone and bamboo. The atmosphere is very calm and quiet and I am a bit worried at the prospect of dining there with two young kids, who aren’t particularly calm or quiet. But the staff are wonderful. There are other families there, some kids are colouring, others are chattering amongst themselves, and more still are enjoying their food.
We chose to visit on a warm summer evening, so the staff ask if we would like to sit outside in their courtyard garden. It’s filled with colourful flowers and has a big wrought iron archway with trailing ivy or the like flowing down it. It would be perfect were it not for the pesky wasps, who can’t help themselves at this time of year.
The staff bring out our menus, including some of the cutest kids’ menus we have seen. It includes a list of items on the kids menu, as well as photos of the dishes, for you to match to the text with the kids. This is brilliant as the kids can see what they are ordering — which prevents any nasty surprises when the food arrives.
The tapas concept means that you order a few small dishes to share (although there are more traditional sized mains on the menu for those that want them), and this suits us down to the ground as we can all tuck in and try a bit of everything. Alfie chooses spring rolls and dumplings from the menu, before getting on with some colouring.
The food arrives fairly quickly, and is just beautiful. The kids food is presented in exactly the same way as the adult portions, but in smaller sizes. This is so lovely as too often we eat out and get lovely looking adult meals, and the kids portions are slung onto side-plates before being brought out.
Alfie and his little brother, Rocco, are thrilled to see the feast before them and immediately dive in. As usual they try a little bit of everything and are quick to note their favourite items… Spring rolls for Rocco, and the dumplings (and dipping sauce) for Alfie. But Alfie also takes a liking to his dad’s lamb massaman curry. (I did warn you that he has quite adult taste!!)
The kids devour their food, and are then offered a dessert of ice cream — which they obviously accept with glee. It again arrives quickly, and the kids have soon had their fill. And with full tummies, and smiles on our faces, we make our way home. But not before Alfie gives his verdict on dinner at Giggling Squid Berkhamsted…
VERDICT: One HUGE thumbs up!
Thanks so much for having us Giggling Squid! We will definitely see you again soon!
#ihertkidsfood
