FOOD & DR INK
IMAGE Expect birdcages and floral decorations in The Old Library, Giggling Squid’s new home in Cambridge
“You can opt to dine in one of the large birdcages”
to the eating – you probably end up eating much more than you think, too! But if you like something, you just order another plate of it – hence why we (I) ordered three rounds of salt and pepper squid. If truth be told, the tapas dishes alone would have been enough for lunch, but we also picked a dish from the One Big Dish section of the lunch menu. As the name suggests, these are somewhat larger and can’t really be shared. I went for the beef and aubergine with jasmine rice, which was very tasty and had quite a kick to it. I’ve never been a huge fan of desserts, preferring instead to round a meal off with a drink of some description. Having polished off a couple of bottles of Chang beer with the food, I turned my attention to the Signature Whisky Selection and stumbled across an absolute gem in Nikka Miyagikyo, a Japanese single malt. Smooth, light and tasting very clean, it proved to be the perfect finish to an excellent meal. When we visited, the Squid was very much the hot ticket in town, and at the time of writing, it seems as though that trend has continued. Lunchtime bookings don’t appear to pose a major problem, but if you want an evening meal at a popular time, you’d be advised to get organised and book at least a couple of weeks in advance. It’s worth getting your sleeping honey ducks in a row, though, as a real treat awaits.
with too much choice, or haven’t tried the cuisine before. While we’re on the subject of specials, there’s also an impressive vegan menu, arguably the most comprehensive I’ve seen in any restaurant – and it certainly looks like a great option if you’re a vegan who’s tired of being presented with strictly limited options while dining out. Back to lunch, and as we munched our way through some prawn crackers, we pored over the multitude of tapas dishes on offer. There are two ways you can go here, either choose individual items or go for one of the tapas sets that comprise three dishes, plus a jasmine rice. We went for the former option and, being struck down by crippling individual indecision, decided to order a wide range of dishes to share between the four of us. A flurry of small but beautifully presented plates duly arrived, containing delights such as salt and pepper squid, pork dumplings, chicken satay, prawns wok fried with ginger, spring rolls and sleeping honey duck. We also ordered the magnificently named Golden Money Bags, which are deep fried chicken and herb dumplings. They come highly recommended. We each had our own personal favourite (mine being the salt and pepper squid) but agreed that all the dishes were incredibly tasty; no plate was left half eaten. The beauty of tapas is that it doesn’t all come out at once, so there’s a nice pace
I’d previously visited the Squid in Bishop’s Stortford for dinner and was expecting to be presented with the same menu in Cambridge. But it transpires that lunch and dinner menus vary. Lunchtimes are a tapas-based affair, whereas evening meals follow a more traditional route with starters and mains. A festive menu will also be running from 23 November until the end of the year, providing three courses for less than £30. Looking at the dishes on offer, it provides a great way of sampling some of the main Thai flavours and themes – ideal if you don’t want to be bamboozled
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