Squids In

A new restaurant has opened in Chichester. Some might say “What, another restuarant?”. Well yes, and one that is a cut above.

The experience starts as you enter The Giggling Squid. The decor is light and modern. A bar faces you and to the left is a comfortable sitting area where you meet up with friends for a few cocktails. We went as the Sonning Crew (a group of six) and picked a spot in the corner. We were belatedly celebrating Tinkerbell's birthday. The first comment was how comfortable the chairs were and how open it all seemed. We stayed by an open window so that we could hear the cheers from the local pub as the England-Croatia game kicked off.

After cocktails and beers (one of which was dropped and splashed all over the Gorse Fox) we went through to the other side where the restaurant tables and the kitchens were. We were greeted by a lovely Thai woman, Annie, who looked after us throughout the evening. She helped the novices with their food selection and generally charmed us throughout.

The food was just spectacular. The Gorse Fox and the Silver Vixen love Thai cuisine and have been lucky enough to eat in some wonderful restaurants and street-food cafes in Thailand. This did not disappoint. It had all the delicacy and the layers of flavour that you should expect with good Thai food. It has been adapted slightly for the English palate, inasmuch as the amount of chillies has been toned down - but this does not detract in any way from the dishes. In fact it probably makes the food more accessible to more people (and you could always ask for more chilli).

This is clearly going to become a regular haunt for us.