Giggling Squid, Thai Restaurant, Sevenoaks, Kent

The Giggling Squid Thai Restaurant in Sevenoaks, Kent is a beautiful place to eat in the heart of Sevenoaks town centre. The Giggling Squid started life in Brighton back in 2002, with their Sevenoaks branch opening over a decade later in 2014.

Well received by locals and visitors from further afield, from their humble beginnings, the Giggling Squid now boasts a folio of thirty restaurants across the country!

The idea arose after the couple who own the Giggling Squid were sitting in the basement of their first, tiny Brighton branch. This bijou, fisherman’s cottage (now the Brighton restaurant), is where the couple put together their first Thai tapas menu.

In their own words, the idea was to cook simple, rustic, fresh Thai food. A menu that people could eat like they do at home (in Thailand), where mealtimes are all about lots of dishes that everyone shares.

After some deliberation, having decided to open a branch in Sevenoaks, they now had the small task of choosing the right building (and location) in Sevenoaks.

It had to be accessible, but more importantly, it had to be the right building, with good feng shui, to accommodate the restaurant and the style of cuisine.

After some debate, they secured the property on Dorset Street (a former church), in one of the most central points and buildings in Sevenoaks. That said, the building is set back from the high street on the quaint, pedestrianised area of Dorset Street.

The Giggling Squid in Sevenoaks was eventually acquired after looking at every restaurant building going… but they were determined to find the right one! When the building came onto the market in Sevenoaks, they fell in love with the property and simply had to have it!

The managers husband came home to tell his wife that he had just bought a restaurant after saying yes to his new acquisition immediately. Fortunately, his wife loved it too!

With pendant lights shipped over from Thailand and suspended from the ceiling, the restaurant is well lit and has a warm, inviting ambiance, with refreshingly authentic native Thai cuisine. The upstairs part, in their own words, is quite possibly the highlight of this beautiful Thai restaurant in Sevenoaks.

If you go to the upstairs dining area and look up, you will see the high pointed ceilings from the old church that proudly stood there before. The restoration is respectfully tasteful throughout, as is the Giggling Squid’s food and drink’s menus!

On my last visit I ordered a large glass of the Reisling Kung Fu Girl, from the Columbia Valley region of Washington state, two states up from California on the west coast of the USA.

A crisp wine that exceeded expectations! Elegantly fragrant, crisp and refreshing on the pallet, with a medium bodied crispness that packs a punch… and a kick, this wine most certainly lives up to its name!

The Reisling Kung Fu Girl complemented the Pad Cha perfectly. A refreshing, aromatic, medium bodied, crisp white wine, with a long, charismatic finish. Delicious with spicy curries or fresh seafood… or indeed, the Pad Cha!

Pad Cha is a popular seafood stir-fry dish. The flavour of the sauce comes from the pounded chilli, garlic, finely slicely grachai (like ginger) and green peppercorn, all swiftly stir-fried in a flaming wok. I was attracted to this dish when I discovered that it was inspired by a seafood shack the manager used to go to back in Thailand, where they used to prepare a wonderful version of this dish.

In the boss’s own words “I keep it on the menu to remind myself of the lovely flavour”. The dish was simply delicious, and haven’t tried anything quite like it before! An amazingly complex dish, combining simple ingredients and seafood with delicate, fragrant spices. A must try if you like spicy seafood dishes. I also tried their Red Thai Curry, which is also fantastic if you are looking for something a little less spicy.

The Giggling Squid restaurants are now dotted around the country as this small chain continues to grow steadily, while serving authentically prepared, traditional Thai food and drink to a number of towns across the country. With Thai restaurants in Bath, Beaconsfield, Berkhamsted, Billericay, Brentwood, Brighton (The Giggling Squid’s flagship branch), Bury St Edmunds, Cheltenham, Chichester, Clifton, Esher, Farnham, Guildford, Harpenden, Henly, Horsham, Hove, Kingston, Marlow, Norwich, Reigate, Sailsbury, Sevenoaks, Stratford-upon-Avon, Tunbridge Wells, Warwick, Wimbledon, Windsor, Wokingham… and a new one opening up in Bishop Stortford, the Giggling Squid has come a long way from its humble beginnings in their flagship Brighton branch.

Rumour has it that a Giggling Squid could be opening a another Thai restaurant Maidstone sometime soon too. This would join a couple of other Thai gems in the area which can only be a good thing! Watch this space for more info…

For a chance to be invited to the opening party for the new Giggling Squid in Bishops Stortford, simply head over to their website to join their mailing list.