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Salisbury Plane for Thai Tapas Concept

26th September 2014 Print
Scallop dish

Within a few days of announcing its eleventh opening, set for Bristol after Christmas, the fast growing Giggling Squid Thai restaurant chain, revealed plans for a new site in Salisbury. The latest venture will be the group’s first venue in Wiltshire.

The prime site in Market Place of the cathedral city centre, currently operated as a Strada restaurant, will become the largest restaurant in the group, with seating for 120 diners on the ground floor area, occupying 3,000 square feet. A former hotel, the building offers extensive space for offices and staff accommodation.

Giggling Squid will invest £150,000 refurbishing the property and expects to open to the public around Easter 2015, creating 20 new jobs, having acquired the 18 years remaining on a 35 year lease.

“Salisbury offers exactly the demographic profile that is attracted by our style of restaurant – up market discerning clientele with a penchant for healthy, exotic cuisine,” said Giggling Squid owner Andrew Laurillard, adding, “There some very good restaurants here, but our research confirmed there’s strong local demand and a gap in the market for a high end Thai establishment.”

Giggling Squid currently operates 10 successful venues in Brighton, Hove, Crawley, Tunbridge Wells, Henley-on-Thames, Reigate, Stratford-upon-Avon, Marlow, Horsham and Sevenoaks. It will open in Bristol after Christmas.

Co owned by Andy and his wife Pranee Laurillard (the brand is derived from the nickname of one of their three children), Giggling Squid’s formula of serving “rustic” Thai cuisine, with the emphasis on sea- and street-food, is a winning one.

Fans compliment the restaurants for having the “feel” of a one-off independent, rather than a mass “produced” corporate chain.

Meals are freshly prepared from scratch in the kitchen by master Thai chefs. Its healthy tapas menu, has proved universally popular, especially at lunchtime with office workers, “yummy mummies and “ladies who lunch.”

Since opening the first Giggling Squid in 2009, the pair deliberately set out to look and cook different – using drift wood and reclaimed timbers, to create a modern chic environment.

The lunch menu offers a choice of six Tapas-style ‘tasting sets' that allow diners to sample several of different dishes in at a single sitting, costing between £8.00 and £10.50 with 16 individual dishes priced under £4.00. “Big” dishes with rice cost £6.50 to £7.95. “Combi” meals with starters are priced between £6.00 and £7.25.

The evening menu is more extensive with over 50 dishes available. The ever popular Thai Green Chicken Curry is £8.95.

Customer ratings on review websites like TripAdvisor constantly score Giggling Squid restaurant as “excellent” or “very good”.

“It’s all down to the food,” says Pranee commenting on what makes the restaurants a success, whose expansion has come against a back drop of one of the longest economic down turns in recent history.

The latest opening is part of an impressive expansion plan, which has seen sales growth is 93 percent this year, compared to 65% last year and 63% the year before. Profits increased 123% in the past year.

Further details at gigglingsquid.com.

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Scallop dish