With Igniv Bangkok, the Thai capital's fine dining scene gets a boost

Japan Times

3 days ago

I'm lounging on a curved green couch in Igniv Bangkok when the first crystalline platters appear, bearing the 'snacks' to open our meal. My first morsel, I'm instructed, should be the bite-size kadaifi (filo pastry) roll offering a satisfying crispiness that gives way to a delicate morsel of Phuket lobster enhanced with citrus. Next, like an Easter gift, an eggshell filled with a creamy mix of Bergkase (Swiss mountain cheese) and Gruyere with enoki mushroom.
A series of starters pairs Thai-grown asparagus with daikon and tarragon, and langoustine tofu with a light sweet corn broth. Main courses see rose-pink chunks of lamb from Italy arrive alongside a lemon-accented pea croquette in a vibrant pea sauce and a dish of soft eggplant bathing in a rich mole with Trang pepper from southern Thailand. A Dutch rhubarb matching the richness of truffes schnitte, a kind of chocolate tart made with Thai chocolate, is one of the sweet treats rounding off my dinner.
This eclectic culinary experience is offered by Igniv Bangkok's new spring menu. The restaurant, which now boasts its fourth year of holding a Michelin star, is the first Asian outpost of the acclaimed original, which opened in 2015 in Switzerland's Grand Resort Bad Ragaz. The man behind the brand is Swiss celebrity chef Andreas Caminada, who is known for his pioneering approach to creative contemporary Swiss cuisine and promoting the idea of a 'fine dining sharing experience' in a casual environment where guests are welcome to swap stilettos for sneakers to tuck into top-tier cuisine.
For Igniv Bangkok's interior, Spanish designer Patricia Urquiola used a combination of wood and handcrafted fabrics to communicate a homey warmth, a mood that matches the casual fine dining concept of the restaurant. |
IGNIV BANGKOK
Igniv, which means 'nest' in Caminada's native Romansh language, focuses not only on the communal nature of dining — all dishes arrive as sharing platters and guests choose from bowls and trays of sweet treats at the 'candy store' to take home in a box — but also the underlying approach of collecting different ingredients from the restaurant's surroundings.
The Bangkok establishment embraces this concept but with a twist by virtue of its Asian location.
Head chef Arne Riehn joined the restaurant when it opened in 2020 and was appointed the restaurant's lead culinary creative in September 2024.
'You can imagine what kind of dream job it is when someone gives you the trust to run a restaurant in his name and you can basically cook what you would like to eat if you were to (dine here),' says Riehn.
Welcoming diversity
Riehn has taken on the challenge of encompassing the seasonality of Swiss cuisine while finding a way to put local Thai ingredients in the spotlight. Yet this concept has met with some difficulties, namely the sourcing of reliably high-quality, organic domestic ingredients.
'In Thailand, fine dining is quite young, so these farmers are still developing their systems,' Riehn says, adding that Green Garden, a Chiang Mai-based farm, is now one of his regular suppliers as the quality of its veggies has proven to be consistent.
Igniv Bangkok's head chef Arne Riehn has the challenge of executing Swiss cuisine with a Thai twist. |
IGNIV BANGKOK
Green Garden supplies Igniv with a wide range of herbs and greens, including rarer produce like pea shoots and beetroot. Asparagus, a quintessential European ingredient, comes from a supplier in Nong Bua Lamphu Province in northeastern Thailand, which grows the vegetable year round in greenhouses. Although Riehn praises Thai wagyu and trout, much of the protein comes from overseas, with fish like hamachi (young Japanese amberjack) and kanpachi (yellowtail) imported from Japan.
Igniv adds to a growing number of restaurants in Bangkok fueling demand for quality Japanese produce. Den Kushi Flori, a collaboration between Tokyo's modern, creative kaiseki (Japanese haute cuisine) Den and French fine-dining Florilege, opened its first overseas outpost in Bangkok in July 2023, while American restaurant empire Nobu expanded into the market in September 2024.
Meanwhile, on the more casual end of the scale, famed Indian chef Gaggan Anand , who also runs his eponymous restaurant in the Thai capital, has teamed up with Thai-Indian chef and restaurateur Chalee Kader to launch E-San in April 2025.
Dubbed 'a fantasy of Thai north-eastern cuisine meets Japanese izakaya (Japanese pub),' E-San serves up wildly creative Isaan-Japanese fusion dishes, such as chicken wing stuffed with shiokara (fermented squid entrails), ginger and cabbage and coated in takoyaki (fried octopus dumplings) sauce and nori; and ochazuke (rice steeped in tea) made with rice steamed with yanang leaf (a plant native to Southeast Asia), grilled sheathfish in a nutty genmaicha (brown rice green tea) broth and charred leek oil.
All this comes as Bangkok grows its reputation as a gourmet haven. It even rivalled Tokyo in the March edition of the Asia's 50 Best Restaurants awards, with both cities tying for first place with nine locations each. Sorn became the first Thai restaurant to receive two Michelin stars in 2025, a year that Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the Michelin Guides, described as 'a significant and historic year for Thailand on the international gastronomic map.'
There's also a wealth of international dining options, from Michelin-starred French establishments, such as Blue by Alain Ducasse and chef Arnaud Dunand's Maison Dunand, to the highly-acclaimed modern German restaurant Suhring.
The "pizokel," a Swiss dumpling-like buckwheat pasta, is topped with caviar for a rich, briny finish. |
PHOEBE AMOROSO
Igniv nestles well in this diverse international milieu. Riehn has flown into his role as culinary magpie, collecting inspiration and ingredients to bring to life Swiss seasonality with a Thai twist and the occasional nod to Japan. One of his favorite dishes is a refreshing starter of raw Hokkaido scallop with beautiful curved slices of carrots, finished with a splash of coconut milk. This is followed by a heartier dish that appeals to both comfort and luxury: Pizokel, a Swiss dumpling-like buckwheat pasta, is drenched in brown butter and topped decadently with bonito foam and caviar.
Yet it's the dessert course where Thai influences truly take center stage and Riehn's background as a professionally trained confectioner shines through . An elegantly domed cascara (dried coffee cherry skin) souffle offers a gentle fruitiness with a well-balanced salty-sweet interplay, while a coconut flower juice is transformed into a sorbet.
These courses are accompanied by an exceptional pairing of three Swiss wines. Opening the meal is a buttery and full-bodied chardonnay from Gantenbein Winery, while a strawberry-scented pinot noir from Weingut Fromm is the perfect accompaniment to a course of langoustine prepared three ways. This is followed by a bolder, earthier pinot noir from Flascher Spondis that is more than a match for the punchy mains that include wild garlic, Trang pepper and mole.
With its creative culinary approach, Igniv is demonstrative of the bold culinary minds that are transforming Bangkok into a vibrant, diverse dining scene.