On our first night in Bangkok we went down to the restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel. Into the room at six, at the table by half past. We barely unpacked and went straight to dinner.
You arrive without stepping outside
IGNIV Bangkok is on the ground floor of The St. Regis Bangkok, so there is no sense of having gone out to eat. You cross the lobby and you are in the restaurant.
It is the brand of the Swiss chef Andreas Caminada, and it holds one Michelin star — awarded in 2022 and retained through the 2026 guide.
Olive sofas and white cloth. Planting set along the glass, a small light on each table. A calm, well-made room.
The tables were almost all empty, though. Partly the hour — half past six — but it was quiet to the point of being too quiet.
I did not know it was a sharing format
I learned after sitting down that this is not a place where you pick dishes one at a time. A set of courses all comes out and the table shares them. I had not understood that when booking.
Because it is built around sharing, several plates land at once.
The green was extraordinarily vivid
The first thing that struck me about the plates was the colour. Green sauces and herbs assert themselves clearly against the dish. They photograph beautifully.
Eating it, it was not to my palate. The way the aromatics are lifted and the way acidity is used sit outside what I am used to. I sensed Thai ingredients and Thai aromatics in there, and because of that I never quite worked out how I was supposed to receive it.
A little after eight a rack of lamb arrived on a round stone stand. That one was straightforwardly good.
I could not get hold of what the star tastes like
Taken as a whole — was I convinced by the one star? Honestly, I did not come away with that feeling. The visual impact is strong. The tableware and the room are good. But the moment where the flavour itself simply overrules you never arrived that evening.
I take this to be about my palate and my preferences rather than the kitchen’s execution. It was the first day of the trip, we had only just landed, and my body was not settled. Had I eaten the same plates on the last day, I might have written something else.
Notes from this visit
- IGNIV Bangkok is on the ground floor of The St. Regis Bangkok (159 Rajadamri Road, in front of BTS Ratchadamri)
- The brand of Swiss chef Andreas Caminada. One Michelin star, awarded in 2022 and held through 2026
- Not à la carte: several courses arrive and the table shares them. Worth knowing before you book
- We arrived at 6:30pm and left after eight. Partly because of the hour, the room was largely empty
- The plating leans heavily on green and photographs well
- Menus, prices and hours change. Check the restaurant’s own information
Visited August 2025. Prices and opening details are as they were at the time of the visit.
The hotel itself: four nights at The St. Regis Bangkok.
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