Igniv by Andreas Caminada — Restaurant in Bad Ragaz

IGNIV 2*, at the Grand Resort, Bad Ragaz (CH)

It’s one of 6 or 7 restaurants included in this huge resort in the north west of Switzerland. Sort of giant luxury hotel, or encloses one 3* restaurant, another starred one and this one, IGNIV who got two stars recently.

Imagined by Andreas Caminada, the Swiss head chef of the internationally acclaimed 3-Michelin-starred restaurant Schloss Schauenstein in Switzerland, IGNIV is all about a unique fine dining “sharing” experience. That means that the menu comes in sequences where everything is to share. Four or five plates come together. You get a blank plate to put your share of each dish. But they also tell you in which order to eat them.

That would make much sense in a restaurant like Alexandre Mazzia’s in Marseille where sequences of 5-8 dishes come together. But : 1/ they are on a theme. Connected. Logical 2/ they are usually one bite, to pick with the hand and you can easily eat them together.

That would also make sens in a brasserie where you could share dishes like at your grandmother’s, a dish comes to the table and everybody digs in. In a brasserie or bistronomique restaurant, presentation or dressage does not matter so much.

But here it DOES ! The plates coming to the table did look good. But when tou had to take half of it to put it on your personal plate, you destroyed the visual part of the dish. Everything became upside down, mixed, it was awful.

Mark my words. It’s just not practical the way they tell you to “share” those dishes. But the food was really good !!! Some of the dishes were 16-17/20 meaning indeed to stars. But most of the plates were more 14-15/20 meaning barely one star.

Hopefully the excellent sommelier Lorenz Tesar made our day with magnificent choices by the glass, some blindly. Service was very kind and the place looks good. Still, all in all we were...

They say sharing is caring in many cases yes it is. With 6 at a table and not in a romantic entanglement 😑 if is a little complicated and cumbersome. The idea is nice just breaking dishes that are tough to share like fish filets in a sauce are tough to share..... Good looking dishes arrive see the pictures. And look like a massacre on your plate when shared. Shame about the hard work in the kitchen. Would be great when the staff does the sharing plating and a more information about the ingredients, origin, thoughts behind the dish etc. Would be welcome.

When dining with your partner this can be nice. In corona times not ideal... To say the least 😔.

The flavor and textures of different dishes was tasty and good. Two star Michelin? Not to sure about that. Staff was friendly Glasware was nice (Zalto). We had to use the same glasses for the different wines most of the evening 😑

The dining room is lovely. With a beautiful fireplace lit in winter. Yes you do smell the wood sometimes. Nice setting.

Service was attentive and friendly however little things need tuning like you would expect in a 2 and 3 star setting.

Really liked the petit fours and candy shop setting. Some good skill was shown there. Fabulous.

Setting 4/5 Foodconcept 2/5 Taste and texture 4/5 Presentation 4/5 before it arrives on your plate 😭 Service 3/5 Winelist 3/5 Glassware 4/5 Candyshop petit fours...

An excellent concept with great food and fantastic service. Igniv adopts a sharing concept which is a great way of having a convivial meal with family or friends.

I visited Igniv on 12 July 2020. When I arrived, Chef Silvio and Francesco were greeting guests. The warm welcome boded well for the rest of the meal.

In addition, the restaurant helped reinstate my cancelled reservation (a long story which I shan't elaborate). The service was proper and warm from start to finish. The food matched the 2 Michelin stars which the restaurant was awarded.

The dishes were presented on beautiful service ware and intricately plated. Visually, the dishes were very eye-pleasing and delicious. The soup course is a must because it is packed with a lot of flavour. Don't forget to try the Igniv nuggets which are probably the best chicken nuggets you will have in the world. The barbeque sauce with the nugget is packed with flavour. Chef Silvio is deft in his fish courses. The cod dish I had was perfectly cooked and had a wonderful flavour from the accompanying vegetables. The vanilla soufflé was light and complimented with a nicely tart raspberry coulis.

The takeaway gift is a bag with a selection of wonderfully made petit-fours from the Candy Store.

Overall, I highly recommend making a trip to Bad Ragaz to give this...