Ingi Son

The Climb

At The Shota, Ingi Son worked as chef in a formative stretch that sharpened precision and pacing. The work there reads as a study in timing, texture, and balance, with each decision pulled tight enough to hold together without strain. It is the kind of early-career assignment that can define a kitchen voice: disciplined, controlled, and still capable of warmth. Today, Ingi Son is chef of Shoji. The current role places ownership and kitchen leadership inside the same frame, with the work rooted in one restaurant and one city. The progression gives a clear shape: early rooms of development, then the present authority of a chef settled into his own space.

Today

The title joins ownership with the kitchen, placing his current work in one restaurant and one city. That concentration matters. It gives the work a sense of place and intent, as if everything is being drawn inward and sharpened there. Shoji becomes the frame, and Ingi the hand guiding what belongs inside it.

Signature

Ingi Son's signature dishes include The Noguchi, Uni Amaebi Donburi, Cold Noodle, Miyabi, and matcha einspänner. Taken together, the names suggest a menu moving between delicacy and comfort, coolness and richness, precision and pleasure. The Noguchi carries the weight of a named signature; Uni Amaebi Donburi points to sea and rice in one bowl; Cold Noodle implies clarity and lift; Miyabi reads as polish; and matcha einspänner closes with a refined sweetness. The list feels composed, with each dish landing in the same disciplined register.

In Their Words “I like to do Japanese food.” That line is plain, and it works that way. It makes no reach for effect. Put beside “It's more of an art,” it frames the work as something practiced with control but open to interpretation: technique first, then expression.

Recognition

Ingi Son's honors include Michelin star for The Shota. The recognition places that chapter within a larger arc, marking the precision developed there as visible to peers and inspectors alike. It also gives context to the work now at Shoji, where that same discipline carries forward into the present.