Ikigai
Brooklyn, NY · Japanese kaiseki / tasting counter
Tier 3 · Menu claim only What the tiers mean
On the official Kobe Beef registry as No. 1900. See the U.S. Kobe list
This listing's current published materials advertise Wagyu, but the offering does not meet our full verification standard for provenance. It carries no authenticity badge; undisclosed details remain explicitly unverified.
Why it's listed
Ikigai is a twelve-seat chef's counter in a Fort Greene townhouse, where chef Rafal Maslankiewicz serves a kaiseki tasting menu that reads the Japanese seasons through New York ingredients. Dinner opens with tea and milk bread in the back garden before moving to the counter. Wagyu appears as one course in the raw mukozuke section, listed simply as Wagyu with myoga, cider pop tomatoes and chives, and it carries a supplement on top of the tasting price. The restaurant is a not-for-profit, with proceeds going to Rescuing Leftover Cuisine.
Wagyu on the menu
- Japanese
- Brand / Prefecture
- Not listed
- Grade
- Not listed
- Producer
- Not listed
| Origin | Brand / Prefecture | Grade | Producer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Not listed | Not listed | Not listed |
Menu rotates This kitchen changes its menu, so the cuts above may vary by night. Confirm with the venue before booking around a particular one.
The experience
New to these? Ways to eat Wagyu
Evidence on file
“向付 - Mukozuke - Raw ... Wagyu - myoga, cider pop tomatoes, chives (verbatim from the 'Recent Menu' block in the raw page markup; no grade, prefecture, brand or Kobe designation appears anywhere on the site)”
ikigai.nyc “Ikigai is a not-for-profit, with all proceeds going toward fighting food insecurity. 87 LAFAYETTE AVE, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK. A New York Expression of Kaiseki.”
ikigai.nyc “Ikigai 4.9 (692) reviews — Japanese — $$$ — Fort Greene. Live bookable date/time/party-size calendar (open signal).”
resy.com
Quoted from the venue's own menu or site. A Wagyu claim on a menu is not the same as documented provenance.
Something wrong with this restaurant? Tell us
Common questions
- Does Ikigai serve real Wagyu?
- Its own current menu advertises Wagyu, and that claim was read directly on July 22, 2026. What the menu does not do is say which Wagyu: no prefecture, grade, breed status or producer is published, so the sourcing cannot be checked from outside. That is a gap in what is written down rather than a suggestion that anything is wrong with the beef, and plenty of kitchens buy carefully without printing the details.
- What kind of Wagyu does Ikigai serve?
- Its menu discloses Japanese. Each of those is taken from the venue's own current materials rather than from a review or a listing site, and the evidence behind it is quoted further down this page.
- Is the Wagyu at Ikigai Kobe beef?
- It is licensed to serve Kobe and was not listing it when we last looked, on July 22, 2026. This venue does appear on the official Kobe registry, but Kobe was not on the menu at that check, so no Kobe badge is shown. Licensed rooms drop it between allocations and bring it back, so this can change without notice and is worth asking about directly.
- Why is Ikigai listed without a Wagyu badge?
- Because a badge here means the sourcing was checked, not that the food is good. This listing is published because the venue genuinely advertises Wagyu on its own current material, and it carries no badge because that material does not say which Wagyu. If the venue publishes the prefecture, grade, breed status or producer, the listing can move.