Lingo

The story

Lingo – Japanese-American Dining in Brooklyn, NY | Michelin Recommended

A Japanese-American Table in Greenpoint

Lingo, on Greenpoint Avenue in Brooklyn, describes itself simply as a Japanese-American restaurant. The cooking is precise and open to fusion—Hokkaido milk bread baked fresh daily, served with hijiki parm butter, sits alongside a nori-wrapped steak tartare with roasted garlic soy sauce. The kitchen moves easily between otsumami bites and large plates, between a bowl of fresh pasta mentaiko (cured cod roe, shiso, nori, ikura) and a slow-cooked chashu pork belly with bok choy and karashi mustard.

The Michelin guide has taken notice, awarding Lingo a Recommended distinction. It’s easy to see why: dishes like the amadai kasuzuke—sake lees-marinated golden tilefish with broccoli rabe and citrus beurre blanc—show a kitchen with clear technique and a sense of place.

Dinner and Izakaya Hour

Dinner runs through a full menu of small and large plates. Start with the warm homemade tofu topped with Hokkaido crab and sea beans, or the Japanese sweet potato tempura with curry creme fraiche and ao nori. From the raw section, Shigoku oysters come with a sansho mignonette. The Lingo Beef Pie—a Hokkaido-style braised beef curry with seasonal root vegetables, bone marrow, and burnt rosemary—is a signature. For dessert, the Tokyo Banana Sundae layers banana custard, castella sponge, hot fudge, and vanilla ice cream.

From 5:00 to 7:00 pm, the bar seats-only Mini Izakaya Happy Hour offers a pared-back selection: Sapporo or Von Trapp pilsner for six dollars, a Toki highball, and smaller portions of dishes like chashu and Japanese sweet potato. The cocktails are thoughtful—the Shoga Remedy mixes Toki whisky with fresh and pickled ginger, yuzu, honey, and a peated scotch float.

Weekend Brunch

Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 am to 3:00 pm, Lingo serves brunch. A Japanese Breakfast Set changes daily, with grilled market fish or gyudon, white rice, tsukemono, miso soup, and an onsen egg. The Apple Tart Tatin Pancakes come with miso caramel ice cream. Sandos are a highlight: the C.L.T. sandwiches slow-cooked chashu in soy ginger marinade with lettuce, tomato, and American cheese on milk bread. Brunch cocktails include a yuzu Bloody Mary and the Matsuyama, an Arnold Palmer made with yuzu lemonade, genmai cha, bourbon, and shiso.