Stylish New Spot Offers Japanese Small Plates and Cocktails

Sweeping into Little Italy is Cloak & Petal, a new restaurant and cocktail bar offering “Japanese social dining”. Now open starting at 4 p.m. on weekdays and at noon on weekends, the restaurant spans 7,500-square-feet on India Street that last housed Mexican eatery Entrada. Inside, the central bar’s olive tree sculptures have been replaced by towering cherry blossom trees as part of an urban Tokyo-inspired design that includes subway tiles and street-style graphics by artist Shane Bowden.

Co-owners and local restaurateurs Cesar Vallin and Isamu Morikizono (Tajima Restaurants) brought in executive chef Trace “TJ” Jerome, whose over 20 years of experience in Japanese cuisine includes time spent working and cooking in Japan. His shareable menu includes traditional sashimi and nigiri to sushi rolls and plates ranging from shishito poppers filled with crab and scallops to yuzu kosho Jidori chicken wings and Japanese Wagyu steaks with an optional sea urchin add-on. The bar pours local beer, wine and sake and offer a cocktail program created by Cervantes Magana (BO-beau kitchen + cache, Bar by Red Door) that features a Japanese take on a manhattan, a martini made with Japanese nori-infused gin, and several tiki-inspired drinks.

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