Mark Your Mornings: Cloak & Petal is Opening a Japanese-Inspired Café

Little Italy is getting a new coffee spot this summer, and it’s coming from one of the neighborhood’s most respected kitchens. Cloak & Petal – the MICHELIN Guide-recognized Japanese-inspired restaurant on India Street – is opening Black Mizu Café inside its space, and it’s shaping up to be one of the more exciting additions to the neighborhood in a while.

Designed to Linger In

The café takes up 1,000 square feet with 25 to 30 seats, plus extended seating into the Cloak & Petal dining room. It’s all indoors, but front windows that open outward give the space an open-air feel – the kind of spot that works equally well for a quiet solo coffee or a slow morning with nowhere to be.

Local Beans, Japanese Comfort Food, and ASA Baked Goods

Black Mizu will source beans from two local roasters – North Park’s Torque Coffee and Rancho Bernardo’s Compa Coffee Roasters – and the drink menu leans into Cloak & Petal’s Japanese identity with signatures like Cherry Blossom Matcha, Honey Yuzu Sparkling Matcha, and White Miso Caramel Latte.

The food menu from Executive Chef Robert Cassidy is the kind of morning spread worth building a routine around. Breakfast Bao with spam, chashu pork belly, or katsu chicken, a Breakfast Eggroll, Edamame Hummus Toast, and Tamago Sando – all complemented by baked goods from downtown’s ASA Bakery & Cafe. A brunch menu is expected to follow next spring.

In the evenings, the space shifts into a chef’s table and private dining experience for Cloak & Petal – a nice dual life for a well-designed room.

Japandi Aesthetics and a San Diego Soul

Managing Partner Cesar Vallin, a San Diego native who opened Cloak & Petal in 2017, describes Black Mizu as “built on ritual, consistency, and hospitality rooted in respect.” The design direction is Japandi – blending Japanese minimalism with warm Scandinavian simplicity – developed with Jennifer Guerin of JG Color Studios.

See you there!

A Japanese-inspired café rooted in craft and community, right in the heart of Little Italy – Black Mizu is one to watch this summer.

📆 Opening late August, early September | Daily 6:30 AM – 2 PM | Thursday – Saturday until 9 PM
📍 1953 India St, San Diego
ℹ️ Follow along Instagram for updates

See you there, San Diego!