Cloak & Petal NJ Latin Eatery — Restaurant in Bayonne

I was excited to learn an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant opened in Bayonne. I ordered delivery and have to say, I appreciated the careful thought that was put into packaging the food to ensure no spillage, and that the cuchifritos (assorted fried foods) remained crispy and warm. As it was my first time ordering, I selected all of my favorites to get a good sense of the menu. I ordered morcilla, alcapurria, bacalaítos, rellenos de papa and for the main dish, pernil with arroz con gandules.

From the cuchifritos, my favorites were the rellenos de papa and morcilla. The rellenos de papa is everything I love about this dish, crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside and well seasoned. The morcilla was also very crisp on the outside and creamy on the inside with the perfect hint of spice that gives the morcilla its distinctive flavor. The alcapurria was perfectly cooked and crispy but not as seasoned as I’m accustomed to. The bacalaìtos was a huge serving. It was a bit on the doughy side and not as crispy as I’m used to. I miss that crunch you get when you bite into a freshly fried bacalaito from one of the kioskos in Luquillo.

Now for the main dish- the pernil with arroz con gandules. I loved that they included complimentary slices of avocado. What Puerto Dish is ever complete without aguacate! The pernil was lean and not fatty like other Latin restaurants here in Bayonne. It was well seasoned and included the cuerito. The rice was plain, no ham or Spanish olives in it like I’m accustomed to, but it was fluffy and cooked to perfection. All in all, everything was indeed fresh and authentic. It’s a much welcomed addition to the limited restaurant...

I decided to visit this place today since I've heard about it through social media and my family and I were in the mood for Puerto Rican food. I went there at 12:30pm, and the lights were off and the door was locked. But then I noticed they had an hour of operation schedule on the door. The sign said this place was supposed to be opened on Thursdays from 12pm-7p. I then saw a lady inside so I knocked on the door to see if she noticed me. She saw me and instead of opening the door to talk to me she made hand gestures and refused to open the door. That was very impolite and unprofessional, if there was a problem that day or delayed opening then all she had to do was open the door and give me a face to face update of what is going on. I even called this restaurant but instead of picking up the phone she kept doing whatever she was doing and ignoring the phone call. Not a good look on a first impression from this place. I highly doubt I will be going back. Management fix your employees and if your the manager who saw and heard me knock and totally ignored me you guys have...

I was really looking forward to trying this place, but unfortunately, the food just didn’t meet expectations. The pernil lacked flavor, the yucca fries were underwhelming, and the jibarito had way too much mayo—it just didn’t come together for me.

To be honest, I was surprised this is labeled as a Puerto Rican restaurant. As someone familiar with the cuisine, it didn’t reflect the flavors or quality I associate with Puerto Rican food. If it had been presented as a different type of concept, I might have been more understanding, but this felt misleading and honestly disappointing.

I rarely leave negative reviews because I understand how tough the food business is, but this experience was frustrating enough that I ended up tossing the food and cooking at home instead. It felt like a waste of money, which really bothered me as personally I hate to waste food. The staff was nice which is why it's two stars. Personally if the pernil isn't up to standards there's no...