Croqueta Bar by Dos Croquetas Is the Restaurant Miami's Been Waiting For

Miami will finally get the restaurant it deserves when Croqueta Bar opens next week.

The restaurant gives Dos Croqueta's famous croquetas their first permanent location, in the Miami-Dade suburb of Westchester.

The company, founded in 2015 by Alec Fernandez and his aunt, chef Vicky Carballo, focused on creating croquetas in unique flavors for delivery.

The croquetas were so well received, the duo announced a brick-and-mortar a few months ago. “It’s been a humbling experience, to say the least,” Carballo says. “The South Florida community has really embraced us and our concept and we couldn’t be more excited to keep moving forward and creating new flavors, concepts, and ideas.”

The restaurant will officially open on Friday, May 10, at 7 p.m. with a party. "We're going to give away hats and shirts and play Bad Bunny. We're going to totally work the Miami vibe," Fernandez says.

At Croqueta Bar, guests can enjoy fresh, warm croquetas along with beers from local breweries like Lincoln’s Beard, the Tank Brewing, Concrete Beach, and MIA Beer, which has brewed a unique beer for the restaurant — Dame Dos ale, a blond ale Fernandez says is perfect for pairing with the menu items. The restaurant will also offer prosecco and wine.

In addition, Croqueta Bar will feature a shake bar serving what should be a new local hit: the Cuban Dole Whip. This riff on the Disney treat is made with pineapple, vanilla ice cream, and condensed milk.

And there are the croquetas. Miami's favorite snack is served here in flavors far beyond the typical chicken or ham, such as Cuban-style picadillo, sweet plantains, queso blanco, mac 'n' cheese and bacon, Mexican street corn, and Buffalo crack chicken. Each croqueta will be priced between $1.99 and $2.25, Fernandez says, who notes that Caballo puts a lot of time and love into her creations. The Buffalo crack chicken, for example, is made with freshly grilled chicken and tangy Buffalo sauce cream.

Hankering for dessert? There's a croqueta for that too: Sweet croquetas are available in Oreo and guava, with more on the way.

If you're thinking a fast-casual restaurant serving high-end croquetas is just what this world needs, Fernandez agrees. He and Carballo have plans to open more Croqueta Bar locations in the future. "Our plan is to corner the croqueta market."

Croqueta Bar. 10505 SW 40th St., Miami.; doscroquetas.com. Sunday to Thursday 8 a.m. to midnight; Friday and Saturday 8 a.m. to 2 a.m.