Dos Croquetas Is Opening on Calle Ocho in Little Havana

Miami's first restaurant dedicated entirely to croquetas, Dos Croquetas, is opening an upscale location on Calle Ocho in Little Havana on January 12.

The expansion of a restaurant can be challenging for food entrepreneurs as they juggle running multiple establishments at once, but for Dos Croquetas' owner and operator Alec Fernandez, it's a piece of cake — or should we say, croqueta. Fernandez is sure his new location on Calle Ocho in Little Havana will be a hit.

Gone are the days when fans of the restaurant had to drive to Westchester to get their elevated croqueta fix. The restaurant's second brick-and-mortar location will open at 1555 SW Eighth St. at 7 p.m. with a grand opening party for all to attend.

Right in the heart of Calle Ocho, the second location will be across from the Little Havana Visitor Center and just steps away from the Tower Theater Miami and Azucar Ice Cream Company, a prime location for foot traffic.

“So, from a design standpoint, it's a whole different beast. It's beautiful and a lot more elegant than the Bird [Road] location. And it's also more refined,” the local food entrepreneur notes.
“We learned a little bit on what type of style and what type of vibe we want to do in Calle Ocho," he says. "And, then, of course, we're going to have menu exclusives that are just for Calle Ocho. The Bird Road location is going to get its own menu exclusives,” Fernandez asserts.

Fernandez tells New Times that opening the new space on Calle Ocho aligned with the feel of Dos Croquetas.

“For us, it's just the ambiance, the vibe, and the history. Vicky [Carballo] and I — we came for lunch one day, and we were just obsessed with the feeling that we had while we were just walking the streets of Calle Ocho,” he explains.

Fernandez and his aunt and cofounder began testing their croqueta concept in 2016. Its humble roots later led the two founders to open their first brick-and-mortar location in 2019.

The rest is history.
“It just feels good and feels like a place that we are supposed to be," adds Fernandez. "A place that we belong, and I think that our brand and our image really aligns with the culture of Calle Ocho.”

The restaurant has done so well that New Times even named its croquetas the Best Croquetas in Miami in 2021.

Since then, Miami natives have been treated to menu offerings like the "305," "Buffalo Crack Chicken," and the "Medianoche." Dos Croquetas also extends its creativity to delicious sandwiches, bowls, desserts, and shakes.

Although Dos Croquetas successfully rose into Miami’s food lexicon with its original menu and vibe (even out-of-towners seek their delicious morsels), there will be some fun, new surprises for fans of the brand.

Fernandez says that as "big foodies," he and Carballo have loved adding fun and unique flavors to their croquetas — and at this new location, expect even more.

In 2022, Fernandez told the New York Times that his goal was to “transition people from the traditional flavors” and usher in a new perspective on what the croqueta can be.

So, how does Fernandez feel about his work so far?

“I think we killed it. I think I nailed that goal,” he affirms to New Times.
Fernandez says with a laugh, “We'll get a lot of old customers who come in, and, of course, we train the team to try to convert them. And we do a lot of surprising and delighting, and we'll surprise someone who only orders classic Cuban staples — they're like, ‘I only want two ham croquetas.’”

“Of course, we'll let them try a unique one, as well, so they can experience different flavors like the 'Medianoche Croqueta,'" he adds. (Which he won an award for a couple of years ago at Croqueta Palooza.)

His ultimate goal is that when a returning customer comes in again, instead of asking for two ham croquetas, they go out of their comfort zone and order one ham croqueta and one Buffalo croqueta, for example.

Fernandez hopes Dos Croquetas leaves a legacy of simultaneously honoring local traditions while pushing those traditions forward in exciting ways.

Dos Croquetas. 1555 SW Eighth St., Miami; doscroquetas.com. Sunday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday through Saturday 9 a.m. until midnight. Grand opening party takes place at 7 p.m. Friday, January 12; admission is free with RSVP via eventbrite.com.