Dave Titley’s food truck, Davy Croquettes, now has a permanent home in the Cape City Bowl, joining the burgeoning culture of specialty restaurants. The cheeky reference to Davy Crockett, the ‘king of the wild frontier’, isn’t too far from the truth, as Davy Croquettes could easily be seen as the ‘king of the croquette frontier’ with its perfected Spanish-style croquettes.

A post shared by Davy Croquettes (@davy_croquettes) on Sep 11, 2017 at 5:29am PDT

Fast facts

Cost: R40 to R50 for 4
Best for: whenever you need anything cheesy and deep-fried
Parking: Best to Uber
Star ratings: Food and drink: 4, ambience 3, service 4

Food

It should come as no surprise that the menu is incredibly tempting: anything deep-fried, oozy and cheesy is hard to resist. Still, when you think of eating croquettes you don’t usually imagine it being a full meal, but Dave has eradicated that belief with some masterful combinations. There are familiar options like the candied jalapeno and feta, which remains a firm favourite. Then there’s the date, goats cheese and bacon croquette, which is given a new addictive quality with the golden coating and hidden centre bursting with flavour.

 

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Daring combinations like braised ox tongue with salsa verde or the biltong-and-dried fruit croquette is sure to please even the most conservative palate. The chorizo, almond and harissa croquette as well as the eight-hour roasted pork belly-and-sage croquette deliver the comforting flavours of a Sunday lunch all wrapped up in a portable nugget. Though there are a few favourites that will remain constant on the menu, Dave is constantly experimenting with new combinations. One to look forward to is the snoek-and-apricot croquette soon to grace the menu.

A post shared by Davy Croquettes (@davy_croquettes) on Aug 23, 2017 at 1:26pm PDT

 

The impressive dessert croquette of apple, raisin, walnuts and cinnamon is served with vanilla ice cream and tastes like deep-fried apple pie. It’s the perfect way to end this unique tasting experience.

The impressive dessert croquette, served with ice cream. Photo by Rupesh Kassen.

If this sounds like too much deep-fried goodness to handle in one sitting, you could purchase the croquettes frozen, ready to fry at your next dinner party or an indulgent evening at home. A range of house-made condiments used in-store are also available, like the candied jalapenos, German sweet mustard or a fiery chilli sauce.

Drinks

Sadly you will not be able to wash your croquettes down with a cold beer, but there is a locally produced ice tea or delicious coffee available.

Service

Dave Titley with his croquettes. Photo by Rupesh Kassen.

This is a one-man band. Dave will keep you entertained as he prepares your choice of croquettes.

Ambience

The compact space resembles a food truck and literally has the old structure of his food cart rebuilt in the shop with a tiny balcony on the outside. This is more of a taste-and-go spot, not meant for lazy lunches.

And…

Davy Croquettes will also be at the City Bowl Market on Hope Street on a Thursday from 4pm onwards.

A post shared by Davy Croquettes (@davy_croquettes) on Sep 15, 2017 at 1:20am PDT