Devon on Danks (CLOSED)

[CLOSED] The cronut – that deep fried donut/croissant hybrid that was once only available at the Dominique Ansel Bakery in New York – celebrates its second birthday this year, after making it through Australian customs and onto the menus of cafes and bakeries all over Sydney. Now Devon on Danks is taking them to the next level.

Located on the former site of Danks Street Depot, Devon on Danks is an expansion of Surry Hills' popular Devon Café. They’ve brought their miso salmon and eel croquettes to the new site, but most of the menu is entirely different, thanks in part to new pastry chef Markus Andrew. His main contribution? Cronuts. Five of them, from the straightforward (Milo), to the creative (matcha), to the strange (pork floss and sweet mayo). The pastries themselves are perfect – Andrew has studied under Adriano Zumbo so he knows a thing or two about cronuts (or is that zonuts?), and they’re terrifically crunchy at first bite, revealing soft layers beneath.

When it comes to not-cronuts it’s hard to go past ‘Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham’, a dish that pays homage to the tongue-twisting children’s classic. A runny-yolked, 63-degree egg sits beneath bright green pea puree and green tomato ketchup, next to a crispy square of fried potato topped with a slab of thick-cut bacon. Salty, rich and messy, it’s a colourful combination that tastes as good as it looks. The same can’t be said for the ‘naked bruschetta’, which is less a bruschetta than an overly deconstructed focaccia – a combination of pumpkin, eggs and bread that fails to excite.

The real creativity can be found on Devon On Danks’ specials board, such as the DDSpecial, a handful of salty fries served in a cup with a generous spurt of soft-serve ice cream. This month’s soft-serve flavour is pandan, which provides a subtly sweet coldness, amazing alongside the hot fries. The specials board is also home to two more deluxe cronuts, one of which is filled with pâté, duxelle and cheese, and covered in shaved truffles. Like everything on the menu at Devon on Danks, it looks great, but this particular cronut tastes like a sausage roll dolled up in a frock for Melbourne Cup Day. No good.

Devon on Danks is bringing some exciting innovations to brunch. The eggs are slow cooked, the croissants are deep fried and they top their ice cream with hot chips. It’s all a little kooky but it makes for substantial brunch-time fun.