Crawdaddy’s, which has several branches around Pretoria, is best described as steakhouse-meets-seafood-shack with an Asian-fusion twist.

The Brooklyn branch has premises that sit on the second floor of a long, wide building, with equal space devoted to indoor and outdoor seating. The festive if somewhat kitschy decor has a largely nautical theme, with fishing nets hanging from the ceiling, and life preservers, shark heads and other seafaring memorabilia strewn around. But it’s got an eclectic mix of other knick-knacks, such as a New York city subway sign here, an American petrol station sign there, and so on.

It took us ages to choose our food from the massive menu, which encompasses seafood, steaks and the aforementioned Asian fusion, with a bit of Italian, American and French fare thrown in. Starters include New Orleans-style oysters, snails potjie, and an array of baked potatoes (the Bangkok beef spud with beef strips grilled with onions and mix peppers in a Thai sweet chili cheese sauce looked delectable). There’s also a whole section of just bruschetta, including biltong and bovril, magic mushroom, and kudu carpaccio. If you’re going light, there’s a number of salads including grilled halloumi, springbok carpaccio and Crawdaddy’s Roquefort, but this is really a place to indulge. Steaks of all sizes and every cut imaginable are the main attraction, along with seafoods like grilled calamari, crayfish thermidor, and Thai prawns. And don’t forget to consider the curries, stir-fries and oxtails, such as the Thai green coconut and chicken curry, the classic oxtail or the mushroom and halloumi stir-fry. Wow!

I went with the sweet sticky ribs (with caramelized sweet chilli ginger, coriander and sesame sauce), while my companion opted for the jalapeno cheese steak (200 grams of sirloin with jalapenos in cheese sauce, three-cheese crust and bacon bits). Both were excellent and came with a choice of sides such as mashed or baked potato, rice, salad or steamed veggies. We washed it all down with a dry Hunters cider and a draught beer, just two of the many, many beverage choices.

The atmosphere and service were both top-notch, with pulsating but not overly loud pop music piped throughout the premises, and wait staff who were patient and willing to explain the ins and outs of the menu and make recommendations. Despite the energetic atmosphere and huge number of young-ish diners here at any given time — which makes a great place for a large group or party — there are actually a couple of quiet candle-lit corners that are conducive to mellower diners, or even those on a first date.