Pretoria has lots of cool cafes and bars, but doesn’t have too much to offer when it comes to fine dining. Kream, in Brooklyn, is an institution. It’s one of the larger restaurants I’ve eaten at, with double-volume ceilings and teo private dining rooms. Carefully curated artwork and sculptures add to the mood, which is upmarket but trendy at the same time.

I have a weakness for bread that’s served on the table — no matter how much I try to save my appetite for my actual meal, I can never resist. For fellow carb lovers, I’m happy to report that Kream’s warm, crusty bread rolls served with olive tapenade, sun-dried tomato paste and soft balls of salted butter completely hit the spot.

It’s rare for me to enjoy starters more than mains at a restaurant, but in Kream’s case, this is what happened. My tiger prawns wrapped in phyllo pastry with avo and halloumi were great- the prawns were meaty, and delicious once dipped into the sweet soy sauce I was served. I was served sorbet after my starter, which I thought was a nice touch.

For my main course, I had the Cape Malay chicken and prawn curry, which was a bit on the bland side for me. My partner had the lamb chops, which, he also felt was lacking in flavour. The dishes weren’t bad by any means, but they weren’t on the same level as the starters.

For dessert, the walnut bread and butter pudding served with peanut butter ice cream was a winner, and I also dug into my partner’s sweet triple brownies: Ferrero Rocher, rocky road and white chocolate, which were a tad hard, but still very good.