Guguletu is filled with many hidden wonders and one of them is Mzoli’s Place. If you are looking for a day full of fun, or the ultimate tourist hotspot in Cape Town, then this is the place to be. It has an atmosphere like no other place I have ever been to before and is jam packed with people from all over the world flocking to visit this marvellous place.
I went there on Sunday and had an absolute blast. Its vibey, full of fun, had fabulous food and is all about culture. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but now having been there, I can’t wait until my next visit.
Thirteen of us got a taxi together with our cooler boxes overflowing with booze to last us for the duration of the day and eagerly went through to Mzoli’s for a party. As we pulled up, I noticed a number of stands outside selling numerous interesting items including clothing, glasses, jewellery and much more.
I was immediately drawn to the glasses made out of savannah dry, various beer and vodka bottles. These were awesome. I couldn’t help myself and at R10 per glass I bought 12 immediately.
We lined up and bought meat tickets, which is basically your entrance fee. Once you have this you get a stamp on your arm as you go through the gates past security. Now the task is to find a table, crack open a beer and enjoy the fabulous music while your meat is being cooked in the braai room for you while you sit back and relax.
The tables are set outside under shelter and on hot days they turn on the misters that spray refreshing mist to cool you down, which is a wonderful idea, considering it does get rather warm under the tin roof with so many people.
I must be one of the most nosy people around and couldn’t resist exploring. I took a walk to the braai room and kitchen to see what it was like and met the lovely staff who are working hard in boiling conditions to get our food ready for us.
I couldn’t believe the heat in the braai room and the number of fire and grids of meat on the go at the same time. I don’t know how they keep track of who’s food is whose! They were very friendly and more than happy to have tourists come in, take photos and chat to them.
The lady in the kitchen who was making the pap was stirring vigorously as we walked in and was also incredibly happy to explain what she was doing and let us snoop around a bit.
When our food arrived I couldn’t believe how much there was on the platter, and believe me it all came at an incredibly reasonable price. We tucked into chops of all sizes (mostly large ones), a mountain of sausages and a side of traditional pap with chakalaka.
This was the first time I ever had pap and I couldn’t get enough. Everything had such an incredible flavour. How is it that I have been in this country for so long and never had any of this before?
As the day went on it got busier and the atmosphere in there was electric. People were chatting, laughing, having a good time and dancing all around us. A man was wandering around playing a drum to the beat of the music which was thoroughly entertaining.
Everybody was dancing with him and cheering him on. He was nice enough to let us try out the drum, which is much harder than it looks by the way, it would seem that we have no rhythm, we just made a racket!
We spotted a bar inside and a few of us decided to go and see what they were selling. Vuyo’s smoothie bar stood out like a sore thumb and we had to go and see what that was about.
He made delicious fruit smoothies with the option of adding vodka to them, so without hesitation we ordered a few naughty smoothies to sample. There was banana with apple, peach and carrot. We tried two different ones and wow … they were very more-ish.
You can order some other drinks at the little bar next to Vuyo’s stand or simply walk across the road and buy booze from the shebeen, which will probably be cheaper and have more variety.
It’s incredibly busy, so I would suggest going early to get a table and once you have one, hang on to it as it gets so packed and everybody wants a spot.
Mzoli’s is by far one of the best experiences I have had in Cape Town so far and is definitely worth a visit.
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