Mzansi is Cape Town’s top rated restaurant on TripAdvisor, and after seeing the unanimously positive reviews I had to get a booking over there.
Nomonde, the host of Mzansi, is a jovial woman and she warmly invited me in. After a few more people had arrived and the dining room was filled to capacity Nomonde explained that she had prepared a few traditional Xhosa dishes and everyone was to take from the buffet as much food as he or she desired. It was unneccessary for her to say this twice as all diners dug in and enjoyed the very tasty food.
However, excellent and plentiful food is only part of the Mzansi experience. After everyone had had their fill Nomonde took the stage and explained us how her Mzansi restaurant came to be established. Mzansi is located in the Langa township, which seems an atypical place for Cape Town’s top rated restaurant. And indeed, when Nomonde initially started her restaurant business times were tough as most tourists were scared off by the bad reputation of the townships. Mzansi was on the brink of closing down when only a year ago their fortunes changed. A group of American exchange students recognized the potential of Mzansi and assisted Nomonde with listing her restaurant on TripAdvisor and giving her several positive reviews. Nomonde told us how afterwards she queued for several hours at a local internet cafe to check out this so-called ‘TripAdvisor thing’ and what people were saying about her restaurent. At first everything proceeded as usual, but as Mzansi kept rising through the TripAdvisor ranks after a short time more and more tourists started frequenting the restaurant. This in turn resulted in more positive reviews, which helped Mzansi reach the top ranking. Nowadays business is booming, although Nomonde sometimes still gets late cancellation calls from people that were scared off by the prospect of visiting a township. Nonetheless, her restaurant is successful, which has allowed her to buy a smartphone and have internet in her home for the first time so she can handle the bookings. And she is able to give back to the local community by using only local produce and employing several other people. Nomonde told us her heartfelt tale about how she endured and managed to fulfill her mother’s dream to establish a successful restaurant, although unfortunately her mother died before she was able to witness this change in fortune.
After Nomonde finished her tale her husband Ace took the stage. He told us that in contrast to Nomonde, who is good with words, he is a man of action. And indeed, he put his money where his mouth is as the tables were promptly cleared from the center of the room and he invited everyone to join him in some traditional African dance moves. The musicians in the corner picked up their instruments and Ace showed us how to dance the Pata Pata. Everyone joined in and Ace led a jubilant crowd through several more dance moves before he ended by imploring us to do a little dance before the mirror everyone morning to have a cheerful start of the new day.
Instead of feeling unsafe in the township, a visit the Mzansi will surely bring joy with tasty food, compassionate people, and great entertainment. Wholeheartedly recommended!