The sun beats down on the queue snaking round the block from this bar and restaurant in Gugulethu, a vibrant township 11 miles from Cape Town. It’s Sunday lunch and a couple of hundred people have got there before us and are already throwing some moves to DJ Crazy’s booming South African house beats.

Opened in 2003 by Mzoli Ngcawuzele, the shisha nyama (a Zulu term for an informal barbecue) is something of an institution. Essentially, a big open-air shack, it has a devoted following – a mixed bag of locals, adventurous tourists and the odd celeb (Jamie Oliver’s been) who come to dance the afternoon away to hip-hop, house, R&B, and some of the best live bands in the country, as well as devour big plates of meat.

The diverse bunch of Capetonians at the canteen-style plastic tables are tucking into juicy pork chops and sausages which you choose from the butchery next door and take to the huge grills out back for staff to barbecue, or braai in front of you.

We forgo the food and head to the bar (you can bring your own booze) for two more Castle beers. There’s a great energy about the place and as the music is cranked up, the crowd whoops and cheers. Time to watch the party unfold.

• Mzoli’s Place, +27 21 638 1355, on Facebook, entry fee 20 rand (about £1)