Cape Town , South Africa ( CNN ) -- For Cape Town 's carnivores , Mzoli 's Meat is the city 's hippest hangout . The informal butchery and barbeque joint is a place where social and racial barriers are set aside as locals and out-of-towners come together to eat , drink and party . Even celebrity chef Jamie Oliver is a fan , recently describing Mzoli 's as `` sexy '' and praising the `` incredible flavor '' of its grilled meat . Also known as Kwa-Mzoli , Mzoli 's Place or Mzoli 's Butchery , Mzoli 's is a meeting place that brings together people from all walks of life . It was opened in 2003 in Gugulethu , a township 15 km from the center of Cape Town , South Africa , when owner Mzoli Ngcawuzele saw a gap in the market . `` We looked at what was missing in the market , especially in our community and we began to say , 'what can really bring people from all walks of life together ? ' And we came up with this -- Mzoli 's , '' Ngcawuzele told CNN . `` You choose your meat , we grill it for you , you 've got a table to sit at , and we serve you . '' South African winemaker 's vintage year . At Mzoli 's , diners select their meat from the butchery and then take it to one of the surrounding stalls , where it is grilled over charcoal fires . The locals call it a `` braai , '' the Afrikaans word for barbecue , and a South African specialty . But Mzoli 's attracts a clientele hungry for more than just braai . Live music , and DJs playing kwaito and house music draw a diverse crowd , including white South Africans who might not normally make the journey into the black township . Ngcawuzele told CNN , `` We said , 'this is the rainbow nation , how do we manage to bring the rainbow nation together into one spot , where white , black , colored , everyone gets together over a piece of meat ? ' `` We get a lot of tourists , a lot of the local community , the white community , the colored community . They just come from all walks of life . `` I can tell you now , the racial tensions of the past , that is the past . Today we 're moving forward , looking forward from generation to generation . `` Everybody is welcome . It 's safe , people are walking the streets , the doors are wide open in the neighborhood here . We 're taking care of each and every individual who comes here . '' Mark Tutton contributed to this report .
Mzoli 's Meat is one of the hippest hangouts in Cape Town , South Africa . A butchery and open-air barbeque , it was a hit with celebrity chef Jamie Oliver . Live music and DJs bring a diverse crowd of locals and tourists .