After about 22 hours of travel from Champagne to Cape Town, sitting down for a hearty meal was a priority. South Africa has an incredibly diverse range of cuisines due to the various communities that inhabit the country, including the different African peoples, Dutch and English descendants, Portuguese, and Indians. Tasting authentic South African game meat in particular was at the top of the bucket list and I found exactly what I was looking for. Here is my review of Marco’s African Place in Bo-Kaap. Spoiler: it is arguably the best and most authentic African cuisine in Cape Town.
Stepping inside felt like walking into an African hunting lodge. Hides, stuffed animal heads, and hand carved masks hung on display. Photos of famous celebrity visitors hung were framed on a wall. Flags from neighbouring countries hung behind a stage which hosts live performances from local bands. We were seated on the second floor, overlooking the stage, with a fantastic view of Table Mountain and downtown.
We started off with a glass of local bubbly, Boschendal Brut Méthode Cap Classique (MCC) — the South African version of champagne 
. In fact, it is produced using the same method as champagne and even uses the same grape varieties. It used to actually be called “champagne” before Nelson Mandela’s government brought the country under international law (where only sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France can use that name). The wine was fantastic and was arguably better than any crémant I have ever tried. It was champenois-approved too!
We chose two starters to share: sheep heart + kidneys and Amasonja. Both were served with refreshing garden salads. We especially liked the kidneys, which were served as BBQ bite-size pieces. The fatty bits of the heart were also tasty.
Amasonja are also known as mopane worms. These large caterpillars eventually turn into giant moths. High in protein, they are popular across southern Africa. I thought that they tasted like very charred BBQ steak. They were crispy on the outside but chewy like old gummy worms on the inside. They weren’t bad and I wouldn’t say “no” if someone offered them to me again.
For mains, we tried the Serengeti platter. It was a generous sampling of crocodile, springbok, and kudu with sides of pap (traditional porridge made of maize meal) and umngqusho (samp and sugar beans). We also had mushroom and peppercorn sauces but everything was so good that we didn’t really need them.
The meats were cooked on a braai (South African BBQ). Crocodile has meaty and fatty layers. The meaty parts tasted like turkey. The fatty parts tasted like bacon fat. I particularly loved the springbok: these are small antelope-like animals that live around this region of Africa. They were incredibly flavourful and tender like filet mignon; prepared over an open fire with delicate homemade sauce. The kudu (a larger antelope) was slightly tougher with a gamier flavour.
After this, we were too full for dessert 
. It was a fantastic experience and we absolutely loved everything we tried! Highly recommend to anyone looking to try perfectly prepared African game meats.