Moyo, Cape Town

Though it’s set in what feels like a mini theme park (a Stellenbosch wine estate/resort with its own amphitheater and cheetah conservation center), Moyo is irresistibly fun and Afro-chic even to locals. The restaurant’s entryway—actually a souvenir shop—leads to a vibrant indoor/outdoor fantasyland of trickling fountains and bedouin-style tents, where diners lounge as they eat; once you’re seated, waitresses in traditional dress paint your face with a graceful pattern of white dots, and wandering troupes of African singers and dancers provide nonstop entertainment. Food, served buffet style, is a tasty trip around the continent, with North African tagines, springbok shank potjie (traditional stew cooked over an open fire), an extensive spread of salads and veggies, and an array of desserts like koeksisters, deep-fried syrupy dough twists.

Insider Tip: Loveliest and most popular are the wrought-iron tables lit by glowing paraffin lanterns on Moyo’s wooden treetop platforms, some as high as 33 steps off the ground.