Legendary Hollywood actor Sean Penn enjoyed some peri-peri chicken at a Cape Town tavern on Wednesday.

According to the City Press, Penn was seen tucking into some Portuguese-style poultry at the informal and reasonably-priced Dias Tavern, where he was dining with a group of people believed to be local filmmakers.

The 53-year-old actor, screenwriter, and director is reportedly in Cape Town to scout for locations for an as yet untitled film.

The newspaper reports that Afrikaans singer David Kramer was also having lunch in the tavern at the same time the actor was there, and apparently joked that Penn was there to meet him.

And Cape Town World Design Capital 2014 chief executive, Alayne Reesberg, said Penn seemed like a friendly guy.

"Oh yes, he is charming. We waved at him and he waved back, twice," he commented.

Diaz Tavern staff reportedly enquired after Penn's South African-born girlfriend, Charlize Theron, asking why she didn't accompany him on his visit to her home country, to which he responded: "Who says she didn't?"

And a recent sighting of the couple at the Augrabies Falls National Park confirms that Theron is, in fact, also in the country.

The 38-year-old Benoni-born actress is believed to be in talks to star in a new film called 'The Last Space', which Penn is set to direct.