A life destined for the claustrophobia of four office walls — that’s what Edner Abreu thought awaited him, until his story took one of those surprising movie-style twists. When he brought his then-boss to lunch at the small bar where his wife Sheila worked, the CEO — delighted with the meal — shared a piece of advice that would change his life.
“Edener, my friend, you’re happy and you don’t even know it,” said his boss, Pedro Fragoso, who went even further: he encouraged Edner to leave the office job behind, join his wife, and open their own restaurant. But with what money? “That’s when my boss offered to buy a restaurant for us,” Edner recalls.
That was seven years ago. And so, Chiveve was born.
A restaurant specializing in Mozambican cuisine, enhanced with Indian spices — since Sheila is Muslim and brought the culinary influence of her Goan roots to dishes like cassava stew, Zambezian chicken or grilled chicken with coconut sauce, and of course, shrimp curry with okra — some of the house specialties.
This marriage of African and Indian flavors earned Chiveve a place among the Top 101 Restaurants in Lisbon, in the ranking organized by Immigrant Foodies in partnership with Mensagem de Lisboa.
here the 101 TOP
The union of Edner and Sheila is also the secret behind a well-oiled and delicious operation — just the two of them plus one additional employee — running with precision and speed to serve a dining room that is always full: at lunch with the hurried workers from the Picoas business area, and at dinner with locals in a more relaxed mood.
The current address, at 5B Rua Andrade Corvo, is Chiveve’s “second life.” Until 2022, it operated on Rua Filipe Folque, in a larger space with ten employees, geared for high-volume service.
Relocating — right after the couple had repaid every cent of their former boss’s investment — also meant a change of style: more intimate hospitality spread across roughly thirty seats — including a small terrace — and a refined décor that evokes Mozambique, including a painting of the Chiveve River following its calm course.
Boss, waiter and very demanding
Choosing a slower, smoother course is exactly what the couple wanted when they opted for a leaner and more balanced operation — Chiveve is open only Monday to Friday — allowing them, as parents, to keep weekends free for their sons, aged 11 and 17, at home in Santarém. “I won’t open on weekends not even for the Pope,” he says.
The 100-kilometer daily commute to Lisbon is a price (happily) paid so their children can enjoy a calmer, more rural life — something that mirrors the childhood that both Edner and Sheila experienced in Beira, Mozambique, before they moved to Portugal.
At 40, Edner already feels the physical toll of the demanding restaurant routine — and though he speeds down the highway between Santarém and Lisbon, his goal at work is increasingly to slow down. But that desire crashes into what he sees as the biggest challenge in Portugal’s hospitality sector: skilled labor.
“I admit it, I’m a demanding boss. And with me, the employee has to work harder than I do, otherwise they’re out,” he says bluntly.
That high “Edner-standard” of quality means the boss himself often becomes server, never stopping for a moment — dashing between the register to take payments and the kitchen pass where he collects plates and rushes them to tables where hungry customers await.
Perhaps this rigor comes from Edner’s academic background — as he likes to say, “the most educated waiter in Portugal.” Since arriving in Lisbon in 2009 to study, he has completed degrees and postgraduate studies in labor relations, political science, and governance — which once kept him confined inside an office.
When his boss made that unexpected proposal, Edner was working 8 to 5 in an industrial information systems department. “Today, I can’t imagine spending my days sitting in an office,” he says.
“Going back to four walls would be claustrophobic,” he sums up.
Genuine food, not hammered
The week he spoke to Mensagem de Lisboa, the demanding boss had already “tested” seven employees in seven days — none lasted more than 24 hours on the job.
“What can you do? They show up with a CV saying they’ve done this and that, but they can’t even turn on a fryer. They don’t know how to make coffee. I say, ‘Make me an abatanado,’ and the guy just stands there staring at me, no clue what to do,” Edner says.
Despite the frustration, he keeps searching for someone who meets his expectations — maybe even someone he can one day offer the same opportunity he once received. “I’m still looking for that person… but I haven’t found them yet.”
His high standards also define the quality of the food at Chiveve. When it comes to “employee” Sheila, he has only praise:
“Sheila is a beast in the kitchen. She grew up playing with spices, and that makes all the difference in our dishes. There are many African restaurants in Lisbon, but our distinctiveness is genuine cuisine — not hammer -flattened food,” he says.
This concept of “un-hammered food” means plates are beautifully composed — ingredients clearly distinguishable — delivering a gastronomic experience designed not just to fill the stomach but to awaken the senses.
Talking about the food at Chiveve immediately lights up the face of this Mozambican Lisboner — owner and waiter, once rescued from an office by a generous boss who insisted, “You’re happy and you don’t know it.”
Today, like the Chiveve River running its course in Mozambique, Edner follows his own — grateful, and fully aware of that prophecy:
“I am happy and I know it.”
O jornalismo que a Mensagem de Lisboa faz une comunidades,
conta histórias que ninguém conta e muda vidas.
Dantes pagava-se com publicidade,
mas isso agora é terreno das grandes plataformas.
Se gosta do que fazemos e acha que é importante,
se quer fazer parte desta comunidade cada vez maior,
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