In the heart of Arrecife, the Brazilian Nubia Alburquerque da Silva, based in Lanzarote, decided to open her own business after two decades working in hospitality. Today she runs Café Saudade, which in Portuguese evokes the feeling of longing for what is absent. With a very vintage look, the place is decorated with old objects, restored by herself.
Her gastronomic proposal is healthy and zero kilometer, she explains in an interview with the radio program Más de Uno Gourmet. It offers salads, poke bowls, toasts, hummus or cakes, both for those who eat everything, as well as for vegans and people with intolerances.
- How did you choose the name of your cafeteria?
Saudade is a poem by Clarice Lispector that we have exhibited in the cafeteria. She is a well-known Brazilian writer. She says that Saudade is a feeling that everyone feels, we have all felt the absence of something, or someone.
I decided to give it that name in homage to all the people who are absent from their countries, who have lost someone, or who feel the lack of something from the past that they have lost.
- What can we find in Saudade?
Many people confuse the word saudade with healthy, which also suits me well because, in fact, we have healthy food. (Laughter).
In general, we have alternative proposals. Both for people who eat everything, as well as for vegans and people with intolerances. We have salads, poke bowls... everything zero kilometer.
- What is your star product, the one you enjoy making the most?
I really enjoy every moment because we have a menu, but we don't follow it to the letter. The day they go, they will find something different, made with a lot of love and dedication.
I love making cakes, but especially making new things. We are often asked for the carrot cake, which would be our star product. Also a gluten-free chocolate cake, which anyone can eat and is delicious.
People are delighted with the taste of the proposals, from the toasts to the hummus. For me it is essential that all customers leave satisfied and with a smile.
- How did the idea of opening this business come about?
The idea was proposed to me by my daughter. I have been in Lanzarote for 23 years and I have dedicated a lot of my life to hospitality in other businesses.
During confinement I had a fairly significant health problem and we considered that, if I sacrificed myself so much and dedicated so much time to hospitality, perhaps I could do it with my own business.
- One of the aspects that your cafeteria listeners highlight the most is the decoration...
I asked for quotes to decorate it and it was very expensive, I didn't have enough money, so we decided to decorate it with old and used objects that we have restored with our own hands. Everything, from the first chair. It is a vintage cafeteria.
- Where exactly is the cafeteria and what are its hours?
From 07.30 to 20.00 hours. At number 98 of Manolo Millares.
