Syrian Refugee Restaurant: Bringing Syrian food to Portugal

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Europe

02:49

Some Syrian refugees have teamed up with Portuguese partners to open Lisbon's first Syrian restaurant. The UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, says since Mezze opened last September, it's become one of the Portuguese capital's most popular restaurants. For the Syrian women involved, it's their first job outside of the home. Al Goodman went to the restaurant and files this report from Lisbon.

It's so crowded at lunchtime at this new restaurant in Lisbon run by Syrian refugees that they may not even have time to remember the war. Succulent plates of food, recipes from the old country, rushed out to tables of hungry diners.

Back in Syria, it's a different kind of rushing, trying to escape the bombs, and after they've fallen, rushing to help survivors in the chaos.

The refugees at this restaurant are mainly from Damascus, Syria's capital. Rafat Dahbah, the manager, used to work there in his father's restaurant. But his father died in the war.

RAFAT DABAH MANAGER, MEZZE RESTAURANT "Here it's really safe, but the main difference is that in Syria I couldn't plan out a future for myself, because it was not worth it. And here, I can."

The restaurant is in a multicultural neighborhood of Lisbon. And it's attracting multicultural clients, like this table of French diners, and those from other backgrounds, too.

AL GOODMAN LISBON, PORTUGAL "In the last two years about a thousand refugees from the Syrian war have arrived here in Portugal. The government helps them with state assistance but just for a limited time. Which is why restaurants like this are seen as important to help them get their financial footing."

And to get integrated in Portugal, Rafat's mother works in the kitchen, her first job ever, outside of the home.

RAFAT DABAH MANAGER, MEZZE RESTAURANT "Even if I'm her boss, I respect her a lot. Sometimes she gives me orders but not the same way she did as when I was a child."

Yet the restaurant is hardly child's play. Francisca Gorjao of Lisbon helped start a non-profit to aid the refugees, support the restaurant, and open the eyes of her fellow Portuguese citizens.

FRANCISCA GORJAO HENRIQUES PAO A PAO ASSOCIATION "Once they sit here and they experience this fantastic meal, maybe they change a little bit the perception of what a refugee is or what it means to leave your country and start all over again in a different place."

The refugees are already talking about growth. This leading Portuguese chef visits weekly to help make the kitchen more professional. There are plans for a catering service, and for a second restaurant.

But a constant reference for the refugees is their Syrian bread. A symbol of sharing. Their Portuguese supporters call it a "grain by grain" or "step by step" approach, away from a war and toward a future. Al Goodman, CGTN, Lisbon.