The restaurant Cabana Frankut, or rather, “O Anselmo”
Cabana Frankut is located on Rua Carlos Pereira, in the Macúti neighbourhood (Estoril area), in the city of Beira. In fact, everyone knows it as “O Anselmo”, which is considered an icon of the region and a must in the capital of Sofala province. Few people, however, know the story behind this place.
Anselmo Inocêncio, its owner, began as a primary school teacher in the 1980s, in the then famous “8 March generation“. At a certain point he left education, having embraced a career as a clerk at a ship maintenance company in the city of Beira which at the time was called RENABE. Not satisfied with his new profession, he terminated his contract and, at the end of that decade, became involved in entrepreneurship, dedicating himself to trading in foodstuffs and drinks, which were brought from Zimbabwe and supplied to some private individuals and non-governmental organisations based in the city of Beira that were providing assistance to Mozambique. Having thus discovered the potential of his business, he had the idea of opening a small establishment for preparing meals and selling drinks, in early 1992. He began by devoting himself exclusively to preparing prime cuts of meat, such as T-bones, spare ribs, steaks, lamb chops, rump and others. After long years in the business, realising the city’s tourism potential, geared towards beach tourism, he decided in 2005 to change his menu, turning, largely because of the proximity of the sea, to preparing seafood, above all for the tourists who, coming from different countries of the interior, sought to delight in the seafood of Sofala’s vast coastline.
Anselmo never had any professional training in gastronomy; that is, he became a cook out of sheer fascination and curiosity. He describes himself as a proactive person, with an immeasurable spirit of continuous learning in his daily life.
“O Anselmo” is considered an icon of the region and a must in the capital of Sofala province
Such attributes can be seen in the perfection and dedication with which he carries out his work. The secret of his formula for success lies, first of all, in identifying his market segment, betting on the quality of the product, and carrying out his work with great dedication and soul. He considers food a crucial element in the restaurant sector, but recalls that it is allied to other components, such as the atmosphere of the place, the service and the professionalism of the whole team and of the owners of the business. His cooking is defined by simplicity in the preparation of food, always betting on quality and freshness, with 90% of the products caught off the Sofala coast.
The restaurant does not have a set menu. When you arrive, you pay a fixed price and do not know exactly what will be served, only that you will savour a tasty selection of delights from the sea, including lobster, clams, crab, prawns, everything good. Come hungry, because O Anselmo will take care of you. We advise you to book, as this place only operates by appointment.
Besides the restaurant, Cabana Frankut also offers services for organising fairs, weddings and birthdays, among others. In the face of the existing pandemic crisis, several measures were taken, including a reduction in staff, flexibility in service and delivery, promotion of products on WhatsApp platforms, home delivery and, regrettably, the unavoidable reduction in salaries.
Despite the success already achieved, Cabana Frankut, or rather, “O Anselmo”, is not yet satisfied and, although lamenting the lack of financial support, intends in the near future to open a branch in the city of Maputo and, perhaps, in other regions of the country, something Xonguila awaits eagerly.
