Eduardo das Conquilhas will be closed in the coming days for the worst of reasons: the man who founded the classic restaurant in Parede, and gave it its name, passed away this Sunday, at the age of 93. "Today, my and our father left us," wrote his son Ricardo Santos on social media. "He departed in our arms, with all the love and affection he always gave and received. He left in peace, surrounded by the love of our family."
Eduardo Santos, who will go down in history as Eduardo das Conquilhas, opened his establishment in 1965. In the beginning, he sold coffees, soft drinks, codfish pastries, and savory pastries... "But that wasn't enough," he recalled himself in a video recorded in 2021. It was then that an employee suggested that they should feature a specialty on the menu: cockles. And so they did. "Every day, I went to Mercado da Ribeira to get two kilos of cockles." When it came time to name the place, the solution came from the same employee. Thus, Eduardo das Conquilhas was born, today an institution in the Cascais Line and even in Greater Lisbon.
"My father is our pride. A beautiful and unparalleled life journey. We will be here to make him proud of what he taught us, the values he passed on to us. We will remember many times the joy he conveyed in his laughter and the port wine with which we toasted in cherished moments," reads Ricardo Santos' post, who, in addition to the family surname, also inherited his father's nickname: Ricardo das Conquilhas.
"My father was loved by thousands of customers. So many generations of love and affection that always came to greet him. Who remembers the love with which my father distributed chocolates to the children? My father was a great dad." Ricardo Santos also shares information about the funeral services: the wake will be at the Parede church, starting at 3:00 p.m. this Monday, the 25th; the mass will be the next day, Tuesday, at 11:00 a.m., followed by the cortege to Barcarena.
Less than a year ago, in July, Eduardo das Conquilhas was honoured with a mural the size of a building near the brewery and the train station. The artwork was created by Mário Belém, an artist who has been a patron of the restaurant for over 40 years.