Pastéis de Belém

The Pastéis de Nata is a sexy Portuguese treat. It’s very difficult not to like. And being the bite-sized custard tart it is, there’s not much residual calorie guilt after stuffing it down. You can find this Portuguese export globally, but for the real deal, there is only one place to go.

I recently spent a few days in Portugal, and on my way to Lisbon airport, I made a brief but necessary stop at the notorious cafe Pastéis de Belém. This is where Pastéis de Natas were first made available to the public. But here, and only here, they are called by their original name, Pastéis de Belém.

This cafe’s delicacy has its own wonderful little story. Lisbon’s Jerónimos Monastery is a jaw-droppingly beautiful white Gothic building that stands adjacent to this cafe. And this holy structure is where it all began. Shortly before the start of the 18th century, the monks living in Jerónimos frequently used egg whites to help stiffen their shirt collars. This meant there were a lot of spare egg yolks lying around. And being the resourceful and creative men they were, they used these yolks alongside flour, sugar, butter, milk and a few other secret ingredients to bake the perfect tart.

Not long after, Pastéis de Belém opened its doors and this secret recipe was passed on from monk to chef. Today, its secret is still well guarded by several generations of pastry chefs that have worked and continue to work here.

After admiring the monastery, I popped into the cafe and realised I wasn’t some clever culinary investigator who found somewhere secret. If you’re lucky, the queue only takes about 15 minutes to get seated. But you could be waiting up to 30. Outside and inside, the walls are decorated with beautiful blue tiles, and as you wander down in line, you see how big the place really is. There are several different rooms you can sit in, and there is also a bakery you can buy fresh pastries, cakes, and Pastéis de Beléms to go.

We sat in the biggest and presumably newest room. Over the years, it’s easy to imagine they’ve had to expand to help satisfy tourists and locals alike hearing about this goldmine. We ordered three cappuccinos, one orange roll, two ham and cheese toasties and four Pastéis de Bélems.

Each table is accompanied by two condiments. A cinnamon and powdered sugar shaker. These are traditionally used to gently dust over your Pastéis de Beléms as if they aren’t sweet enough already. The cappuccinos came out looking like snowy mountains topped with chocolate. Serving coffee with whipped cream rather than frothy milk is just a lot of fun. I wouldn’t have it regularly but here it’s totally necessary and delicious.

And not long after, the sweets came out. Now I tried a fair few tasty Pastéis de Natas over those few days, so I wondered how much better these ones could really be. The gulf in class becomes abundantly clear one bite in. The key here is pastry. It’s not just thin and delicate, it’s far crispier than any I’d had previously. First, you sink your teeth into a hot, flakey, almost burnt exterior, and the next thing you know, creamy custard oozes into your mouth. The ability to harmonise these textures and tastes is a testament to great baking. It’s difficult to comprehend how such seemingly fragile pastry can keep such a thick filling at bay. The tarts had also clearly just come out of the oven. And that is of paramount importance too. It’s one of those foods that immediately loses its appeal when it cools down. The custard itself, balances between the point of childish gluttony and overly rich, a place I don’t mind being.

So, foodialect just went international. I get a lot of joy out of going somewhere new and discovering its history and culture through the language of food. A lens of discovery and education that in my opinion, never expires. If you were like me before I went to Portugal and didn’t pay much attention to Pastéis de Natas. I hope this read inspires you to give them a go. Either wherever you live, or when you next might visit Lisbon. I never thought monks had it in them.

Rua de Belem No 84 a 92, Lisbon 1300-085 Portugal