You can’t visit Portugal without trying pastel de nata. You’ll see them on café counters from morning to evening, eaten standing up with a coffee or carried home in a small paper box. It’s simple, familiar, and woven into daily life.
The story begins in the early 1800s at the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém. At the time, monks used egg whites to starch their habits, leaving behind a surplus of yolks. Rather than waste them, they created custard pastries baked in hot ovens until the tops blistered and caramelized. When the monastery faced financial trouble, the monks sold the recipe to a nearby sugar refinery, which later opened the famous Pastéis de Belém bakery in 1837.
Today, nearly every café in Portugal makes its own version, but the lineage traces back to that original monastic recipe.
In Porto, they appear everywhere — in neighbourhood cafés, in bakeries tucked into side streets, even in train stations. The best ones are often the simplest: warm from the oven, served with a tiny espresso, eaten in a few quiet bites before stepping back into the street.
Each delicious pastry tart has a crispy, flaky, buttery shell, a creamy custard center that just set and not too firm, and a caramelized top that crackles slightly when you bite in. Depending on the bakery, there might be a light dusting of cinnamon or powdered sugar.
