6 of Our Favorite Spots to Eat Pastéis de Nata in Lisbon (2024)

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6 of Our Favorite Spots to Eat Pastéis de Nata in Lisbon? ›

Pastéis de Belém

It's the most famous spot in Lisbon to eat pastéis de nata, and is an absolute must when you visit. Since 1837, locals and tourists alike have been lining up to snag a box of custard tarts to eat in the café or on the go.

Pastéis de Belém

It's the most famous spot in Lisbon to eat pastéis de nata, and is an absolute must when you visit. Since 1837, locals and tourists alike have been lining up to snag a box of custard tarts to eat in the café or on the go.

A specialty all over Lisbon, pasteis de nata are the famous Portuguese egg tart pastries. They have a flaky crust with a custard filling and are best enjoyed topped with a dusting of powdered sugar & cinnamon!

If there's one Portuguese food item you already know, it's most likely the country's renowned egg tarts (in Portuguese, this delicacy is known as pastel de nata, or “cream pastry”). Pastéis de Belém, a pastry shop just west of Lisbon, claims to be the originator of what is ostensibly the country's most famous pastry.

How to Store Pasteis de Nata. While pasteis de nata are best enjoyed warm on the day they're made, they can be stored at room temperature for up to two days. Reheat them in a 350 degrees F oven for best results.

Now, locals eat pastéis de nata at breakfast, in the midmorning, after lunch, or in the evening — any time they're craving a snack. The tart's ingredients are very simple: a puff pastry filled with a custard made of cream, egg yolks, sugar, flour, and lemon zest.

The first-ever version of Pastel de Nata was baked over 200 years ago. The Pastéis de Belém have been in operation since 1837, and it is believed that the first-ever version of this dessert was baked over 200 years ago in the very same spot by nuns at the nearby Mosteiro dos Jerónimos.

What is a fun fact about Pastel de Nata? ›

They have religious roots

At the time, it was common practice to use egg whites to starch nuns' habits — which, naturally, left the monks with a ton of leftover yolks. To use them up, they began baking them into delicious, two-bite custard tarts.

The Pastel de Nata is the most beloved classic from Portuguese pastry and a classic at the Time Out Academy.

The term pastéis de nata is Portuguese for ``cream pastries.'' Pastéis is the plural form of the word for pastry. So if you hear or see pastel de nata instead, it's simply referring to one custard tart instead of several.

These tarts are best enjoyed warm, rather than hot, and eaten on the day they're made, though they do keep for a day or so (and will benefit from a quick crisp-up in the oven before serving).

Pastel de Nata (cream tart) is Portugal's most famous pastry cake.

A must-eat if you're in Lisbon. It's worth the journey and near the Jeronimos Monastery. The menu is quite extensive with other pastries and food. Don't be put off by the queue - we thought it was long but discovered some people were taking away.

But the simplest explanation is that pastéis de nata is the generic term, whereas pastéis de Belém has become popular due to the prestige of this particular pastry shop. Although the latter technically refers to the ones made here, it's often used to talk about Portuguese custard tarts in general.