My family and I recently visited the gorgeous Portuguese capital city of Lisbon on our summer vacation. I promise a full post on this stunning place very soon, but today I would like to share one of our favorite memories from this trip….the cream custards found all over the city, the famous pasteis de nata. Let me start off by saying that we all love sweets in my family, but oh my….the moment I tasted these warm custard mini pies…I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Being Cuban, I have had my share of pasteles in my life, but I guarantee you, these were something quite different.
Pasteis de nata, traditional Portuguese custard tarts, are everywhere. All the cafes and bakeries have them, and in both of the hotels where we stayed at, they were a staple in the breakfast buffet. It is a common sight to see the locals enjoying their pasteis with their cafe in the morning. However, if you are looking for the absolute best ones in town (even considered the best by the Portuguese themselves, as our taxi driver was telling us), you must pick up some pasteis at Pasteis de Belem, a bakery in nearby Belem that’s been making these treats since 1837 when monks from the neighboring Mosteiro dos Jeronimos started selling them as a means of making money (their history is quite interesting and can be found on their website). The cafe is usually bustling with tons of tourists just waiting in line (yes there is a line outside most of the time, but it moves rather quickly), to order their delectable pasteis. Once I tasted these, I understood what makes them so famous. While most of the other pasteis throughout the city were also delicious, (they truly are sold everywhere), these were simply perfect. The flakiness and crispiness of the crust combined with the smooth, warm and creamy egg flavored custard was just divine. Oh and if you first look at them and think you got a burned one, do not worry, the tops are slightly burned so the sugar caramelizes. Some folks like to sprinkle cinnamon or powdered sugar on top, but I just ate my plain, I truly wanted to savor the flavor of these heavenly tarts everyone was talking about.
All I can say is thank goodness we walked for miles everyday in Lisbon, because we were eating these pasteis on a daily basis, and boy are we glad we experienced that slice of heaven.
Have you ever tasted the famous Portuguese pasteis de nata? I would love to know your thoughts.
My ex-husband was Portuguese and the one thing I miss the most is the delicious traditional treats his mom always baked. NOM.
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I’ve never had these but they look amazing! Kind of miss living in the big city where you can find lots of ethnic foods (since I’m nowhere near Lisbon!) I wonder how hard they are to make….
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What a beautiful city it must be. I just the idea of custard tarts and your photo’s make them look delicious! I’d love to try them.
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What a beautiful trip!!! I loved visiting tiny bakeries when I was in Europe! Such an experience. Now that i am gluten free, i’m so sad I can’t enjoy things like that any more!
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Sounds like you had a wonderful time there. The custard tarts look so delicious.
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What an absolutely amazing looking cafe, there is something amazing about visiting these little places to eat. x
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Mmm, those look and sound absolutely delicious. If I ever make it to Lisbon I know where to go.
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Sounds like a fabulous place to visit! The food looks amazing, glad you had a great time!
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I don’t think I’ve ever had anything like this before. It looks delicious. A good friend of mine is Portuguese and they are always talking about amazing foods. I NEED to try some!
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Um…can you like mail one to me!? LOL they look so delicious. I wonder if I could get anything like that out here in Arizona.
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I’ve never even heard of these, but I respect a yummy treat. They look really good and the inside decor is beautiful. I need to get outside of the US.
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Portugal looks beautiful. I’ve always dreamed of vacationing in Europe.
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I would love to visit Portugal and try this!!! YUM Also your photos are great, the last 3 would be a great set to display together with the blue in each one.
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I’ve never heard of these but they look fantastic! What great little café. Looks like a great trip.
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Portugal is really high on my list! That quiche looked amazing and I really want to go and experience the culture. This cafe looks great!
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I have never heard of these before! This looks like the perfect little cafe to grab breakfast at!
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I like the classic look of the place. It looks really elegant and they do have great coffee and nice pastries that go together.
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Are they custard tarts? They look so yummy. I guess they would be great with tea or coffee.
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Those pastries scrumptious! I bet they would go great with a hot cup of Joe!
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Yum! They remind me of creme brulee. I love creme brelee so I am sure I would enjoy this. I’m latina so it looks very similar to flan as well just with a crust around it.
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The filling is actually more similar to natilla…
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Never been there before but the city looks beautiful and that snack looks so good and yes, would be perfect with coffee,😊
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The walking really does counteract the calories. Been there, loved that, done that. 🙂
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All of the food looks so amazing, I would love to sample a little of everything! 😉 Thank you for sharing this wonderful article with us! 🙂
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Sounds like a wonderful trip & I am sure you had a lot of fun out there. The pictures are beautiful & those foods looks absolutely yum. Pasteis de nata looks like a mouth watering delicious food that anyone would love!
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Wow, those look so good! It seems that when I’m dieting I see all of these delicious treats on blogs. It may be a conspiracy 🙂
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I have never had pasteis de nata before but it sure does look amazing! I would love to try this one day!
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Great photos!
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I missed this place because of the queues, but that’s the perfect reason to return to Lisbon, right?!
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Aw no! The lines actually move rather quickly, make sure you go back! LOL!
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Good advice 😉
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