Pastéis de Belém — Attraction in Lisbon

We did a taste test...and Pastéis de Belém came out on top!

First and foremost, I must admit that I am not a fan of the pastel de nata. I don't like eggy pasties/desserts, so prefer the rare natas that are more firm and taste like vanilla instead of egg.

However, we were in Belem so had to finally give Pastéis de Belém a go and boy did they exceed expectations. There is good reason that they insist that these are not pastéis de nata, but are Pastéis de Belém, and I have to agree. They are in a league of their own. (For clarity's sake, "pastéis" is the plural of "pastel".)

Because I'm not a huge fan of the filling, my main interest is the dough and do like that most natas are made with laminated dough (multi-layered). Unlike most natas though, where you can only see the layers once you've bitten into them, Belém's layers are visible by simply turning them over and looking at the bottom. When I first saw this, it reminded me of a good croissant, which is something I love. And when I bit into it, it was definitely different (and better) than any other nata I've had. I actually LIKE this one.

As far as visiting Pastéis de Belém, if you like natas, I would say it's worth the trip from Lisbon, especially because you can add the Tower of Belem, the Monument to the Discoveries, Jerónimos Monastery and park...and Gelato Davvero CCB to the visit. But even if you don't like natas, if you're in the area already/anyway, I'd highly recommend stopping in. People have asked me for years if I've tried these yet and I always simply deflected by saying that I'm not a fan of natas to begin with, but no more. I still don't think I'd go out of my way to have these, but they're definitely worth a try for those of us that don't like them and are definitely worth a special visit for anyone who does like natas.

And no matter how long the line might look from the street, they know how to get you in and out quickly. And there are two lines. One to sit down and one for takeaway. We chose takeaway and then went to park to enjoy ours. But we did notice that they have a ton of inside seating, so don't despair if the inside seating line looks long. And the interior at Belém is beautiful , for those that appreciate architecture and design. (And no, there is no discount for quantity. They are 1.50 per nata, no matter how many you buy.)

While there, we did also have natas from Manteigaria - Fábrica de Pastéis de Nata (just a few doors down), and they too are good, but not as good as Belém's. (My wife also likes Fábrica da Nata, but prefers the natas up north in Porto, especially from Castro - Atelier de Pastéis de Nata in the old town. Yes, they have a shop in Lisbon too, but she says they taste different up north.)

(For those who haven't tried them, natas are an eggy/custard tart beloved throughout Portugal and are responsible for the Chinese's egg tart. (As with many things, during the Age of Discovery the Portuguese introduced a lot of the world to many Portuguese delicacies.) As we have traveled around Portugal, we have found that as with many things, even though it is a small country, there are regional differences between things and the nata is no exception. So, if you like natas, I recommend trying them everywhere you go because you too will likely find a favorite and for less than 2 Euros for a morning coffee and nata (in many places, once you get outside the cities), why not give them all a try. (You've tried Portuguese coffee, right? It's the best in...

We came here after priming our taste buds with the savory hit of sardines at the O navegadore about 1 km from here and finally on our last day in Portugal we came to the birthplace of Pastel de Nata.

We just got 2 pastel de nata and they were given to us with cinnamon and sugar dust. We opened up our little packet where they were given to us face down with one another... And then the moment of truth...

First bite.... First impression... Wow that custard is thicc... The crunch was nice as well... However, a benchmark had already been set... It had been set 4 days ago at the Manteigaria in Porto.... And inevitably, our gustatory cortex was in a regrettable comparison mode... The verdict was.... Take Another Bite......

And so we did, was the OG going to be king or was there a new (royal) sheriff in town.... Was Manteigaria merely an interloper, a pretender to the throne, or a revolutionary that could unseat the monarchy

Second bite didn't yield anything decisive either... We put some of the cinnamon and sugar dust as well.... And now matter how slowly and deliberately we chewed the OG nata, the verdict was clear..... The king is not dead, far from it, still alive and kicking, but sometimes you have to say long live the king to a different monarch while the incumbent still lives....

Now I know what a lot of you are thinking... You had 2 Natas from manteigaria Porto and 2 from pasteis de belem.... How on earth is that sufficient data to come to such a conclusion? I agree that it probably isn't , but somehow, the superior crunch of the Manteigaria shell and the more refined interior (IMHO) still have it the edge

I also found it funny that Manteigaria had a belem store RIGHT NEXT to pasteis de belem as if they were well aware of how they were pretenders to the throne, but we didn't go there because although calories don't count on vacation, blood sugar spikes are still a thing and we didn't want to overdo it ,😅😅😅

In the end this was nonetheless an excellent and very rewarding experience, one that everyone should have. But we must remember that it teaches us two things

An appreciation of history , that original recipes, cultures and ideas pave the way for excellence A lesson in humility, that change and innovation nonetheless can provide alternatives, some of which may surpass the original, no...

Wow…just wow. I was initially a bit dubious about visiting Pastei de Belem; like, sure, they invented the pastei de nata, but everyone else has had hundreds of years to catch up — how could they possibly be that different, especially to warrant the giant line? Boy was I proven wrong — I am SO glad that I decided to get over my fear that Pastei de Belem was a giant tourist trap and just take the plunge. The outer crust is so unbelievably flaky; it’s rich, buttery, and unbelievably crispy, and it holds up shockingly well even after being trapped in a box for a few hours. The shell’s crunch is the perfect contrast against the creamy, custardy center; the pastry is very lightly sweetened, so it’s easy to pop back one, two…or even three of these little tarts without feeling too weighed down or getting a sugar high.

While the line may look intimidating, it honestly moves way faster than you would expect. The critical thing to note is that there are two lines; the left line is for dining in, and will move way slower even though it looks a little shorter. If you don’t mind taking your pastei de nata to go (which I would recommend doing if you’re planning to visit any of the other Belem attractions — the lines are just as long, if not longer, everywhere else, and munching on a pastel de nata is a great way to pass the time), I would recommend hopping into the counter serve / takeaway line on the right. They have their menu posted online and outside, so be sure to take advantage of the wait to take a look and decide on what you want before you get to the front. The pastei de nata are, of course, the main attraction, but Pastei de Belem also has a wide variety of sweet and savory pastries that are just as tasty. My mom got their beef puff, and I had their veggie spring roll, which were both fantastically flaky and crispy, and just generally a great savory bite before we dug into the...