Holy Nata — Restaurant in San Francisco

This place has been on my list for ages! I was finally down in the Financial District and close by Holy Nata with a bit of time to kill so I could find the place! This is a tiny store front located in an alley between Montgomery-Kearny and Bush-Sutter you can’t just drive up. If you do drive, bring someone to jump out and pick up the order because parking is tough here. In my quest to eat egg tarts and Portuguese tarts, Holy Nata popped up on my search. They serve pastels de nata (hope I spelled it right) that I was lucky to score just before closing that were hot out of the oven! I got 3 with cinnamon and 3 without. I think you can do without but the cinnamon is just a nice twist. The filling/custard is oozy and not as “gelled” as an egg tart and Portuguese tart so if you get it piping hot I would NOT eat them right away! I was told to let them cool for at least 5-10 mins before eating. I loved the buttery flakiness of the tart (but I love butter) and you can kill off one in 2 bites. I guess that’s my only negative comment. They are much smaller than the tarts I’m used to but cost the same (if not more) than those tarts. Just remember if you are coming here to order in advance! I didn’t know I’d end up there and tried on whim. The staff were super helpful and friendly to accommodate my walk-in order so...

Another pleasant surprise for my palate… when I was observing the delicatessen’s being plucked from their little metal containers on the baking sheet, I thought they were simply cinnamon rolls…

The shop is very tight quarters, but the employees are comfortable in their environment… maybe have it delivered if you are claustrophobic.

The skin is crispy and light, the consistency of the shell is meticulously manicured, like the curls on the young gentleman taking orders… I think he could have benefited from an in ear Bluetooth device, people don’t like to see phones being touched when handling or preparing food, phones are very personal items and should be supplemented with devices that aren’t in your bed… or the restroom… anyways

The custard filling is everything you could want from a pastry, yet the sugar sits in the back seat for this one… it’s all about the textures and the process… one bite was probably possible, but I did it in 3 just to tell the tale of the crust without the mouthful of cream… (that’s what she said?)

Love it,

5 stars

Great name

DoBe,

Do...

TLDR; iiiiiiiit's good, just barely satisfied my craving, but expensive for size and quality. I did order it for delivery, but I'm eager to try in-person next time.

Since coming back from Portugal earlier this year, I have been absolutely craving a near match of pastel de nata. This is in the Uber Eats delivery zone to where I work so I decided to order a 12-piece to share with my co-workers. I'm not sure if in-store prices are the same, but it was $48 for a 12-piece, so $4 each (not including delivery fees)! It's expensive for the size (ex. an Ariscault chocolate almond croissant, which is arguably bigger even for this type of pastry, is $6.75). I'm not suggesting the pastel de nata be "american sized" but the ones back in Porto were more substantial and cheaper (yes, I know ingredients in America are preposterously expensive so not a fair comparison). The crust was flakey, but dry and the custard itself had a mild vanilla flavor, but quite frankly, mostly bland. That said, my co-workers loved them so a...