A must in Lisbon to taste the famous pastel de nata. They come straight out of the oven to go into your mouth.
If you can buy almost everywhere (and even in supermarkets) pastéis de nata, a kind of very small puff pastry with an absolutely delicious flan, the only ones, the real ones, the unique ones, it is in Belém that you will taste them. Founded in 1837, this venerable antiga confeitaria holds their trade secret. Only five people (out of 160 working there) know the real recipe and make a written promise not to share it with anyone! Every day, more than 20,000 delicacies come out of the ovens to be taken away, in cardboard boxes from 6 around the world to be served warm and sprinkled with cinnamon, then swallowed up by a large contingent of faithful and new followers. A wide choice of other excellent pastries also brightens up the shop fronts. You can do the crane foot at the counter or, better still, sit down in the row of refectories and vaulted lounges lined with azulejos (400 seats). On weekends and in season, it is a bit like the factory with a queue, but all the gourmands share with serenity the pastel cult. After the tower, the monastery, the various museums... It is THE essential stopover in Belém.
Further information
Opening time and information on PASTÉIS DE BELÉM
Open daily from 8am to 9pm, 7pm on public holidays.
Owner's Message
At the beginning of the 19th century, in Belém, near the "Mosteiro dos Jerónimos" (Jerónimos Monastery), there was a sugar cane refinery, associated with a small store of all kinds. Following the liberal revolution of 1820, all the convents in the country were
in the country were closed in 1834 and the clergy and their workers were expelled.
However, in order to survive, one of the former occupants of the
occupants of the monastery decided, in 1837, to sell, in the same small store, tarts from the original recipe of the monastery and quickly
called "Pastéis de Belém" (Belém Tarts).
At the time, Belém was far from Lisbon and the journey was made by steamer. However, the sumptuousness of the "Mosteiro dos Jerónimos" and the "Torre de Belém" attracted visitors who quickly got used to savoring the delicious tarts of the Monastery.
The making of the "Pastéis de Belém" in the annexed facilities of the old refinery, according to the ancient "secret recipe" originating from the monastery, has since been passed on to the successive pastry masters and is exclusively known to them, who today continue to make them in an artisanal way at the "Secret Workshop". This recipe remains unchanged!
In fact, thanks to the know-how of its master pastry chefs and the most judicious choice of its ingredients, the "Pastéis de Belém" still offer the unique flavor of the Portuguese pastry of the past.
Members' reviews on PASTÉIS DE BELÉM
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