Pasteis de Belem Reviews (Lisbon, Portugal)

175 years of custard tart heaven

Northampton, United Kingdom

August 26, 2012

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Best of IgoUgo What’s the best way to prepare for a six course dinner? Perhaps you should starve yourself all day to ensure you’ve got plenty of space. Perhaps you should take a light salad at lunch and eat frugally. Or maybe – just maybe – when you’re in Lisbon, ...Read more What’s the best way to prepare for a six course dinner? Perhaps you should starve yourself all day to ensure you’ve got plenty of space. Perhaps you should take a light salad at lunch and eat frugally. Or maybe – just maybe – when you’re in Lisbon, you should have a mountain of codfish for lunch and then prepare for dinner by going out for a custard tart at the fabulous Antiga Casa de Pasteis de Belem, next door to the city’s famous Jeronimos Monastery.

I first discovered the ‘Old Tart House’ during a weekend in the city six years ago when my Portuguese friend took my husband and me to buy tarts after a visit to the monastery. On that occasion the place was so busy that we bought from the counter at the front of the building and then went to eat them on a park bench. This time my colleague Isabel was determined that I should actually eat my tart ‘in situ’.

We arrived at about seven in the evening with a booking for dinner a few miles away at eight. Isabel led me through the rabbit warren of rooms, all filled with small tables and chairs and happy tart-eaters. We passed the bakery area where we could see the hot tarts being taken out of the over, and into a large room with a queuing system. By nature, most of the Portuguese colleagues I have are pretty rubbish about standing in line and love to push ahead if they can, but they soon seem to learn that Brits are deeply disturbed and discomforted by not waiting patiently and fairly for a table to become available.

We must have waited fifteen or twenty minutes. One large room that Isabel said would normally be open had been closed off so things were busier than normal. A man with a tummy that suggested that too many years indulging in tarts at the Antiga Casa had left him unable to squeeze between the tables any more so he now had the unenviable responsibility of controlling the line. Other men – all of them easily in their late fifties or sixties, scurried around taking orders and delivering the pastries to hungry diners.

All of the rooms in the Antiga Casa look quite similar although the one we were in was much newer than many of them. All the rooms have the same minimalist furniture and the walls are tiled to about three or four feet high with traditional blue and white Portuguese tiles. The room was very warm and we couldn’t see much sign of any kind of ventilation so by the time we finally got a table we were happy to grab it even though it hadn’t been cleared and we were left to sit with the debris of the previous diners.

There’s a menu on the wall to look at whilst you wait but this isn’t a place where you need a menu because you’re not going to sit down and then think "Why am I here? What did I want to eat?" The only relevant questions will be "How many tarts do I want and what do I want to drink with them?" We ordered six – two each to take away (Isabel sent her husband a photo of a tart whilst we were there and he was already getting excited about the thought of them being taken home for him) and one each to eat immediately. I ordered a Coke Max and Isabel an iced tea. The waiter carefully cleared our table and returned a few minutes later with the Pasteis.

It would be hard in Portugal to find a place that doesn’t sell ‘Pasteis de Nata’ – or cream pastries but only the Antiga Casa in Belem sells the authentic ‘Pasteis de Belem’ which are said to be made to a special secret recipe. No other place is allowed to use the name. Pasteis de Nata are ubiquitous; every supermarket and small bakery has them. Even McDonalds and Starbucks have them in their selection. I did a bit of a survey that day whilst driving around supermarkets and cafes and discovered that the standard price in a supermarket is 39 cents. In McDonalds McCafe outlets it’s about 85c. Starbucks was a fairly shocking €1.25 whilst the Antiga Casa charges a very reasonable €1.05 for each tart. Take a few but don’t keep them too long as they’re best eaten whilst they’re still warm.

I’m a great lover of Pasteis de Nata, so much so that when I used to visit our factory in the North of Portugal, my colleagues would go out and get them for me or even warm up some from the company who supplies us. We actually sell the margarine which the Antiga Casa use for their pastry and I’m told it’s part of the secret to why the pastry is so crisp and hard compared to every other place. It’s also apparently something to do with the hand forming of the pastry shells. Don’t worry – neither tip will actually help anyone to recreate these little beauties.

So what is a Pasteis de Belem (or de Nata)? It’s a small shallow pastry shell, filled with a very sweet, very deep yellow custard that’s been baked to create a deep brown, almost burnt-looking skin on the top. The tarts are about two to two and a half inches in diameter and when you bit into one, you get the exquisite combination of soft, warm, sweet custard and the snap of firm crisp pastry. Although they’re quite small, don’t get too carried away as they’re very filling.

There’s nothing elegant or sophisticated about the Antiga Casa but there doesn’t need to be. People are there to worship at the shrine of the ultimate custard tart, any frills or fancies are just not needed. For 175 years they’ve been making them and selling them at this place and it’s fair to say that there’s nothing left for them to prove.

If you prefer not to eat inside or if the queues are just too much to bear, there’s a small shop at the front of the store with beautiful old cabinets and a gorgeous old counter. Again, you should expect a queue but it will move quickly. The only possible reason not to go to the Antiga Casa de Pasteis de Belem is if you hate custard tarts or if you’re medically banned from indulging in such delights. Those who fit the former category are unnatural and those in the latter are much to be pitied.
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From journal Lisbon - one dish at a time

The World's Greatest House of Tarts

by koshkha

Northampton, United Kingdom

April 5, 2009

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Best of IgoUgo When I was a child my confectionery tastes leaned towards towering heaps of chocolate, whipped cream and nuts. I would inevitably plump (appropriate word that) for the biggest, naughtiest cake in the shop; the one you didn't know whether to eat or ...Read more

From journal Eating, Sleeping & Looking at Fish

The Cafe that Serves the Best Custard Tarts Ever

by Praskipark

Warsaw, Poland

March 27, 2009

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Best of IgoUgo Fabrica dos Pasteis de Belem ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are many fine restaurants in Belem. In fact, they line theRua de Belem, which leads away from the Jeronimos monastery into the town centre. Now if you have been to Portugal before you will ...Read more Fabrica dos Pasteis de Belem
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There are many fine restaurants in Belem. In fact, they line the
Rua de Belem, which leads away from the Jeronimos monastery into the town centre. Now if you have been to Portugal before you will certainly have eaten a pastel de nata which is an egg custard tart made of the lightest, flakiest pastry ever. Believe me, nobody makes these little tarts like the Portuguese.

There is a traditional cafe called Fabrica dos Pasteis de Belem and it is here where they make the egg custards but the Lisboans call them Pastel de Belem and they have been making them on these premises since 1837. This is a very popular destination for tourists and if you hope to try one of these delicacies then you may have to queue a long time.

But it is worth it because the building is worth a visit even if you don't get to sit down and eat a custard tart. As you approach the pavement made from calcadas (Portuguese mosaics) you will see the front of the Fabrica as each window has a bright blue canopy swaying in the wind with the name of the Restaurant/Cafe above and the facade of the building is adorned in blue and white tiles.

As you enter you will catch a glimpse of a time passed when cafes where grand, had large engraved ceilings with beautiful detailed lamps hanging from the centre, casting golden shadows on the cabinets filled with bottles of port, wine, brandy, medronho and other Portuguese sweet licquers and the counters were higher than the people who stood behind them.

This is a wonderful environment to sit, drink coffee and taste one or two of these creamy filled pastries. There are six rooms in the building - all decorated in blue azulejos (Portuguese tiles).To find the top floor it is like walking through a labyrinth of nooks and crannies. Every room is generally bursting at the seams and the waiters who are always smiling, dressed in black and white, with black bow ties, dance around with drinks and pastries piled high on trays.

In the kitchen of this famous building are lots of women standing over trays and trays of flaky pastry, shaping and moulding the delicate round shape of the custard tart while others are boiling milk, vanilla, sugar and cream to pour into the bases.

I have tasted many a custard tart in lots of countries but the Lisboans know how to create perfection.

Do not miss the Fabrica dos Pasteis de Belem. You will be in for a treat!

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From journal Biding my Time in Belem

Pasteis de Belem

by janebubb

New York, New York

October 29, 2001

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Best of IgoUgo If you're on your way to Belem to visit the Monastery de Jeronimo, you have to stop here first. There are tons of places that claim to offer the pastry of Belem, a creamy egg tart baked until nearly scorched that you eat piping hot from the oven, ...Read more

From journal Once Upon a Time in Lisbon

Pasteis de Belem

by akakd

, Arizona

November 5, 2000

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This is obviously a favorite for locals. The place was packed. Their specialties are pastries filled with meat and cheeses and pastries with a custard filling.

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175 years of custard tart heaven

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175 years of custard tart heaven

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