Lisbon's Pastéis de Belém - Worth The Hype?

If you ever visit Lisbon, you shouldn’t miss the spectacular taste of one of their most famous dessert, Pastel de Nata.

Pastel de Nata is a custard tart made with butter, sugar and egg yolk. It is eaten piping hot with some cinnamon and icing sugar sprinkled on top.

The most famous bakery or pastelería to try this is Pastel de Belém. Situated at Rua Belém, this bakery is one is the most crowded and visited bakeries in Lisbon (it is a 400 - seat bakery). On a normal sunny day, you will see a long line of around 200 people waiting in queue to get their Pastel fix!

It is said that the first Pastel de Nata was made by the monks who then passed on the recipe to their families. It is believed that the recipe at Pastel de Belém was sourced from one of these families and till date is never written down on paper. The 3 people of the family who know the recipe have memorised it and supposedly are not allowed to travel together.

This Café is a quaint place with the iconic blue and white tiles all around. You can grab a table here (if you are lucky) and enjoy this delicacy with a hot cup of coffee for 2.50 euros.

But is it worth the hype? I ate better Pastel de Nata at smaller bakeries in the city.