Santa Nata

The story of the pastel de nata The story of the original pastel de nata dates back to before the 18th century, where they were created by monks at the Jerónimos Monastery in the parish of our namesake, Santa Maria de Belém in Lisbon. At the time, egg whites were used for starching clothes, which meant the leftover egg yolks were transformed into cakes, pastries and desserts. In 1834, all of Lisbon’s convents and monasteries were forced to close, so the monks began to sell the sweet pastries to survive. Portugal is famed the world over for the pastel de nata – crisp, flaky layers of pastry with a delicious, creamy egg-custard filling and a dusting of cinnamon. A favourite snack for the Portuguese, these little tarts are usually eaten with an espresso at all times of the day. At Santa Nata, we only serve authentic and delicious pasteis de nata, handmade throughout the day, every day, by our master pastry chefs.