Tushar Pande
Google
ChatGPT recommendations strike gold again! We randomly sampled a few natas near the ribiera area of Porto after getting here as our starting point for the portugal trip and we were not really sure about how we felt about Pastel de Nata and the hype around it. So I asked ChatGPT about the best spots in town where I could grab one and this place was the top recommendation. And, OMG, was out perception of Pastel de nata set straight right after the first bite we took of these beauties.
They are made very fresh apparently and you can see that visually as the bakers are prepping these which can be seen through the windows of the place.
This was the crispiest Pastel de Nata we had in our stay in Portugal on the outside and not the thickest in terms of custard consistency on the inside but I personally thought their custard density was perfect! A tad bit on the sweeter side as far as sweetness goes but for Indian taste buds used to jalebis and gulaab jamun I don't think any Indian tourist would complain on that front. The freshness of the nata was very evident in every bite
I recommend trying it both with the cinnamon sprinking on and without. Both have their own charm. The price point was very very reasonable for such excellent quality.
A few days later we were in Lisbon, and we tried the famous pasteis de belem next to the Jeronimos monestary , this was the birthplace of pastel de nata and where every google, tripadvisor, instagram and other reviewer told us we would find the best pastel de nata on the planet.
Well, I can't complain about the nata I found there, but the crown of "best" , based on my limited experience, goes firmly to Manteigaria in Porto.
QED. Enough said. :)