You cannot leave Portugal without having a nata. Or two. Or more. BUT you must have them from some place that prepares them with care. A nata is essentially a hard pastry shell filled with an egg-custard concoction – a custard tart. Some like to sprinkle a bit of cinnamon powder on it – I’m fine without. If you’re in the city of Porto, I highly recommend that you have your natas at Manteigaria. They’re a spacious (but always busy!) café that specialises in natas and has several fresh, hot batches coming out of the oven every hour. If you hear a bell clanging while walking around the area, that indicates that a fresh batch of delicately sweet natas has just made their way out of the oven. It also implies that you should probably make a dash for it. They’re near-divine. Just try it. You won’t stop at one.

Preparation of nata