Portuguese
Bakery, Café
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Review
Pastéis de Belém has been baking its iconic custard tarts since 1837, using the original recipe created by the monks of the nearby Jerónimos Monastery. After the monasteries closed in 1834, one former cleric began selling the pastries in a small shop next to an old sugar refinery, preserving the monastic formula.
The recipe remains a strict secret, known only to a few master pastry chefs who still make the tarts by hand in the “Secret Workshop.” Nearly two centuries later, Pastéis de Belém continues to be the only place preparing them exactly as they were in the 19th century.