Dolci
Pastelarias can be found on almost every street corner in Lisbon and they often offer a wide variety of typical Portuguese pastries, or pastéis in Portuguese, and desserts.
A lot of these pastries and desserts are made using almost identical ingredients, which is usually any combination of flour, egg, sugar and / or (condensated) milk. And although the look of a lot of the pastries may be similar, the taste and freshness of the pastries may differ considerably depending on how old the pastry is (some pastelarias keep their pastries for several days) and just on the quality of the pastry itself, since some of the pastelarias make the pastries and desserts themselves (fabrico proprio) and others will buy them from bakeries.
What follows is a a guide to some of the best traditional Portuguese pastries you can find in Lisbon and the best places to eat them.
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BOLO DE REI (King’s Bread)
Description: A traditional Portuguese Christmas bread/cake filled with raisins, pine nuts and candied fruits. It comes in different sizes and is sold by weight, and can be found during the Christmas and New Years period.
Where: Panificação Reunida de São Roque (Rua Dom Pedro V 57, Lisboa, Principe Real area)
Tip: Although this Panificação may not be selling Bolo de Rei year round it is a nice place to visit because of its unique Portuguese interior. And also the broas here are worth it!
Rating: 7/10
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BROAS
Description: A special sweet, but firm, bread filled with raisins, nuts and candied fruits. Perfect for breakfast or as a snack during the day.
Where: Pastelaria Forninho de São Roque (Rua do Poço dos Negros 72, Lisboa, Santa Catarina area (electrico 28 passes through this street))
Tip: Broas can also be found in smaller ‘bite’ sizes, which makes it a perfect accompaniment to a mid-morning coffee or tea.
Rating: 7/10
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FOLAR DA PASCOA
Description: A traditional Easter bread, which is a bit sweet due to the addition of milk and cinnamon or lemon and is baked with eggs folded inside.
Where: Pastelaria 1800 (Largo do Rato, 7, Lisbo, Rato area)
Tip: Close to Rato you can find the Mãe d’Água das Amoreiras Reservoir, part of the Águas Livres Aqueduct.
Rating: 7/10
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GUARDANAPO (Napkin)
Description: A simple fluffy cake base with an egg and sugar cream filling. It traditionally comes in the form of a folded napkin, but at this pastelaria they also have a ‘rolled’ version with exactly the same ingredients.
Where: Pastelaria Az de Comer (Rua Almeida e Sousa, 32, Lisboa, Campo de Ourique area)
Tip: Prazeres Cemetery is something you do not want to miss when you are in the Campo de Ourique area.
Rating: 6/10
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PALMIER COBERTO (Covered Palm)
Description: The origin of the Palmier probably lies in France, but the Portuguese have given this sweet made of puff pastry its own twist by covering it with a sweet egg mixture.
Where: Pastelaria Bela Ipanema, (Av. Liberdade 169, Lisboa, Liberdade area)
Tip: A few doors down from this Pastelaria you find the Sao Jorge Cinema which hosts various film festivals throughout the year, among which Motel X, a festival dedicated to horror movies.
Rating: 8/10
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PAMPILHO DE SANTAREM
Description: As it says in the name this pastry has its origin in Santarém, which is a town to the north of Lisbon. It has a doughy outside with a small layer of sweet egg filling (doce de ovos) rolled into it. Really delicious.
Where: Boutique Doce (Rua da Lapa 22, Lisboa, Lapa/Madragoa area)
Tip: This pastelaria is close to Jardim da Estrela, which is the perfect place to sit down on a hot summer day as it has plenty of shade and a nice atmosphere.
Rating: 9/10
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PAO DE DEUS (‘Bread of God’)
Description: Sweet bread, in this case, abundantly covered with a sweet coconut egg mixture. In most pastelarias you will find Pão de Deus, but generally there is more bread and less of the coconut mixture on top.
Where: Pastelaria Conde (Calçada Marquês de Abrantes 9, Lisboa, Santos area)
Tip: This pastelaria is also specialized in croissants, either plain, with chocolate or a sweet egg filling. They are nice but be prepared, especially the croissants with the filling, are very sweet.
Rating: 8/10
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PAO DE RALA
Description: Pão de Rala is a another delicious sweet bread made of almond dough with a unique and typical Portuguese sweet egg filling. It is a typical sweet from the Alentejo region in Portugal.
Where: Botica do Café in Algés (it is in the passage between the Pingo Doce on Rua Gen. Humberto Delgado and Rua Damião de Góis, just before the last stop of the tram) or Botica do Café in Campo de Ourique (Rua Sampaio Bruno)
Tip: Algés is situated along the Tejo (or Tagus) just past Belém. For those who like running it makes for a perfect, more or less 10k, from the center of Lisbon (Cais do Sodré). Just follow the river. It is one of the best runs in Lisbon.
Rating: 9/10
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PASTEL DE NATA
Description: A classic Portuguese custard pastry, which is also one of the few Portuguese pastries that you can find outside of Portugal. Nice and creamy with a crispy crust.
Where: Pastéis de Belém (Rua de Belém, 84-92, Lisboa, Belém area)
Tip: Pastéis de Belém seems to be one of the few places where they are served fresh from the oven, so you can actually try them when they are still warm. Although opinions differ, and you may buy one extra so you can try them cold as well.
Rating: 8/10
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PASTEL DE TENTUGAL
Description: A light and tasty pastry originating in Tentúgal (a parish in the district of Coimbra, Portugal) consisting of a sweet egg filling in filo pastry.
Where: Botica do Café in Campo de Ourique (Rua Sampaio Bruno)
Tip: At this pastelaria you can also get the Pão de Rala, which is still a favorite.
Rating: 8/10
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QUEIJADA DE AMÊNDOA / CENOURA / LARANJA
Description: This is the queijada in its less traditional form with a variety of fillings such as almonds, carrots or oranges. More variations exist and this is just a small selection
Where: Pastelaria Real Principe (Rua Escola Politecnica 51, Lisboa, Principe Real area)
Tip: This pastelaria usually has a selection of different queijadas on offer so you can try several and compare.
Rating: 7/10
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QUEIJADA DA MADEIRA
Description: In Portugal you can find a range of different queijadas, which are best described as small tarts with generally a sweet base filling of fresh cheese, sugar and eggs. The Queijada da Madeira is made of requeijão, which is comparable to ricotta cheese, eggs, cocos and sugar and is shaped differently from the traditional queijada since the filling is wrapped in the pastry instead of having the classic tart form.
Where: Casa Chinesa (Rua do Ouro, 274-278, Lisboa, Baixa area)
Tip: Just around the corner from Casa Chinesa you find Rojoo where can you buy the uniquely flavored Zotter chocolate bars.
Rating: 8/10
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QUEIJADA DE REQUEIJAO
Description: This is the queijada in its traditional form simply made with requeijão (similar to ricotta cheese), eggs and sugar. A nice sweet pastry for any moment of the day.
Where: Casa Chinesa (Rua do Ouro, 274-278, Lisboa, Baixa area)
Tip: Casa Chinesa is only steps away from Elevador de Santa Justa (‘Santa Justa elevator’), a unique 45 meter high iron lift in the center of Lisbon.
Rating: 7/10
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QUEQUE DE LARANJA (“Orange cake”)
Description: A very simple but delicious orange cake that is still slightly moist. There is not much more to it than eggs, sugar, flower, yeast and oranges but it is hard to find such a simple pleasure.
Where: Pastelaria Conde (Calçada Marquês de Abrantes 9, Lisboa, Santos area)
Tip: Everything is made fresh daily at this pastelaria and it is usually quite busy so come early in the day not to be disappointed.
Rating: 9/10
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ROCHA (‘Rock”)
Description: A sweet, slightly moist, mass with a dense texture and dried and candied fruits and nuts. A unique taste and quite filling, so definitely something you can share with a friend on a nice sunny Lisbon day.
Where: Pastelaria Real Principe (Rua Escola Politecnica 51, Lisboa, Principe Real area)
Tip: Take the Rocha home, slice it in smaller pieces and dip it in chocolate. Delicious!
Rating: 8/10
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TIJELADA
Description: A traditional pastry from the Beia Baixa area of Portugal. It is another variation on the traditional custard pastry, this time without a crust and the custard being baked in the oven in a clay pot. Perfect as dessert.
Where: Café Gelo (Praça D. Pedro IV, Lisboa, Baixa area)
Tip: Trying to order something in Café Gelo is quite confusing, but just insist and you will be able to enjoy your pastry on one of the benches in the square.
Rating: 7/10
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XADREZ (“Chess”)
Description: A cake in the form of a chess board with a chocolate glaze on the outside and a creamy layer between the cake squares. The creamy layer is generally a mixture of egg white and sugar, but in this case it is more chocolate based, which definitely makes it a superior version.
Where: Pastelaria Real Principe (Rua Escola Politecnica 51, Lisboa, Principe Real area)
Tip: This Pastelaria is just a few steps away from Lisbon’s Jardim Botânico, a wonderful botanical garden that is more a park than a garden and a nice hide-out on a warm Lisbon day.
Rating: 8/10
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