Where to find the Portuguese custard tarts in Massachusetts

The custard is a simple mixture of egg yolks, milk, sugar, cornstarch and/or flour for thickening, and flavorings, such as lemon, vanilla, and cinnamon. The dough, similar to croissant and puff pastry dough, is folded around a slab of butter, margarine, or other vegetable shortening, rolled out, and folded and rolled a few more times to create many layers that crisp in the oven.

Pasteis de nata have been made in Portugal for at least 200 years. They originated in convents and monasteries as a way for bakers to use up egg yolks and raise funds for expenses. The tarts made here are typically family recipes brought over from the old country or the ones that came with the purchase of an existing bakery, from the original owner.

On my South Coast nata tasting outing, I went to seven bakeries, four in New Bedford and three in Fall River. To my surprise, some of the natas I bought were cold. Based on what I learned in Lisbon, natas should not be served or eaten cold. More on that later.

Three of the tarts I sampled brought back fond taste memories from Lisbon. These were from Fall River’s Barcelos Bakery and Europa Pastries & Coffee Shop and New Bedford’s Goulart Square Bakery. Coincidentally, these were the top three winners in the “Nata Throwdown” held in Fall River and New Bedford back in February 2023.

The neighborly competition between the two South Coast cities, organized by Viva Fall River and New Bedford Food Tours, attracted both locals and others, some of whom came from Boston, to taste and rate the natas from nine bakeries. Patti Rego, executive director of Viva Fall River, says the competition was not only fun, but helped increase visits to the area during what is normally a slow winter month.

Most of the South Coast bakeries open very early in the morning, usually by 5 a.m. Sara Rodrigues, co-owner of Barcelos Bakery in Fall River with her husband Antonio, says, “We serve a large Portuguese community and the construction workers, landscapers, and other workers come in early for coffee and breakfast sandwiches, and some grab their lunch as well.”

On a Saturday morning, not many customers in the cafe were eating natas, but there were trays of freshly baked tarts in glass cases. Rodrigues says people often buy a box of natas to take home for weekend desserts. There’s no question the Portuguese like their sweets. Most of the bakeries I visited offer cakes, tarts, cannoli, napoleons, cookies, sweet buns, and malassadas (fried dough coated with sugar), as well as Portuguese breads and rolls.

The natas at Barcelos Bakery have the necessary features of browned, crisp, flaky pastry shells and creamy vanilla-scented custard with nice caramelization on top. The bakery, owned by the Rodrigues’s for more than 20 years, makes other small tarts called queijadas, which have fillings of almond, coconut, bean, and Azorean custard.

Europa Pastries & Coffee Shop, also in Fall River, was founded in 1998 and purchased six years ago by Andrew Ferreira and his sister and brother-in-law, Erica and Kevin Couto. “We try to be as traditional as we can, but modern as well,” says Ferreira. Their nata recipe comes from the bakery’s first owner and calls for dough made with soy-based shortening. The tarts boast a thick, flaky crust and creamy custard subtly flavored with vanilla and lemon. They’re baked fresh every morning, along with other sweets, including cannoli, cookies, and cavacas, which are light, airy Portuguese popovers glazed with lemon icing. For lunch, there are Portuguese style sandwiches, soups, and other savory items.

Goulart Square Bakery of New Bedford won the nata throwdown two years ago. Susana Gaspar owns the bakery, which her late husband, Jose Gaspar, started 48 years ago. “I was very happy to win,” she says. “My husband had just passed, so I wanted to do this in his honor. It was bittersweet.”

The bakery opens at 5:30 a.m. daily and the bakers arrive at 11 p.m. to make all the pastries and breads. Natas are baked early morning. Some are par-baked and frozen, so they can be finished throughout the day as needed. Their dough is made with soybean shortening, a product called FlakeMor.

The nata I tasted had a nicely browned, flaky crust and slightly firm, but creamy custard. To my palate, the tart tasted a bit salty. It might have been the batch I had, although Gaspar says the dough can sometimes be a little salty. When I ordered the nata, I was asked a very appropriate question: Do you want a lighter or darker one? Darker, please! For my taste buds (and eyes), the more caramelized the custard and browner, crisper the crust, the better. “People have preferences,” says Gaspar, who estimates it’s a 50:50 split between customers’ choices of light and dark natas.

At some bakeries, the tarts are refrigerated along with other cream-based pastries. If you’re visiting a shop with refrigerated natas, I’d skip these and order something else. The pastry will likely be soft, not flaky and crisp, and the filling will be a cold, firm custard, not the velvety texture you’d find in warm or room temperature natas. (While I’m a fan of chilled custard in various custard pies, it’s not standard for authentic pasteis de nata.)

When I asked Gaspar about chilled natas, she states simply: “They shouldn’t be refrigerated.”

At Holiday Bakery in New Bedford on a Saturday morning, I was in line with customers who spoke Portuguese to the women behind the counter. There was a large assortment of pastries to choose from, as well as freshly baked Portuguese bread. The nata I tasted had a nice vanilla-flavored custard, but it was cold. I was told that if you arrive at the bakery soon after the pastries are baked, you can get warm or room temperature natas, otherwise the tarts are kept refrigerated.

For excellent natas close to Boston, visit Flake Bakery in Brookline. Cristina Quintino and her husband, Stephen Chen, opened the pastelaria last fall. It’s a small shop with two offerings: pasteis de nata and coffee. Quintino was raised in Lisbon, and after college and a few jobs in Boston, she thought natas would be a “fun thing to add to the Boston food scene.” She returned to Portugal to learn how to make them, apprenticed at a few bakeries, and refined her recipe. She uses margarine in the dough, as many Lisbon pastelarias do, she says. The custard is scented with lemon peel and cinnamon stick. My first bite tasted a little coconutty. While there is no coconut in the recipe, Quintino says the toasty, burnt sugar caramelization of the custard may bring notes of coconut.

Quintino says she’s never been served a cold nata in Lisbon. She thinks shops that make many different pastries might refrigerate the natas because they’re not baked every day or they’re only baked once in the early morning. She explains that Brookline health regulations dictate the tarts cannot be left for more than four hours on a heating tray, which keeps them warm, and cannot sit at room temperature for more than 24 hours. The bakery makes batches of natas throughout the day, and it rarely has any left at closing time. Quintino advises customers to keep the tarts at room temperature for up to one day, then refrigerate or freeze the pastries. She offers reheating instructions to warm and crisp them before eating.

In Boston, Cafe Pastel in the Raffles hotel makes pasteis de nata, and theirs was the most expensive one I encountered at $6 per tart. (At Flake Bakery, a nata costs $3.50; at the South Coast bakeries, most cost about $2.00.) Cafe Pastel’s nata had a pleasing soft custard, but a disappointing soft crust, as only the rim of the tart shell was crisp. And the nata was slightly salty. I started to worry I was becoming overly sensitive to salt, but then learned the bakers do, indeed, sprinkle the tarts with a little salt and cinnamon. I’m not sure traditional Lisbon pastelarias would approve.

My advice? If you want a truly authentic pasteis de nata eating experience, where the tarts — divinely velvety custard in flaky-crisp pastry shells — are baked all day long and served warm or at room temperature, figure out a way to get yourself to Lisbon. But in the South Coast and Boston area, you can certainly find natas that will appeal. No airplane ticket required.

• Barcelos Bakery, 695 Bedford St., Fall River, 508-676-8661
• Beira Mar Bakery, 82 Cove St., New Bedford, 506-992-8999
• Cafe Pastel, 40 Trinity Place, Boston, 800-768-9009
• Economy Bakery, 1685 Acushnet Ave., New Bedford, 508-992-9138
• Europa Pastries & Coffee Shop, 65 Columbia St., Fall River, 508-678-5562
• Flake Bakery, 1298 Beacon St., Brookline, 617-290-3906
• Goulart Square Bakery, 413 Rivet St., New Bedford, 508-996-4327
• Holiday Bakery, 2153 Acushnet Ave., New Bedford, 508-995-0012
• Leddy’s Bakery & Coffee Shop 1481 S Main St., Fall River, 508-672-0832
• Sunrise Bakery & Coffee Shop, 506 Bolton St., New Bedford, 508-997-6570
• United Liberty Bakery, 1173 Stafford Road, Fall River, 508-674-8706

Lisa Zwirn can be reached at lzwirn9093@gmail.com.

Lisa Zwirn can be reached at lzwirn9093@gmail.com.