Restaurants and Cafés

No visit to Lisbon is complete without trying Belém Pastries. These are the famous cream cakes made from puff pastry filled with milk, cream, vanilla and... nobody quite knows. That is just how it is. The recipe for Belém Pastries is one of the best kept secrets in Portuguese gastronomy. Nobody knows just what it is naturally except those actually working in the factory with its café in Belém right by the Mosteiro dos Jerónimos. Belém Pastries have become an attraction in themselves. Everyday around 10,000 such cakes are sold from number 84, Rua de Belém.

The ´Casa dos Pastéis de Belém´ was founded in 1837 and has thus far had three different owners but always the same recipe, secretly handed on by each owner. The café itself has its own history and sets off the cakes to great effect decked out in tile panels from the 18th century. This is the very place to try one of those pastries. And stick to tradition. The Pastries should always be accompanied by cinnamon and sugar!