Pastéis de Belém

Every café in Portugal sells pastéis de nata, the little custard tarts in crisp, flaky pastry, but there is only one Pastéis de Belém, and a visit is a rite of passage. The story begins at the Jerónimos Monastery a few doors away. When the religious orders were dissolved in 1834, the monks, the story goes, started selling sweet pastries to survive, and in 1837 a sugar refinery shop next to the monastery began producing them commercially from the monastic recipe. The same family-run business has been making them ever since, and the recipe is still a closely guarded secret, prepared by hand by a handful of master bakers in a closed room they call the Oficina do Segredo, the Secret Workshop. The tarts are sold here, and only here, as pastéis de Belém; everywhere else they are pastéis de nata. They arrive warm, with a blistered top and a shatteringly crisp shell, and you dust them yourself from shakers of cinnamon and icing sugar on the table. The building on the Rua de Belém has grown into a rambling sequence of rooms lined with blue-and-white azulejos, and it seats a remarkable number of people. Most visitors see the queue outside, which is for takeaway, and join it; the trick is to walk past it and go inside, where table service in the dining rooms usually moves faster, and you can sit with a coffee and watch the trays come out of the kitchen. It opens early and closes late, and every day of the year it is busy. A tart costs very little, so order at least two each.

The taste test is half the fun. Lisbon's pastry scene is competitive, and many locals have their own favourite nata bakery in town, from the Chiado to the Baixa. Belém's version is distinctive: the custard is less sweet and slightly looser than many, and the pastry thinner and crisper. Eat them at once, while they are warm; they are made continuously through the day, so you can be confident of freshness. The menu also offers other traditional pastries, sandwiches and savoury snacks if you need a light lunch.

Timing matters. Early morning is the calmest, before the tour coaches arrive at Belém, and late afternoon after the monuments close can also be easier. In the middle of the day the takeaway queue stretches along the pavement, but it moves surprisingly fast thanks to a well-drilled counter team, and the inside rooms usually have space. A box of six to take away travels well for a picnic in the Jardim de Belém or by the river, and the shop sells little paper packets of cinnamon and sugar to go with them.

Pastéis de Belém fits naturally into a Belém day. Do Jerónimos Monastery at opening, cross to the river for the Padrão dos Descobrimentos and Belém Tower, and then reward yourself with tarts on the way back to the tram or train. Alternatively, start with breakfast here, then walk to the monastery for your timed slot. Either way, try them more than once during your trip: comparing Belém's original with the best bakeries in the city centre is one of the most enjoyable forms of research in Lisbon.