Lisbon · Porto · Portugal
Portugal's custard tart, sold beside the monastery in Belém since 1837. Roll the flaky pastry, whisk the custard and pull a tray of blistered, golden tarts from a very hot oven, then eat them warm with a bica.
Classes
In the centre, the most booked class in Lisbon: two hours near Belém with port and a ginjinha. On the left, a masterclass inside a working bakery; on the right, eight guests at most making everything from scratch. Every card opens a full page.
Real bakery
★ 4.92 hoursFree cancellationA professional pastry chef teaches you inside a working bakery kitchen in the Baixa. You laminate the dough from zero and make at least three tarts by hand.
Top pick
★ 4.92 hoursFree cancellationChefs guide you from dough to oven in a cosy Lisbon kitchen, then you eat your warm tarts. Juice, coffee, port and a ginjinha tasting come with it.
Small group
★ 4.92 hoursFree cancellationEight guests at most make everything, pastry included, from scratch in the quarter where the tarts were born. A drink while they bake, and your own tarts to take away.
Two recipes
★ 4.72 hours
Pastry chef
★ 4.92 hours
Up to 10
★ 5.02 hours
Porto
★ 4.91 hour 30 minutes
Lowest price
★ 4.91 hour 30 minutes
From scratch
★ 4.92 hours 30 minutes
Algarve
★ 4.92 hoursCompare
Most classes have you laminate the pastry from scratch. A few, mostly in Porto, use dough made beforehand and spend the time on the custard, the shaping and the oven. Check that, the drinks and the group size before you choose.
| Class | Where | What you make | Best for | Length | From | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisbon Pastel de Nata Baking Class | Rua Aliança Operária 54, near Belém | Dough and custard, port and ginjinha | A first class in Lisbon | 2 hours | $61 | Book |
| Pastel de Nata Masterclass in a Real Bakery | Rua de Santa Justa 87, Baixa | Puff pastry from zero, 3 tarts | Serious bakers | 2 hours | $78 | Book |
| Small-Group Pastéis de Nata Class by Belém | Rua da Junqueira 200, by Belém | Everything from scratch, up to 8 | A small group | 2 hours | $72 | Book |
| 2-Hour Class: Pastel de Nata and a Second Recipe | Rua Heliodoro Salgado 12, Lisbon | Laminated pastry, 2 recipes | Two sweets in one | 2 hours | $60 | Book |
| Pastel de Nata Workshop with a French Pastry Chef | Avenida de Roma 87B, Lisbon | From scratch, recipe to take home | Pastry technique | 2 hours | $67 | Book |
| Small-Group Baking Class in Algés | Rua Margarida Palla 25A, Algés | From scratch, coffee, recipes | Staying near Belém | 2 hours | $61 | Book |
| Porto Pastel de Nata Workshop with a Drink | Rua Chã 77, Porto | Ready dough, 2+ tarts home | A fun hour in Porto | 1 hour 30 minutes | $39 | Book |
| Porto Pastel de Nata Class with Port Wine | Lapa and central Porto | Ready dough, shared steps | The lowest price | 1 hour 30 minutes | $37 | Book |
| Porto Class from Scratch with Wine | Vila Nova de Gaia, Porto | Dough from scratch, wine | The full craft in Porto | 2 hours 30 minutes | $48 | Book |
| Lagos Pastel de Nata Class, Algarve | The Kitchen, Lagos | From scratch, 3 tarts each | The Algarve | 2 hours | $72 | Book |
Every class here cancels free up to 24 hours before. Pastéis de nata contain eggs, milk, butter and wheat flour; ask about other diets when you book.
The story
In the early 1800s a sugar refinery with a little shop stood next to the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém. When Portugal shut its convents and monasteries in 1834, someone from the monastery began selling sweet pastries there, and in 1837 the bakery Pastéis de Belém started baking them.
The bakery says its recipe is still known only to the master confectioners who work in its secret room. Everyone else bakes their own version, and calls it a pastel de nata.
The year Pastéis de Belém began baking the monastery's tarts.
Most classes laminate the pastry; a few use ready dough.
Most classes send you off with your own tarts.
From 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours 30 minutes.
Up to 24 hours before, on every class here.
The class
Most classes take about two hours, from the first coffee to the first warm bite.
Aprons on, a drink and the story of the monks of Belém.
WelcomeButter folded into the dough, rolled thin, then rolled into a log and sliced.
Hands-onPress each disc into a tin with your thumbs, then fill it with custard.
Hands-onA few minutes in a very hot oven, then cinnamon, sugar and tasting.
The best partPlan your class
What you make, Lisbon or Porto, diets and ages, and where to taste the best: one tab each.
Where it is
Lisbon, Portugal
Two of the Lisbon classes are close to Belém, a short walk or tram ride from the Jerónimos Monastery and the Pastéis de Belém bakery. The bakery masterclass is in the Baixa, and the Porto and Lagos classes meet in town.
Around your class
When to go, what guests wish they had known, what is nearby and the fine print.
Guest reviews
★★★★★Incredible experience - my kids really enjoyed the session - Sophia was engaging and v patient. And the class was easy to follow plus the end result - most delicious pastel del nata
★★★★★One of the highlights of my trip to Lisbon. Each participant had their own mixing bowl which I appreciated as other places require you to share with a stranger if solo.
★★★★★Miguel was great! He made making a puff pastry from scratch look like the easiest thing in the world! Our pasteis de Nata were delicious and we had plenty to take with us!
★★★★★Great cooking activity! The group was nice, the organization was excellent, and we left with the recipes, our creations, and fond memories. A great time. I highly recommend it!
★★★★★A very well-organised cooking class with great guidance to ensure everyone kept up. We made two delicious desserts and learned lots of useful tips and tricks to recreate them at home.
★★★★★Lovely hosts! Very knowledgeable and funny. We were in a large group and she remembered all our names! I am a solo traveller and met 5 others which was really nice.
★★★★★The best pasteis we ate during our trip to Lisbon were Miguel's! (And we tasted a lot of them!)
★★★★★Absolutely brilliant experience with a very tasty result! Adriamo was a very engaging, knowledgeable and helpful instructor.
★★★★★Clear instructions. I really made everything myself from start to finish.
Another evening
Tarts are dessert. The same Lisbon kitchen runs a three-hour class where you cook a traditional four-course Portuguese meal, with wine and beer on the table.
Save an evening for the savoury side. In the same kitchen as the baking class, chefs guide you through a four-course traditional Portuguese meal, with finger food, wine, beer and coffee included.
4 coursesWine and beerFree cancellation
The guide
Thin pastry, a soft custard and a scorching oven: the whole trick, in three parts.
A good pastel de nata looks simple and is not. The pastry has to be rolled thin enough to shatter, the custard set without turning to scrambled egg, and the oven far hotter than most home ovens go. A class gives you the technique, the tools and a professional oven, and you eat the result warm, which is when they are best.
Guests say the same thing: they finally understood why the bakery ones taste so different, and they left with a box.
For a first class in Lisbon, the Lisbon baking class is our pick: two hours near Belém, chefs who take you from dough to oven, and port and a ginjinha while they bake. The bakery masterclass is for anyone who wants to laminate the pastry from zero in a professional kitchen. In Porto, the Gaia class is one of the few where you make the dough too.
They are the same family of tart. Pastéis de Belém is a name only the bakery by the Jerónimos Monastery may use, for tarts made to the recipe it has kept since 1837. Every other bakery in Portugal makes pastéis de nata, each to its own recipe, and the best of them are very good indeed.
Warm, if you can. A dusting of cinnamon or icing sugar is up to you, and the classic drink is a bica, a short espresso. Manteigaria suggests a glass of port or a ginjinha too. If you take some home, keep them out of the fridge and warm them for 2 to 3 minutes at 180 C.
Guides
In-depth guides to the pastel de nata and the questions people ask most before a class. See all guides.
Pastel de nata recipeIngredients and quantities, the syrup custard, the rolled pastry log and the hot-oven trick behind the dark blisters.
Pastel de nata vs pastel de BelémOne tart family, one registered name, one secret recipe from 1837, and how to taste both on a single morning.
Best pastel de nata in LisbonPastéis de Belém, Manteigaria, the 2026 contest winner Aloma and the other bakeries worth crossing town for.
Pastel de nata historyThe Jerónimos monks, the 1834 closure, the first bakery in 1837, why it is called nata and how it reached Macau.
Pastel de nata at homeMuffin tins, ready-made pastry, home-oven tricks, one giant tart, and how to keep, reheat and fly them home.
Is a pastel de nata class worth it?From-scratch pastry or ready dough, Lisbon or Porto, ages, diets and how many tarts you take home, class by class.From the blog
The 2026 best pastel de nata, Christmas sweets and a rainy-day plan. All posts.
Best pastel de nata in Lisbon 2026Aloma takes the title again, ahead of 7 Desejos and Casa do Padeiro. The podium, the blind-tasting rules, the past winners and where to find each one.
Christmas sweets in Lisbon 2026Bolo-rei with its old fava custom, fried sonhos and rabanadas, Pastéis de Belém's holiday hours and how to fit a baking class into the season.
Lisbon winter baking classesMild, wet and dark by 5:30 PM: the Lisbon winter by month, a rainy-day plan around Belém, and the indoor classes that turn a wet afternoon into warm tarts.FAQ
Straight answers to what people ask most about the pastel de nata and the classes.
Thin puff pastry rolled into a log, sliced and pressed into small tins, then filled with an egg custard of yolks, milk, sugar, flour, lemon peel and cinnamon and baked in a very hot oven. See the pastel de nata recipe.
Pastel de Belém is the name only one bakery may use: Pastéis de Belém, by the Jerónimos Monastery, baking since 1837 to a secret recipe. Everywhere else the same kind of tart is a pastel de nata. More in pastel de nata vs pastel de Belém.
Very thin, crisp pastry and a very hot oven. The heat blisters the custard and leaves the dark spots on top while the filling stays soft. A class shows you how to work the dough so the layers stay apart.
The monks of the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, as the story goes. When Portugal shut its monasteries in 1834, pastries from the monastery were sold in a shop next door, and in 1837 the bakery Pastéis de Belém began making them. See the history.
Pastéis de Belém for the original, Manteigaria for tarts baked in front of you, and Pastelaria Aloma, which won the Lisbon area contest in 2026 for the third year running. See the best pastel de nata in Lisbon.
For a first class, the Lisbon baking class, rated 4.9 by more than 3,000 guests. To laminate the pastry in a working bakery, the masterclass; for eight guests at most, the class by Belém.
In most Lisbon classes, yes. Two of the Porto workshops use dough made beforehand, because it takes hours to rest, and focus on the custard, shaping and baking. Each class page here says which.
The classes on this site start at $37 in Porto and run from $60 to $78 in Lisbon, for about two hours with drinks and the tarts you bake.
About 200 kcal each, says the bakery chain Manteigaria, which also points out it has less fat than many other Portuguese pastries. One or two is the usual portion.
Yes, generally: they are a solid food, so a box in your hand luggage is fine on most flights; check your airline. Keep them out of the fridge and warm them for 2 to 3 minutes at 180 C at home.
Many can. The Lisbon baking class takes children from 6 and families love it; one Porto workshop starts at 10 and the Gaia class at 15.
Not traditionally: it has eggs, milk, butter and wheat flour. One Porto class offers lactose-free, gluten-free and vegan versions on request.
Ready to book
Pastel de nata classes from $37.
More: the bakery masterclass · the class by Belém · the Gaia class from scratch
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