A Warm Welcome to Nata & Co

Welcome to Nata & Co, the Portuguese bakery bringing authentic Portuguese flavours to the heart of Bath and Cardiff. Our specialty is the world-famous Pastel de Nata, freshly baked in our cafes in a variety of flavours and sizes. Our passion is baking. Our mission is to share Portuguese café culture with everyone.

Nata & Natter

This is our very first edition of our new blog Nata & Natter — thank you for joining us! Here, we will be discussing all things Pastéis de Nata, coffee, Cardiff, Bath and we will introduce you to our baristas and chefs in our Portuguese bakeries. Read along every other week and join our little community of Nata lovers... or as we call them 'Nata-holics.'

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We hope you're sat comfortably, preferably with a coffee and a Pastel de Nata, and ready to settle in for our first blog entry. We are going to be exploring the history of the Pastel de Nata and why they are so important to Portuguese culture.

The Rich History of Pastéis de Nata

For such a little pastry, the Pastel de Nata is absolutely packed with history that highlights Portugal's defining cultural moments.

Between their prayers, chores and meditations, monks in Belem, Portugal, were crafting the sweet treat that we know as Pastel de Belem, the original Pastel de Nata. Monks used a huge amount of egg whites to starch clothes and found themselves with too many over egg yolks. What better way is there to use egg yolks than to make sweet treats? Many monks across Portugal had this same idea as they too baked Conventual Sweets with their leftover egg yolks, but it was in Jerónimos Monastery that the monks invented the Pastel de Belem, specifically.

We follow a similar practice today — but instead of starching our work uniforms and tea towels, we make humongous meringues with the leftover egg whites to ensuring nothing at our cafes goes to waste.

What was once an ingenious way to prevent food waste soon became one of Portugal's most recognisable culinary traditions helping to cement the country's reputation for exceptional pastries. The Liberal Revolution of 1820 saw many monasteries close, leaving monks in danger of devastating poverty. In search of a stable revenue stream, they started to sell their Pastéis de Nata to the nearby Sugar Refinery and eventually sold them the recipe after the Jerónimos Monastery closed in 1834.

Thanks to Portugal's inventive monks (who may have had an even bigger sweet tooth than we do) our shelves at Nata & Co are fully stocked with traditional sweet pastries, cakes and tarts all inspired by their creations. Who knew monks made such talented bakers?

While custard tarts spread across Portugal, the original Pastel de Belém remained exclusive to the bakery that inherited the monks' secret recipe. That bakery still exists today, just a short walk from the Jerónimos Monastery, and continues to attract visitors from around the world.

As Portuguese sailors established trade routes around the world during the Age of Exploration, Portugal's culture became widespread across the globe expanding new trade routes in Africa, India, Brazil and Macau. Pastéis de Nata went with them, and soon other countries were enjoying the custard delicacies in their own ways.

And that brings us to where we are today — proudly serving up fresh Pastéis de Nata in Cardiff and Bath all thanks to the monks who had too many yolks and a craving for something deliciously sweet and filling. Every fresh Pastel de Nata we bake carries a little piece of Portuguese history.

As well as the traditional Pastéis de Nata, we offer a range of flavours. Pastéis de Nata have evolved over their 300 years of existence. For us, one of those evolutions has meant new favourite flavours including pistachio, Nutella, peanut butter, lemon, blueberry and apple. Take your pick! Comment down below what flavour Nata you would choose or one you would like to see in the future. I'm waiting on a coffee-flavoured Nata — personally.

Why not visit your nearest Nata & Co café, enjoy a freshly baked Pastel de Nata with your favourite coffee and experience a little taste of Portugal for yourself? Soak in the Portuguese culture — after all you're an expert now! Whether you're trying one for the first time or you're already a proud Nata-holic, we'd love to welcome you through our doors.