44. Pastéis de Belém

On my way back from the monastery, I figured that should stop for coffee and a cake, and I walked by this place. I noticed that there was a queue out on the street, but that only seemed to be takeway, and I could not really see any tables. But I when I asked I was told that I could proceed further, and indeed, they have tables, about 400 of them. And there was still a queue to get a seat! The place is not mentioned in my guidebook, but given that I heard plenty of languages, this must be a reknowned place.

Well, they have been around since 1837, and they make their pastéis from a secret recipe. When I got a table, and ordered one of them the waiter looked at me with some disbelief, and he was right. I should have ordered two. (You don't have to go Belém to get this cake, as it is all over Portugal, but the one I got here was really delicious.)