It takes a lot to perfect a Portuguese tart. These Sydney bakeries are doing the work
More than 16,000 Portuguese tarts were sold during the first fortnight at Sweet Belem Barangaroo, but Sydney’s hunger for the fastidious dessert extends well into the suburbs.
September 5, 2026
The first time Turramurra bakery Flour Shoptried to put Portuguese tarts (also known as pastel de nata) on the menu, it led to heartbreak.
The egg custard pastries demanded perfection, says pastry chef and co-owner Anu Haran. Unlike other baked goods, just one momentary lapse in attention, during any one of the 12 steps required, could lead to disaster – tarts that fell apart, stuck to their tins, or overflowed with burnished custard.
“There was a time we stopped making them because it was incredibly hard to get them consistently right,” she says. It took a year before Haran was ready to try again, and another year of meticulously testing each variable before she was truly happy with the final product.
“From a baker’s perspective, it’s an incredibly satisfying product to make,” she says. “I like to think of them as a reflection of most good things in life, which always take a bit of effort to achieve, [like] the view from the summit after a difficult hike, [or] a garden starting to thrive after years of work on the soil.”
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SIGN UPSydney has developed a great hunger for the fastidious little desserts. In July, the city’s most renowned purveyor of Portuguese tarts, Sweet Belem, expanded to a second location in Barangaroo. Within two weeks of opening, the shop sold more than 16,000 Portuguese tarts and now averages about 1000 each day.
The craft required to make Portuguese tarts, reportedly first developed by 18th century Catholic monks in Lisbon, is a source of familial and personal pride for pastry chef Sabrina Dias, who co-owns Earlwood bakery Baked@Bina’s with Brian Dias.
She spent many years refining her traditional family recipe, making adjustments to the pastry, custard, resting time and baking temperature to create a balanced product that felt uniquely their own.
“For me, a great Portuguese tart is not just [about the] custard,” Dias says. “In one bite, you should taste the crisp, buttery pastry, the creamy custard and the caramelised top together.”
An increasing number of Sydney venues have taken on the challenge. In April, Sofe Bakery opened in Wahroonga, filling its display cabinet with Portuguese tarts, and in August, former Bentley Restaurant and Bar chef Justin Martins debuted a Portuguese tart martini while kicking off dinner service at Darlinghurst cafe Manteiga.
Discover those, and more, in Good Food’s collection of places to try Portuguese tarts in Sydney, below.
Baked@Bina’s Brazilian Portuguese Foods, Earlwood
Baker Sabrina Dias, who owns Baked@Bina’s with husband Brian, has spent many years refining her family recipe for traditional pastel de nata. “I worked on every part of it – the pastry, the custard, the resting time, the baking time and the caramelisation – until I reached the balance I was looking for,” Dias says. Each $5 tart is hand-shaped, rested and carefully baked. “When you bite into it, you should experience three things together: the crispness and buttery layers of the pastry, the smoothness and richness of the custard, and the slightly deeper flavour created by the caramelised surface.”
154 William Street, Earlwood, binasfood.com
Flour Shop, Turramurra
After many years of development, the Portuguese tarts are back on the weekly menu at Flour Shop. At present, they’re sold on Fridays and Saturdays (updates posted to social media), with batches coming out of the oven throughout the day. “While they’re still nice when they’ve cooled down, they’re really special when warm – a super crisp shell and oozy warm custard with a little bit of cinnamon and lemon,” says baker-owner Anu Haran. “If you happen to be there when a batch has just come out of the oven, our front of house will always draw your attention to them and nudge you to get one.”
16 Princes Street, Turramurra, flourshop.com.au
Jinius, Dawes Point
Jinius head baker and co-owner Yeongjin Park is renowned for his own interpretation of a Portuguese tart, which he debuted at former workplace Tenacious Bakehouse before serving it at his Dawes Point cafe. “The Portuguese tart is a very meaningful item for me,” Park says. “I went through a lot of trial and error developing it, and I have a lot of memories attached to it.” It’s rectangular (to better showcase the layers of Viennoiserie, and avoid excess waste), larger than you might expect, with the subtle umami addition of miso in the custard. “It was something customers really responded to, so I feel very grateful to it – in many ways, it’s one of the items that helped bring me to where I am today,” he says.
Shop 8/16 Hickson Road, Dawes Point, instagram.com/jinius.au
Sweet Belem, Barangaroo and Petersham
In Sydney, the name Sweet Belem has become synonymous with one thing: Portuguese tarts. The family-owned bakery was founded by Joao De Almeida in Petersham in 2003, before being bought by chef Jose Silva, formerly of Guillaume at Bennelong, in 2012. Now Silva is bringing his pastel de nata to the city, with a second shop open in Barangaroo. It sells the original egg custard tarts, as well as the blueberry and raspberry varieties. Check the glass cabinets for other Portuguese specialties such as bola de Berlim, filled doughnuts, and Jesuite, an almond and frangipane pastry.
35B New Canterbury Road, Petersham and Shop 3/23 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo, sweetbelem.com.au
Lusinata, Hurstville
The pasteis de nata (Portuguese tarts) here may not come with fancy toppings, but you can match the “tiny scorched suns” with dessert wines and cherry liqueur. Or, you could just order half a dozen to take home for the pinnacle of couch snacking. Fernando Ferreira has spent four decades perfecting traditional Portuguese pastries, biscuits and cakes, and Lusinata is a co-production with his son, Andre, who is passionate about continuing the family trade. When they opened in 2024, they sold tarts and only tarts, but the range has expanded to include Portuguese chorizo bread, almond rolls and sponge “napkins”.
2/127 Forest Road, Hurstville, lusinata.co
Tuga Pastries, Alexandria and Clovelly
Come for the cinnamon-dusted pastel de nata, but stay for the hunky three-cheese and truffle toastie, choc-filled doughnuts and crunchy croissant sandwiches. Tuga might be known as a top purveyor of Portuguese tarts, but everything here is a banger. Owner Diogo Ferreira is bursting with ideas, which makes it tough to choose from the exciting array of sweet and savoury goodies. Friendly staff are on hand at the Clovelly and Alexandria locations to help make the hard decisions.
10/112 McEvoy Street, Alexandria and Shop 6/231 Clovelly Road, Clovelly, tugapastries.com.au
Sofe Bakery, Wahroonga
While researching the bakery business in Japan and Korea, mother-and-daughter team Se-Young Lee and Sophia Lee fell in love with Portuguese tarts. “They became a big part of the inspiration for Sofe,” says Sophia Lee. To them, Portuguese tarts felt like the perfect vehicle for merging the creativity of contemporary Korean and Japanese baking with the approachability and quality produce of Australian bakery culture. “It’s about finding that balance between something comforting and familiar, and something a little new and unexpected,” Lee says. Each tart is made slowly, by hand, taking three days of lamination, resting and baking.
12 Railway Avenue, Wahroonga, instagram.com/sofebakery
Manteiga, Darlinghurst
Former fine-dining chef Justin Martins launched dinner service at his Portuguese cafe Manteiga in August, and there’s a new specialty cocktail on the menu inspired by a Portuguese tart. Belem 43, as it’s called, blends Licor 43, spiced rum, pasteis de nata cream, cinnamon and feuilletine, offering a fun, liquified version of the dessert – in addition to a Portuguese tart mont blanc, and Martins’ own take on the tart itself, offered throughout the day.
169 Darlinghurst Road, Darlinghurst, manteiga.com.
