“The secret of history”, it says on the boxes that contain the pastries of Pastelaria Aloma.
The story goes that someone from the cafe (long, long ago) stole the recipe of the pastéis de nata from one of the monks at Mosteiro dos Jerónimos in Belém. They improved the recipe to their own taste and since 1943 have been selling the pastéis in the pastelaria.
Pastelaria Aloma: the best in 2012, 2013 and 2015
In 2009 Pastelaria Aloma got a new owner and thanks to an effective branding campaign, the pastelaria was invited to participate in the competition ‘O melhor pastéis de nata’, the best pastéis de nata. They brought the trophy home in the years 2012, 2013 and 2015.
With this ‘quality mark’ they became widely known (international media such as New York Times and CNN picked up on it) and they got a lot more customers – even though the owner claims that at least 85% of his customers are Lisboetas, living in the neighborhood.
The pastêis de Nata of Aloma: our verdict
You can enjoy Aloma’s pastel de nata cold, without any loss of taste. Sometimes a pastel de nata is very soggy. But these pasteis de nata remain crunchy and the nata (cream) is not too sweet. The pastêis de nata from Pastelaria Aloma are soft and delicious. They are certainly one of the best pasteis I have tasted in Lisbon.
Accessible with tram 28
Aloma is not close to the city centre, but you can decide to take tram 28 and stay seated until the final stop, Prazeres, in Estrela neighbourhood. From there it’s a comfortable 8 minute walk to the pastelaria. And it’s worth it!
Other places of interest in Estrela
If you’re planning to go to Aloma, think about spending a whole day in the Estrela district. This is a very laid back area of Lisbon. You can visit the beautiful and impressive Basílica da Estrela, Jardim da Estrala the lovely Jardim da Estrela and you can have a delicious lunch at Mercado de Campo de Ourique.
Different locations in Lisbon
If you don’t want to leave Lisbon’s city centre, there’s also a branch of Pastelaria Aloma at Time Out Market Mercado Ribeira and El Corte Ingles. Or in the Chiado district at Pastelaria Bijou do Calhariz they sell the pastéis de nata of Aloma. And even if you happened to miss those three, there’s always the store at .
the airport.
The price of a pastel de nata at Aloma is €1, or about 90p, similar to most pastelarias in Lisbon.
Pastelaria Aloma is the number 3 in our great Pastéis de Nata test»
How to get to Aloma
Address: Rua Francisco Metrass 67, Campo de Ourique
Openings hours: daily 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Address: Centro comercial Amoreiras (Shopping Mall Amoreiras), Amoreiras
Openings hours: daily 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Address: Pastelaria Bijou do Calhariz, Largo do Calhariz, Chiado
Openings hours: Monday to Friday 7.00 a.m. -8.00 p.m. | Saturday 8.00 a.m. -8.00 p.m. | Sunday 9.00 a.m. – 7.00 p.m.
Address: Aloma El Corte Inglês, Anjos
Openings hours: Monday to Friday 10.00 a.m. – 10.00 p.m. | Friday and Saturday 10.00 a.m. -23.30 p.m. | Sunday 10.00 a.m. – 8.00 p.m.
Address: Aloma Aeroporto Lisboa
Openings hours: daily 5:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.
