Santa Nata

Santa Nata is a Portuguese bakery on New Row, the narrow pedestrian street that links St Martin's Lane towards the Covent Garden Piazza. It is run by a Portuguese family of second-generation bakers and devotes itself to a single product: the pastel de nata, the custard tart named after the parish of Santa Maria de Belém in Lisbon where the original was created.

The tart was born in the monasteries of Lisbon more than three centuries ago, and the bakery says it brought the recipe to London to honour it rather than reinvent it. A sweet, creamy egg custard sits inside crisp layers of flaky, buttery pastry, and each tart is finished with a dusting of cinnamon or icing sugar. Alongside New Row, the group now bakes at Battersea Power Station, Borough Yards, Spitalfields Old Market and in Oxford, with branches overseas.

Pastel de nata in Covent Garden, warm from the oven

Tarts are baked in small batches throughout the day, so there is usually a warm tray whatever time you call in. Customers stand at the counter and eat them while the pastry chefs roll, shape and fill on the other side of the glass. Coffee comes from Allpress Espresso, and the bakery treats a coffee with a still-warm tart as something of a ritual.

What to expect on a visit

This is a compact, family-run bakery with a clear identity rather than a broad menu, set up for eating in at the counter or taking a box away. It opens daily from 10am until 9pm early in the week and 10pm from Friday to Sunday. Browse the other bakeries in Covent Garden, or pair it with French patisserie at Ladurée in The Market.