No Egg Tart, Yes Pastel de Nata!

The most useful Portuguese phrase for traveling in Portugal: Um café e um pastel de nata por favor. It means, “One coffee and one pastel de nata, please.” At Nata de Nata in Seongbuk-dong, we met Chef Luis, who bakes pastel de nata infused with Portuguese identity.

Interviewee Luis Filipe Dinis Campos (owner, Nata de Nata)
Interviewer Ryu Sunwoo

Could you briefly introduce Nata de Nata?
We’re a bakery that offers traditional Portuguese pastries like pastel de nata and Tentúgal. We also serve coffee made with Portuguese beans, along with other drinks to enjoy alongside our baked goods.

What kind of dessert is pastel de nata in Portugal?
In Portugal, we don’t really call pastel de nata a dessert. (laughs) For Portuguese people, pastel de nata is part of everyday life, something you enjoy with coffee every single day. Cafés in Portugal aren’t just places to drink coffee — they’re gathering spots where friends and family spend time together. The phrase ‘Um café e um pastel de nata, por favor,’ meaning ‘One coffee and one pastel de nata, please,’ is practically etched into Portuguese DNA. It’s a bit like kimchi is to Koreans. In Portugal, it’s best not to say anything bad about pastel de nata. (laughs)

What makes a pastel de nata made in the traditional Portuguese way distinctive?
The dough is made by layering flour dough with margarine or butter, over and over. You roll out the dough, add margarine, fold it like a book, and roll it out again — repeating this process to build up thin, stacked layers. That’s what creates the pastry’s crisp texture. The cream, simmered for a long time, comes out velvety smooth. And the way the top caramelizes slightly during baking is another feature that sets pastel de nata apart from Hong Kong- or Macau-style egg tarts.

This is my first time hearing about Tentúgal.
It’s a dessert that originated in the town of Tentúgal, Portugal. Tentúgal is a small town near Coimbra in central Portugal, my hometown. It’s made with filo pastry — dough as thin as paper — along with Portuguese-style egg cream and cinnamon. It’s unfamiliar in Korea, but it’s one of the most famous desserts in Portugal.

What did you do before coming to Korea?
I worked as a general restaurant manager for about 25 years across countries like Switzerland, the UK, and Dubai. Right before coming to Korea, I spent about seven years in Dubai working with the British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver. I only started learning to bake after deciding to come to Korea.

Was there a particular reason you turned to baking?
After living in so many different countries, there came a point when I wanted to settle down somewhere stable. My Korean wife and I were deciding between Portugal and Korea. Since I don’t speak Korean, I figured continuing my career as a restaurant manager in Korea would be difficult. That’s when my wife suggested I try becoming a baker. At first I thought it was absurd, but since I’d always loved eating and cooking, and of course bread, I decided to give it a shot. After nine months studying at Le Cordon Bleu Paris, I ran Luis’s Bakery in Incheon for five years before opening Nata de Nata in Seongbuk-dong last July.

Was there a reason you chose Seongbuk-dong?
I lived in Gangbuk-gu, so I visited this neighborhood often. Seongbuk-dong has plenty of small and large neighborhood bakeries, including Napoleon Bakery, so I thought it would be a good fit for opening a shop here. I also liked the diversity of the residents in the area. There are several embassies nearby, so it’s a place where people from many different countries gather.

Have you made any adjustments to the traditional Portuguese pastel de nata to suit Korean tastes?
Based on feedback from customers who found the original nata too sweet, we created a lighter version with less sugar. It’s only natural that Portuguese and Korean palates differ. We arrived at where we are now through trial and error. From running restaurants in the past, I learned to value customer feedback. If someone doesn’t like the food, they could just never come back — but if a customer takes the time to leave feedback, I think it’s well worth listening to.

What drink pairs best with egg tarts?
Coffee, without question. In Portugal, it’s common to enjoy it with an espresso called bica. The most popular coffee brand in Portugal is Delta, and we use Delta beans at our shop too. Mazagran is a unique drink made by adding lemon juice to coffee. It originated in Algeria but has since become a distinctly Portuguese coffee drink. You can try all of these at Nata de Nata.

Are there any bakeries you’d recommend to people traveling in Portugal?
My favorite pastel de nata specialty shops are Castro - Atelier de Pastéis de Nata and Nat'elier. I’d also recommend a croissant shop called O Melhor Croissant da Minha Rua. Translated, the name means ‘the best croissant in my neighborhood.’ True to its name, the croissants are really delicious, and they come in many varieties.

Aside from pastel de nata and Tentúgal, is there a dessert you especially love?
As a kid, whenever I went to a restaurant, I always ordered Black Forest cake. In Switzerland, I used to enjoy coffee eclairs at tea shops. Among Portuguese desserts, my favorite is mil-folhas — you could call it the Portuguese version of mille-feuille. I also love Italy’s panettone, which is sometimes called the baker’s Holy Grail.

You seem to love desserts from all over the world. Do you like Korean desserts too?
I’ve tried a lot of different things, though I can’t remember all their names. In summer, I mostly enjoy patbingsu, and I really love sikhye too. (laughs)

Castro - Atelier de Pastéis de Nata: castropasteisdenata.pt/en/

Nat'elier: natelier.pt/

O Melhor Croissant da Minha Rua: omelhorcroissantdaminharua.com/

You just got back from about three weeks of summer vacation. How did you spend it?
My wife, our cat, and I had a wonderful three weeks in Jeju. We brought our bikes and went riding, and we even climbed Hallasan. We also ate a lot of delicious food.

Do you have a favorite travel destination in Korea?
Jeju Island is my favorite. I love that it lets you feel both the coziness of a small town and a sense of trendiness at the same time. It’s also great that Hallasan is there, so you can go hiking. I love the scenery, like the tangerine farms, and there are so many great bakeries to visit that I end up going often.

Is there a Portuguese dessert you’d like to introduce through Nata de Nata?
That’s a secret. (laughs) Of course, I do have something in mind. I want to give customers a wider range of options.

What are your future plans?
My goal is to open more Nata de Nata locations in Seoul. On a personal note, I’d like to try a triathlon again. Once my team members can handle things without me, I might just go for it. (laughs)