Holy Nata

I'll admit, that prior to 2016 when I first visited Portugal, I don't think I knew that a *Portuguese* egg tart, e.g. a pastel de nata, was a different thing than say a traditional Chinese egg tart.  I think I always just thought some were eggier and denser than others, some had flakier or shorter crusts than others, some seemed burnt on top, etc, but didn't realize they were fundamentally different things.  

And then I visited Lisbon, and discovered pastel de nata in their natural habitat, and my understanding of this glorious treat was greatly deepened. Let me also say that I've actually had the Pastel de Belem from Pastéis de Belém in Lisbon, which is widely regarded as the best in the world (and, yes, wow, mind-blowing.  I described them as "life changing" at the time).  I also had plenty of average versions from other bakeries in Lisbon, such as A Padaria Portuguesa.  And of course, I've since had them from plenty in other venues around the world since (although the only other version that really was memorable was recently at BTWN, the restaurant at the brand new W hotel in Sydney where they source from a local bakery, Sonoma Bakery).

This is all just the backstory to say that I consider myself relatively educated about pastel de nata, and I certainly enjoy them, so I was excited to try the offerings from local San Francisco based Holy Nata.

"Come try the divinely delicious Pastel de Nata, at Holy Nata! The 100% artisanal Pasteis de Nata are crafted using a family recipe. Flaky puff pastry dough, creamy custard filling... Do we need to say more?"

Holy Nata is fairly new, it opened in August 2023, and is the only place I know of specializing in this treat in the Bay Area.

Holy Nata makes only one product, the egg tarts, and only the traditional flavor most days, but on Thursdays only, does a special flavor (currently Nutella).  Specialization, I have to respect that.

Pastel de Nata. $3.50.

The offering from Holy Nata has all the right pedigree and look: flaky crust, burnt top, sprinkled with cinnamon.  Besides being a touch small, at first inspection, this seemed very legit.

I tried a bite of it at room temperature first, and found the crust quite chewy, but once I warmed it up lightly in the toaster oven, it got crispier and was considerably better.  The crust was very layered pastry, very good.

The filling was remarkably smooth and creamy, definitely more in the pudding direction than custard, borderline even perhaps a bit too runny.  Basically zero eggy taste, just, sweet vanilla pudding.  It did eat far sweeter than most that I remember.  I didn't mind the sweetness, but this was pretty far in the sweet dessert direction.

Overall, it was good.  I like pastry, I like pudding, I like sweet things.  Worth going out of my way for though?  No.  And not really better than any other I've had since Lisbon.  But, enjoyable for sure.  ***+.