Crunchy, Custardy Portuguese Tarts Will Arrive in Covent Garden

A new Portuguese bakery specialising in pastéis de nata will open two sites in London, beginning with a pastelaria in Covent Garden. Planning permission documents place Santa Nata at 7 New Row, a former gallery space in the heart of Covent Garden, just down from Seven Dials. The first site will open on Russell Street.

The crunchy, custardy speciality that has become globally synonymous with Portugal is not so often seen in London: the best examples are currently found at Lisboa Patisserie, in Ladbroke Grove, and at A Portuguese Love Affair, on Hackney Road; Café Madeira in Vauxhall also has a dab hand with the pastry.

Santa Nata, meanwhile, is co-owned by Francisco Guilherme Goncalves Saldanha De Oliveira and Joaquim Pedro Beirao Freire Torres, with tarts baked daily and a counter service model. Proposed opening hours are 10a.m. to 8p.m., pushed to 10p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays; devotees of the tarts who have visited Portugal will be pleased to hear that ginjinha — the sour cherry liqueur served in shops all over Lisbon — will be on offer to chase the tarts.

More soon.