A BRASILEIRA || Add This Historic Lisbon Cafe to Your Bucket List if You Have a Sweet Tooth
Can I have this cake, that tart, a chocolate croissant, and a pastel de nata?
This is just a shortlist of the different pastries we happily consumed on our visit to A Brasileira. I had been wandering the area with my camera and walked past a tourist who seemed to be with his local guide, telling him that this cafe is a must-visit on a trip to Lisbon. This is why I pulled my travelling party in, followed them inside the cafe, and promptly found a seat.
The interior is adorned with red-wood sculpted and brass elements while the flooring features mosaic black and white tiles.
So why is this a landmark to add to your bucket list? A Brasileira translates to “The Brazilian Lady Cafe” and is a busy cafe in the old quarter of Lisbon. This famous cafe was founded in the 19th century by a businessman to import and sell Brazilian coffee, a novel and rare good for Lisbon households at the time. Over time, the spot became a gathering space for intellectuals, artists, writers and free-thinkers and evolved into a tourist destination.
The exterior facade.
Three double-door entryways with ornate fixtures open onto the road and the outdoor patio. inside, the cafe is long and narrow, with a counter running the length of the right side of the space with illuminated displays showcasing its branded coffee beans. Tables line the other side of the cafe with mirrors to make the narrow space feel more spacious. The interiors feature sculpted red wood elements with brass fixtures and accents painted in ochres, reds, and golds, which collectively maintain the historic look and feel of the cafe.
The displays by the door and on the walls showcase the cafe’s coffee beans, which you could purchase as grounded of whole beans to bring back as souvenirs to friends and family. Aside from the coffee, we suggest perusing the glass display filled with sugary sweet goodies for those with a sweet tooth. You’ll be hard-pressed to pick just one pastry. We ended up with five!
Of course one must enjoy a Pastel de Nata with a frothy cappuccino at this historic cafe.
Raspberry jam-topped meringues filled with custard cream.
An insider tip locals shared with us as we ate our Pastel de Natas was that it’s best to add a sprinkle of cinnamon; supposedly, this makes it extra tasty. The chocolate croissant was crispy and flaky, topped with a generous amount of sugary powder. We also had the soft and spongy Almofadinha cake, which means pillow in Portuguese. Other items we enjoyed included all the cream-filled pastries topped with berries and jams. From raspberry jam-topped meringues with custard filling to a buttery pastry shell filled with strawberries and custard and finished with whipped cream, we certainly got our fill of desserts for the day.
Pastel de Natas taste best with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
The soft and spongy pillow cake on the right and cream puffs on the left.
Before we left, I noticed that the display by the staircase housed copies of a book titled Mensagem by Fernando Pessoa in several languages; this piqued my interest, and I quickly did some research online, which revealed that Fernando Pessoa is a Portuguese writer and his book, Mensagem, known as ‘the little book of poems’ is a collection of 44 poems about Portugal’s past. The poems focus on people and events the writer believed would restore Portugal to its past greatness. As a historic gathering spot for writers, artists and intellectuals, A Brasileira seemed to be the most appropriate spot to feature the work of one of the country’s celebrated writers.
if you have Lisbon on your travel itinerary, stop by this bustling cafe to enjoy the pastries, bask in the historical atmosphere and be inspired by those who discussed and debated intellectual topics in that chair where you’re sitting.
A Brasileira sells a copy of Mensagem by Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa in multiple languages.
