About Natas Pastries

When Fatima Marques realized she needed to open her own pastry business, she wasn't homesick for her home city of Lisbon—she was hungry for it. While walking the streets of Los Angeles, her head would swim with images of cream puff shells and the perfectly balanced filling that defined her native Portugal's signature pastries, known as "pasteis de nata." But no matter how long she looked, she couldn't find a suitable LA fix for her sweet tooth. So she did the only acceptable thing and took matters in her own hands, which would soon be covered in more flour than science ever thought possible.

Ms. Marques opened Natas Pastries in 2005, filling it with the scents of sweet custard nata pastries as well as savory varieties stuffed with sausage, spinach, and feta. Full cakes and other desserts—from flan to cherry strudel—have more than fleshed out the menu over the years. Today, Natas Pastries and its blue and white glazed tiles also house a full-service Portuguese cafe that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner alongside wine and beer. Candlelight flickers over the restaurant come evening, when chefs impress with tableside flambés of chouriço sausage and serve it with salt cod.