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Panificação do Chiado, Calçada do Sacramento, 26-32, T 21 342 40 44, http://www.panificacaodochiado.pt Mon-Sat 0700-2000. With aromatic vapour still rising from the bread, this is one of the loveliest and least touristic breakfast spots in Chiado. There are delicious pastries, scones and smooth golden brioches served on doilies. With just three tables it can be difficult to get a seat. Pastelaria Bénard, Rua Garrett, 104-106. Daily 0800-2400. Romantic Pastelaria Bénard, opened in 1912, remains a historic landmark among Chiado’s residents. The mouth-watering croissants, prepared to a secret recipe, entice passing commuters with their buttery aroma. There is outdoor seating on Rua Garrett and a moody old world interior. Bénard’s place in history was secured when it featured in the film Fábula em Veneza which stared Vitorino de Almeida. Simples Pecados, Rua de Santa Amaro, 6A, T 21 396 29 69. Daily 0800- 1830. The ‘ Sweet Dreams’ café and art gallery is a smoky, local’s hang-out which makes for a good breakfast stop en route to Estrela and Lapa. Sunny blue and yellow decor and an eclectic ‘gallery’ ranges from abstract modernist works to traditional Portuguese azulejo tiles. Antiga Pastelaria de Belém, Rua de Belém, 90. Daily 0800- 2330. An average of 10,000 salivating locals and tourists come to worship each day at the shrine of most famous bakery in Portugal. No one will dispute that the best pastéis de nata are lovingly prepared here, in strict adherence to a centuries’ old recipe. The spark of culinary genius originated with the monks from neighbouring Mosteiro dos Jerónimos, who developed a secret recipe that not even one seriously rich Japanese business can get his hands on. The cavernous interior is a warren of 17th-century azulejo tiled walls, which erupts with orgiastic rapture as tourists are initiated into the cult of the über-tart. The record for the most sold in one day is a staggering 55,000. Unquestionably the best way to spend E0.70 in Lisbon. Zonadoca, Doca de Santo Armaro, Armazén, 7A, T 21 397 20 10. Just under Ponte 25 de Abril, this restaurant-café with great views makes for a refreshing stop off on the riverside stroll from Belém. There are wholesome salads, heavenly ice creams and waffles and crêpes drenched in chocolate sauce and peaks of cream. Versailles, Avenida da República,15-A, T 21 354 63 40. Daily 0700-2200. It’s worth the trip north to this wonderful turn-of-the-century café, a dizzying baroque confection, oozing aristocratic grace and taste. Batallions of dapper waistcoated waiters take it all very seriously, serving Saldanha’s silly moneyed and suited and booted. Displayed in an endless shimmering glass case are the most tantalising sweet and savoury confections in the city. Casa da Piriquita, Rua das Padarias, 1. Daily 0800-2000. This hospitable café with a warm atmosphere is especially inviting during the winter. It’s the best place to head for Sintra’s local delicacy - the heavenly queijada (cheesecake). Also serves delicious home-made quiche and travesseiros (almond pastries).
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