Confeitaria Nacional is the oldest confectionary in downtown Lisbon, opening their doors in 1829.  The selection of pastries and sweets is impressive. They are known for doing things in the traditional way.

The nata (Portuguese egg tart) had a ncie crisp and flaky exterior. The custard was smooth and creamy, but very, very sweet. It was almost unbearably sweet.

I got a few of what I thought were Russian tea cakes, or Mexican wedding cookies, however they were actually called Floured (marzipan) dusted in powdered sugar. As I was expecting something else, my first bite was very unexpected. The marzipan was good, however once again it was achingly sweet. They were so sweet, that we could not finish them.

The last pastry was a mini-chocolate cake, named Indian. The cake was soaked in port wine, thus making it somewhat dense. The cake had a thick coat of frosting. To continue with the theme, the cake was overly sweet. Once again, we could not finish the pastry.

I did notice throughout this trip, that pastries tend to be on the very sweet side in Portugal. Not having grown up having pastries this sweet, Confeitaria Nacional was not to my liking. They must be doing something right though, having been in business for nearly 200 years.