Tuga Pastries
A Portuguese bakery in Clovelly that's home to Sydney's best pastel de nata.
Overview
Fans of the Portuguese tart need to make tracks to Clovelly, where Tuga Pastry is turning out arguably the tastiest pastel de nata our city has to offer.
Owner Diogo Ferreira resurrected his father Agostinho's (who was a pastry chef in northern Portugal) recipe back in 2016 when he opened his first cafe, Village on Cloey. Then, when space opened up three doors down, Ferreira expanded his business and opened this bustling weekend bakery.
Here, you'll catch Ferreira's mother Lucia in the kitchen, hand pressing the dough for each and every Portuguese tart that goes in the oven. You can watch the entire process in the bakery, then taste the finished product fresh from the oven. The buttery pastry shell is filled with gooey egg custard that's perfectly caramelised on top and dusted with cinnamon. If you're not hungry yet, just take a look at this:
Apart from the pastel de nata, which is available every day, the Tuga menu is constantly changing. Other favourites include tart de feijao (almond tart), pau de daus (coconut brioche) and bola de berlim (sugar coated donuts). Diogo is also whipping up non-Portuguese treats, like croissants, quiches and sausage rolls. Plus, gorgeous cakes in flavours like coffee and hazelnut, carrot and pineapple, and passion fruit and yoghurt.
Tuga is looking to expand in the near future, too, so keep on eye on this space.
Images Kitti Gould