Best Egg Tarts in Macau

If you’ve researched food in Macau, you’ve certainly come across their famous egg tarts, also known as pastel de nata. This Portuguese pastry has become the most iconic symbol of Macanese cuisine and can be found in nearly every storefront. We decided to try all of the best egg tarts in Macau to see which is the best, so you don’t have to, and the results were surprising. 

Our Itinerary

Lord Stow’s Bakery

This is the big one. In 1989, Andrew Stow from England and his wife Margaret Wong from Macau opened Lord Stow’s Bakery, specializing in egg tarts. Egg tarts are a Portuguese classic, so it only makes sense that the former Portuguese trading city would be into it. The shop quickly became a staple of Macau, gaining international recognition and cementing the egg tart as the pastry of the city.

We visited the original branch in Coloane, but there are locations all over the city. The style of Lord Stow’s is not authentic to Portugal, but has an English influence. These egg tarts have a slightly more solid and eggy filling. What stood out to us was the quality of the pastry, which was incredibly crisp, flaky, and buttery. The pastry ended up being our favorite, although the filling left a little to be desired. We aren’t huge egg people, and while it was very high quality, we would have preferred a creamier filling. 

Margaret’s Café e Nata

Now it’s time for some drama. At some point before Stow’s death, Margaret and Stow went through a divorce, leading Margaret to open her own bakery in the heart of Macau. There have been many disputes on whose egg tart is better, and who the original recipe belongs to. Regardless, Margaret claims she still uses the original recipe, and the public doesn’t seem to mind, as the wait is always long. 

As it turns out, Margaret’s is very similar to Lord Stow’s. The pastry is not quite as amazing, but still very good with a nice crunch and buttery taste. On the filling side, it’s much more eggy than Stow’s, probably the eggiest of all. If you’re into the egg taste, this is the tart for you. While we didn’t quite enjoy it as much as Lord Stow’s, it’s still great and worth the stop if you’re in the area.

Pastéis de Chaves

Pastéis de Chaves is a totally different experience. This is a Portuguese-style bakery, meaning a very different tasting tart. Pastéis de Chaves is located under the east corner of Monte de Forte, making it an easy detour. They also own several of the most popular restaurants in Macau, one of which we visited the night before.

What makes the Portuguese style different from English? First, the filling is much more like a custard, with a more runny texture that doesn’t hold its shape if you bite it. It has a less eggy taste, and is overall a touch sweeter. The pastry is the same, but they are traditionally served with a topping of cinnamon and powdered sugar, adding an extra layer of complexity that nicely rounds out the very salty and greasy tart. 

Pastéis de Chaves did not disappoint. The pastry was absolutely on point, not too salty and unbelievably flaky. While the pastry doesn’t taste better than Stow’s, it definitely has the best texture, with the crunchiest exterior and a nice chewy interior. The filling is perfect, with a less eggy note, which we personally prefer. The cinnamon and sugar are a great addition, which we feel is mandatory for the Portuguese style. Overall, Pastéis de Chaves was easily a top contender.

Manteigaria

This shop is located in the center of the Macau side, just a block from Senado Square. We didn’t plan to go here initially, but when we realized we wanted to try more egg tarts, it snuck on the list last minute. This shop is a bit newer compared to Lord Stow’s and Margaret’s, but has immaculate reviews. 

I’m going to tip our hand a bit. This was only the second shop we visited, but as soon as we bit down, we knew we hit the jackpot. This. Tart. Is. Perfect. Starting with the pastry, it’s perfectly balanced with amazing crunch and flakiness, with not a soggy spot in sight. The filling is even better, with the absolute best balance of sweetness and egg, and perfectly smooth texture. After we ate here, we were a bit mad because we knew it would be hard to beat. 

Koi Kei Bakery

Koi Kei Bakery is one of the most popular bakeries in the city. Aside from egg tarts, they sell cookies, jerky, and other popular snack items. The shop hands out free samples of everything, and they basically force you to try some. Many people come for their almond cookies, which we tried but were so unbelievably dry that if they were an egg tart, they would have a negative score on this list. 

As for the egg tarts themselves, we were a bit of a let down. These are the English-style tarts, so we expected an eggy taste. Although we got it fresh out of the oven, the pastry was noticeably less flaky and a little thick, and very salty. Unfortunately, the filling didn’t do much either. This is the eggiest tart we had, the inside was essentially a scrambled egg. To be fair, it’s not a bad pastry. In fact, it’s quite good. However, the competition is stiff, and this was at the bottom of the top. 

CUPPA Coffee

Lastly, we went to CUPPA Coffee, a coffee shop with a few locations around the city. We chose here because we wanted a good baseline. CUPPA isn’t exactly 1famous for its egg tarts, but some locals prefer them. They also had pretty good coffee drinks as well, although in hindsight, I think we should have gone to the Macau side location because it seems to be the main store. 

The tart was very average. This is what I would expect the standard tart you get from any random bakery would taste like. Decent pastry with okay flakiness and a slightly eggy filling, but otherwise normal. We don’t recommend you go out of your way to visit CUPPA for an amazing egg tart. It is worth noting since it is a cafe, this is the only location on this list where you can spend a while inside to beat the heat. 

Final Rankings

So, which tart is king? It’s a personal preference, but here is our ranking of the best egg tarts in Macau from best to worst:

  1. Manteigaria
  2. Pastéis de Chaves
  3. Lord Stow’s Bakery
  4. Margaret’s Café e Nata
  5. CUPPA Coffee
  6. Koi Kei Bakery

How could it be anything other than Manteigaria? Everything about it is perfect, but honestly, Pastéis de Chaves is such a close second, you might as well go to both! If you happen to like eggy flavor more than us, you’re probably going to love Lord Stow’s. Regardless, it’s safe to say that anything in our top 4 will deliver a great egg tart experience.  

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