(NOTE: This place is now unfortunately out of business despite our beautiful article! We’ll miss it dearly. R.I.P.)

Once upon a time, in the culinary hotspot of Praça dos Flores, a Portuguese and French pastry chefs decided to open up their own café of sweet treats, called “O Bolo da Nonna”, grandma’s cake. On an afternoon walk, our heroes Nout and Nora stumbled upon this place, amazed by the beautiful Viennese-styled ceiling, the classic paintings, curiously watching the dark chocolate cake in the counter and the chefs on their tiny hotplate making pancakes. Their hearts beating faster, they entered.

Slightly hesitant and sceptical after so many eggy, sickly sweet, mediocre Portuguese desserts, they asked the chefs: “My good sir, what is it that graces your table?”. Full of joy and with a big smile, the chefs answered: “We have everything you have dreamed of for so long. Come and be cheerful. Sit at the table and rejoice. We have trained with the best chefs in France and Portugal to be here today to bring you our version of some true classic desserts, desserts of which only in heroic tales you have heard of: fluffy, French pancakes drenched in our homemade salty butter caramel, a dark chocolate cake, macaroons and whatever else you might dream of.”

The table was set and they were served such a copious banquet full of sweet delights that even the Portuguese kings themselves would have been impressed and very pleased. All of their desserts were enchanted. Their dark chocolate cake could not only speak, it was singing to them, conjuring up the most beautiful, intense melodies straight out of its dark, gooey chocolate heart. The salty-butter caramel pancake did not sing, it however declared poetry in the most beautiful Shakespearean sonnets. It told of its heroic tale of how the caramel was made so perfectly that it was so beautifully balanced and how it came about that the caramel and the pancake had finally declared their love for each other.

The infused tonic waters on the counter clapped their hands asking the spectators for money but because they were asking for a little bit too much money, the spectators left them aside and cheerily continued their sumptuous feast. The cupcakes were actually close brethren of the classic Portuguese dessert “pão de ló” and like little kittens would jump up on the laps of our heroes, asking to be eaten, purring so full of goodness they were.

It truly was a joyous occasion and our heroes were dazzled. Until, all of a sudden, a loud noise could be heard from the kitchen. It was a buzzing, rattling noise, a door slammed open and there, an evil coffee witch jumped up on the table. Having lived alone in a house in the middle of a forest with nothing to eat but bitter, darkly roasted coffee beans, she had become just as bitter and black as the beans. Demanding for attention, she screamed and rattled the plates. However it was Nout and Nora who finally drove away the witch. Afterwards, they swore to their magic diary that they were keeping, that they would do everything to never let her in again and instead would grace the Danish ferries of Copenhagen Coffee Lab with their presence.

Hours later, our heroes left “Bolo da Nonna” with bellies full of sweetness deciding that when they would grow up, they wanted to become just like the desserts which had offered themselves so graciously: sweet, rich and stylish. The pastry chefs had asked for a small piece of their treasure and for them, the chefs were true royalty. They thanked each other and upon leaving the house, teary eyed and weary for the long road ahead, they noticed to their disappointment that the house itself was not edible. With a heavy heart but a belly full of magic wonder, they followed the trail of breadcrumbs back home and had a deep sleep, filled with dreams of the sweet delights that they had encountered that day.

The end.

Opening hours: Tue-Sun: 10.00-19.30, closed on Mondays
Address: Praça das Flores 41, 1200-257 Lisboah
Phone Number: +351 21 395 1231
Homepage: https://www.facebook.com/obolodanonna