As Stephanie and Jeremiah Benskin will attest, in Portuguese culture, gatherings centre around food, often in the home kitchen.
Though Stephanie is first-generation Canadian-born, her roots are in Portugal, where she recalls spending a lot of time with family - and food. She and her husband, Jeremiah (who isn't Portuguese but says his immersion by marriage is a near-equivalent), founded Casa de Nata in 2020 using a family recipe for Pasteis de Nata, traditional egg custard-filled tarts.
Portuguese tart business a big hit at markets, festivals
A big hit at farmers' markets and events around Metro Vancouver, a few months ago the Benskins got the keys to the former Vegan Cave space at 415 Abbott St in Gastown to open their business' brick-and-mortar café.
And when it came time to plan for putting a few casual Portuguese dishes on the menu to go with the egg tarts, Stephanie says she immediate thought of her grandmother, aka her vava.
Stephanie remembers her grandmother rising impossibly early to get the cooking underway, and essentially apprenticing in her kitchen. She describes the ritual of families and friends gathering together and steadily eating, eating, eating from plates of homespun food.
Savoury dishes join the menu at Casa de Nata
Though Vancouver does not have a substantial Portuguese population, the Benskins are tapped into the community, and have been hearing from many folks from Portugal who are eager to see what they're cooking up at the Casa de Nata restaurant.
To start, the Benskins will focus on casual street-style and café eats, with sandwiches and soup, like the comforting potato, sausage, and greens of Caldo Verde. The menu includes their take on the popular Bifana (a juicy pork, peppers, mustard, and cheese sandwich) and the Prego (a beef sandwich) served on pillowy soft Portuguese buns.
Casa de Nata's sandwiches are meaty and substantial, though, as Jeremiah describes it, there's nothing quite as meat-forward as a traditional Francesinha, which is a traditional triple-decker from Porto, made with assorted meats like steak, ham, sausage, and linguiça, topped with a fried egg and smothered in a special sauce.
Given how challenging it is to source traditional linguiça in Vancouver (not to mention how hard it might be to find a regular fan base for such a meaty concoction), Casa de Nata will have a very Vancouver spin on the Francesinha: It will be vegetarian.
Classic, flavoured, and vegan Portuguese tarts
But Casa de Nata was built on Portuguese tarts, which will remain the focal point of the cheery blue and yellow shop. The pastry is golden and flaky and the filling creamy and luscious. Though plain egg custard is the traditional filling, the Benskins have been perfecting flavours, which has been a rising trend for contemporary pastel de nata bakers in recent years. Stephanie is perfecting the chocolate one, and has a lovely raspberry version on offer; Casa de Nata will have more seasonal and limited-edition flavours throughout the year.
Additionally, Casa de Nata has a vegan pastel de nata on the menu, for which we can thank consumer demand in Metro Vancouver. Stephanie worked on mastering a plant-based pastry and the coconut soy filling (with a hint of lemon) and the result has been well-received (even if traditionalists are a bit scandalized).
For the café, guests will also be able to enjoy coffee and tea and Portuguese soft drinks like Sumol, which is a canned pop with tropical flavours.
The plan is for the Benskins to gauge the response to their savoury dishes before adding more options, but the couple is keen to share their versions of beloved Portuguese classics like Bacalau (salt cod) and Shrimp Mozambique.
Casa de Nata officially opened on Saturday, April 12. Follow @casadenata_ on Instagram for updates.
Video: Vancouver's new spot for Portuguese tarts and eats
@forkingawesomevia Casa de Nata is now open in Gastown. The family-run café started by selling their popular Portuguese egg tarts at local markets and now they’ve got a bright, welcoming space with a menu of sweet and savoury eats. Expect traditional, flavoured, and vegan pastéis de nata, plus sandwiches like the Bifana and comforting Caldo Verde soup. Everything is made with care, family recipes, and a little local flair. #forkingawesome #vancouverbc ♬ Mass Appeal - Flowmatic & Universatility Group
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