Natas Pastries
13317 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA
Fulton Avenue

We have devoured nearly a dozen natas while sitting at L.A.'s only Portuguese bakery, Natas Pastries (named for the confection), which opened about a year ago in Sherman Oaks. Owner Fatima Marques, a Portuguese native and longtime Los Angeles resident, probably could have taken shortcuts in developing the recipes for the pastries, desserts and savories that fill her cases. Instead, the former marketing director was meticulous in authentically reproducing the sweets she grew up loving — apprenticing in Portugal, retrofitting an oven to heat to the necessary 750 degrees, acquiring special pans and importing ingredients.


Hours: Tue.-Sat., 7 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., 9 a.m.-6 p.m.