Cadinho Bakery & Cafe

The custard tart, in four directions

Pastel de nata is what Cadinho is known for: the Portuguese egg custard tart with a caramelized top, a silky center and a shell that shatters. Chef and co-owner Maria Alejandra Rivera built her local reputation on it, and the case runs the format in several directions at once, with pastéis de nata beside a chocolate version, pastel de amêndoa and pastel de coco.

The savory side keeps the counter from being dessert-only. Rissóis de camarão, a breaded shrimp pastry, sits beside the tarts, while lemon pie and French silk pie bring American formats into a Portuguese-leaning program. Sandwiches, smoothies, coffee and other beverages round out the daily menu, and the kitchen also takes event catering.

Twenty seats in McKinley Park

Cadinho opened in July 2024 in Chicago's McKinley Park, from Rivera and co-owner Eric Carlson. It is compact and counter-oriented, with only twenty spots inside, so it works as a neighborhood bakery-café where you buy pastry and a drink and sit if there is room, or carry it out if there is not.

The neighborhood is central to the identity. The house calls itself a Portuguese-inspired bakery in the heart of McKinley Park and functions as the coffee shop for that stretch, which explains a menu built for everyday use: coffee and pastry for a break, sandwiches and savory pastries for a light meal, smoothies with something sweet. The pastry case does most of the storytelling, and the room is intimate enough that it has to.

Start with the nata, then go savory

Order the pastel de nata first. If more than one version is out, compare the classic with the chocolate to see how far Rivera pushes the format, then take a pastel de amêndoa or pastel de coco for the almond and coconut directions. Each keeps the same custard logic, so the comparison is about what is layered on top rather than a different pastry altogether.

For a savory counterpoint, order rissóis de camarão, the shrimp-filled breaded pastry that sits closest to the tarts in spirit. Lemon pie or French silk pie broadens the visit when they are in the case. The strongest order is one custard tart, one savory pastry and one non-nata sweet, which covers the full range of a bakery that opened in 2024 and has stayed narrow on purpose.