Barcelos Bakery: a genuine family-owned and operated bakery that offers traditional Portuguese recipes in a modern setting

I’m a foodie through and through. I don’t have a heck of a lot of vices, so this is one of the guilty pleasures that I relish – pardon the pun. Having lived and traveled throughout this country and Europe in my younger years, I’ve been fortunate to see what many different communities offer in terms of ethnic food.

One thing we locals take for granted is the Portuguese community – the Fado, Festas and food, seem “normal” to us. We’ve grown up on it, we’ve always been around it. It wasn’t until I first moved out of the area that I discovered with great horror that the rest of the country (outside a few pockets) has absolutely no idea what linguiça or chouriço is. They’ve never had carne de espeto, bifanas, or caldo verde. Never a pop, feijoada or Pastel de nata. At best, someone has heard of and perhaps sampled bacalhau – but, that’s a universal food across many cultures.

Can you imagine life without these things? I can’t.

When I say take it for granted, I mean we don’t give it much thought. It’s ubiquitous on the South Coast. The region covering New Bedford to Fall River has all the Portuguese food we’ll ever need. However, when you move to another state or country, it won’t take but a month or so before you begin to crave all things Portuguese.

One of my favorite things to do is visit the Portuguese bakeries and cafes. Stepping into one is like stepping back into America in the 1950s or 1960s. It was more common to see family shops – where often the husband and wife who owned the shops would be the only employees and even the kids would put in a few hours after school. Back then America ate at home and cooked regularly. These days it’s not altogether uncommon for households to spend more days eating out than they do sitting around a dinner table eating a home-cooked meal. America is changing.

So when I step into these bakeries and cafes, I feel like I’m stepping into that era. The Portuguese bakeries are often run by families and frequented by local Portuguese. Typically they are modeled after the cafes in Europe and almost always Portuguese will be heard in lieu of English. I feel like I’m back in Europe all over again.

The Family Background; Origins of Barcelos Bakery
One of the spots that is the quintessential cafe/bakery in that region from New Bedford to Fall River, is Barcelos Bakery, owned and operated by Antonio Rodrigues and his wife Sara. Antonio is the pastry, chef, and all-around handy-man and Sara is the front end, handling customers, or anything else including lending Antonio a hand whipping up your favorite Portuguese pastries. Their daughters Sara and Nichole have been working in the bakery in some capacity since they were 4 years of age, learning how to make all the pastries that dad creates on a daily basis.

Antonio has been in a bakery all his working life. When he arrived to America at 16 years of age, he went straight to work in local bakeries. This is where he met his soon-to-be wife Sara. They talked for years about owning their own bakery someday and after they were married, they revisited the idea. A little inspiration and a lot of perspiration later, they turned that dream into a reality.

Now they are 11 years on – the first ten right next door to where they are currently, the old Ventura Pharmacy. There’s no secret to their success: they are well-known to their regulars for pouring their heart and souls into what they are doing. This has allowed them to actually purchase the building where they are now and completely renovate it over a three year period. Yes, “Tony” in true handy-man tradition, did virtually all the work, from carpentry and sheet rock, to painting and tiling. Nothing puts a bill of ownership on something more than building it yourself.

They didn’t let go of their first spot though: they turned into a lounge and private function room. These days, they get so busy that often people spill over into this area. Barcelos Bakery epitomizes the aforementioned spots that really make one feel like they’ve been zipped away to a European Cafe.

The white brick fireplace is a nice contrast to the dark hardwood tables and chairs, the flooring consists of white floor tiles, and one aspect of the dining area that I am a massive fan of is the vintage tin, artisan ceiling – there are many places in downtown New Bedford that have these ornate ceilings that hearken back the the 19th century, when craftsman took great pride in detailing their stonework, carpentry and metal-smithing.

It’s little details like this that evoke the rhetorical question “If they put that much effort and attention into something relatively unimportant and mundane, how much will they apply that to what they are passionate about?”

The mouth-watering fare
Yes, let’s cover what they are passionate about: pastries, sandwiches, and Portuguese delicacies from both the “islands” and the continent. Sure, they have the cafe staples that you’ll find just about anywhere – the donuts, cupcakes and cakes – but they have those favorites that those of us who grew up in the area salivate over, like Malassadas. One of my all-time favorites is the Queijadas de Nata or custard cups: creamy custard sweetened just enough, surface charred just enough, in a perfectly cooked, flaky pastry shell. It’ll only take one or five with an espresso to whisk me away to happy land.

The very traditional Azorean treat Queijadas de feijao is a bean tart, that is incredibly popular and for good reason: it’s another example of treat that is balanced in sweetness and tartness. While the flavor profile is complex, if you pored over the recipe, you’d be stunned: beans, sugar, eggs, margarine. Love these.

Barcelos Bakery has all varieties of fresh baked breads imaginable, like Pao de Avó, Brazilian rolls, Vienna bread, and of course, sweet bread, including a coconut version. All versions of caffeinated beverages from tea, coffee, and cappuccino, to espresso or Galão. Got a large appetite? Barcelos Bakery serves breakfast and not just your traditional bacon and eggs, but a European breakfast. For example, you can get that coffee (or if you are wiser, smarter, and better looking, an espresso) with ham, Portuguese cheese, or Presutto Corisco sandwich (fresh goat cheese with pepper). Yum.

If you’re off to a late start, or perhaps working and ready for lunch Barcelos Bakery has more favorites for you: bifana, caçoila, Mortadella & Swiss or chouriço and peppers sandwich. Codfish plates, pasta salad, croquettes, Portuguese tuna salad and more.

The Chicken Noodle Soup, caldo verde or kale soup are great for any time of year, but perfect for Autumn. Every day these soups are made from scratch, like everything made at Barcelos Bakery and you can taste the difference.

Closing
At the end of the day, you may feel that many of the Portuguese bakeries are similar and love them all. What makes “Barcelos” special and worth a visit is the immediate and extended family. Just look at Facebook pictures and see all the smiling faces – it’s as warm and friendly of a spot as you’ll find on the South Coast. Even though it’s been over a decade, Sara and Tony still feel that they are living their dream and can barely believe it. It comes through in the food and in the service.

Barcelos Bakery is one of the best kept secrets on the South Coast, and hopefully we don’t ruin it for the regulars, who likely want to keep it that way!

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