Hoje não dá para ir à pastelaria, mas eu ainda quero comer um pastel.

In this sentence, não dá para is an impersonal, very common expression meaning it’s not possible to, it won’t work to, or there’s no way to.

So:

• Hoje não dá para ir à pastelaria
  = Today it’s not possible to go to the pastry shop = Today we can’t really go to the pastry shop

Literally, dar usually means to give, but in this expression it does not mean that literally. It works more like:

• Dá para fazer isso. = It’s possible to do that.
• Não dá para fazer isso. = It’s not possible to do that.

This is very natural in everyday Portuguese.

Because this is an impersonal expression.

In não dá para + infinitive, Portuguese uses the 3rd person singular form:

• dá = it is possible / it works
• não dá = it is not possible / it doesn’t work

There is no real subject here. It is similar to English it’s possible or you can’t in a general sense.

Examples:

• Dá para entrar? = Is it possible to come in?
• Não dá para esperar. = It’s not possible to wait.

So dá is fixed here because of the structure, not because someone specific is “giving” something.

Because the standard pattern is:

• dar para + infinitive

So:

• dá para ir = it’s possible to go
• não dá para sair = it’s not possible to leave

The para links the idea of possibility to the action that follows.

In this sentence:

• não dá para ir = it’s not possible to go

Without para, the sentence would sound wrong in this meaning.

Because à is the contraction of:

• a (preposition, after ir)
• • a (the feminine singular definite article the)

So:

• ir a + a pastelaria → ir à pastelaria

This happens because pastelaria is a feminine noun:

• a pastelaria = the pastry shop

And the verb ir often takes the preposition a in European Portuguese:

• ir à praia = to go to the beach
• ir ao café = to go to the café
• ir à pastelaria = to go to the pastry shop

They are related words, but they mean different things:

• pastelaria = pastry shop, cake shop, or a café/pastry place
• pastel = a pastry

So in the sentence:

• ir à pastelaria = go to the pastry shop
• comer um pastel = eat a pastry

This is a useful distinction in Portuguese:

• place: pastelaria
• item/food: pastel

Also, in Portugal, a pastelaria is often not just a shop selling pastries. It can also be a casual café where people have coffee, cakes, snacks, etc.

Here, ainda means still.

So:

• eu ainda quero comer um pastel = I still want to eat a pastry

It shows that the desire continues, even though going to the pastry shop is not possible.

Depending on context, ainda can also mean yet, even, or still, but here still is the best match.

Examples:

• Ainda estou aqui. = I’m still here.
• Ainda não comi. = I haven’t eaten yet.
• Ainda quero ir. = I still want to go.

Yes, it could.

Portuguese often drops subject pronouns when they are not needed, because the verb ending already shows the person:

• quero already tells you it means I want

So both are possible:

• mas eu ainda quero comer um pastel
• mas ainda quero comer um pastel

Including eu can add:

• a little emphasis
• a clearer contrast after mas
• a more explicit personal point: but I still want...

So here eu is not required, but it sounds natural.

Because pastel is being treated as a countable noun: a pastry.

So:

• um pastel = one pastry / a pastry

If you say comer um pastel, you mean one specific item in a general sense.

In Portuguese, using the article here is very natural. Compare:

• Quero comer um pastel. = I want to eat a pastry.
• Quero beber um café. = I want to drink a coffee.

You may sometimes hear article-less nouns in other contexts, but in this sentence um pastel is the normal choice.

Not exactly.

In Portugal:

• pastelaria usually means a pastry shop or café that sells pastries and cakes
• padaria is more specifically a bakery, especially for bread

So a pastelaria often suggests a place where you might:

• drink coffee
• eat cakes or pastries
• sit down for a snack

A padaria is more strongly associated with bread.

Because não dá para is more general and idiomatic.

Compare:

• Hoje não dá para ir à pastelaria.
  = Today it’s not really possible to go to the pastry shop.

• Hoje não podemos ir à pastelaria.
  = Today we can’t go to the pastry shop.

• Hoje não posso ir à pastelaria.
  = Today I can’t go to the pastry shop.

Não dá para can sound a bit less direct and more like circumstances don’t allow it. It often suggests practical impossibility rather than just personal inability.

Mas means but.

It connects two contrasting ideas:

• Hoje não dá para ir à pastelaria
  (Today it’s not possible to go to the pastry shop)

• mas eu ainda quero comer um pastel
  (but I still want to eat a pastry)

So the contrast is:

• going to the shop is not possible
• the desire to eat the pastry remains

Yes, Hoje means today.

It is placed at the beginning to set the time frame right away:

• Hoje não dá para ir à pastelaria... = Today, it’s not possible to go to the pastry shop...

This is very natural in Portuguese. You could also place time expressions elsewhere, but sentence-initial position is common when you want to establish the context first.

À is not just an accent mark added for pronunciation. It shows a contraction:

• a + a = à

So in ir à pastelaria, it means to the pastry shop.

The grave accent (à) is important because it marks this contraction. It is different from á, which would have an acute accent and is not what you want here.

So think of à as a grammar signal:

• vou à pastelaria = I’m going to the pastry shop
• vou ao café = I’m going to the café

Yes. Even if the meaning is already clear, it helps to know the natural English-style equivalents.

Possible natural translations include:

• Today we can’t go to the pastry shop, but I still want to eat a pastry.
• Today it’s not possible to go to the pastry shop, but I still want a pastry.
• We can’t make it to the pastry shop today, but I still want to eat a pastry.

The Portuguese sentence is very natural and conversational, especially because of não dá para.

Yes, very much so.

Several things make it sound natural in Portugal Portuguese:

• pastelaria is a very Portugal-specific everyday word
• não dá para is common in spoken language
• ir à pastelaria is a very natural real-life phrase in Portugal

A learner of European Portuguese should definitely become comfortable with this kind of sentence, because it reflects everyday speech very well.