The Paris Market, Savannah

Coffee is poured at a marble counter surrounded by things that are also for sale, because The Paris Market keeps its cafe on the ground floor of a brocante rather than in a room of its own. The coffee is Cup to Cup, roasted locally, and the pastries are French.

Coffee, champagne and French pastry

The drinks list runs in two directions at once. There is proper coffee, poured from a local roaster's beans, and there is champagne, which is the detail that separates this from every other counter on the street. Both are matched to French pastries rather than a full menu, so the format stays light: something to drink, something sweet, and a seat at the bar. Using a local roaster rather than a house blend keeps the coffee side honest, and it means the cup is worth ordering on its own terms rather than as an accessory to the shopping.

A cafe inside a two-storey boutique

The setting is the reason to come. This is a bi-level boutique dealing in antiques, gifts and jewellery, dressed in vintage-inspired Parisian style, and the cafe is folded into it rather than partitioned off. Marble counters and bar seating anchor the coffee side, and the effect lands somewhere between a European flea market and a Savannah drawing room. It means a stop here doubles as browsing, which is either the appeal or the problem depending on your afternoon. The upstairs and downstairs are both worth walking, and the coffee counter is the part of it you can sit at.

What to order

Take a Cup to Cup coffee and a French pastry if you want the cafe at its most straightforward. Order champagne instead if the visit is celebratory or simply later in the day, since the pairing with pastry is the combination the room is built for. Either way, plan a light stop rather than a meal, and give yourself time to look around the shop afterwards.