Surrender to the delights of croissants or bright macarons

breakfasts, reading the papers or doing some people-watching over coffee.

I ordered a pain au chocolat (R28), a croissant (R28) and a cappuccino (R24).

Pain au chocolat (literally chocolate bread) is a sweet French breakfast treat made of layered dough filled with two strips of dark chocolate.

While those served at Cassis are larger than those you’ll find in a Parisian bakery, they are very good, buttery and flaky with dark rich chocolate in the centre.

The butter croissant, too, was first rate, a crisp and flaky crust with a soft and multilayered centre.

Both the croissant and the pain au chocolat were excellent dipped into the cappuccino.

And you’ll get a discount if you order them to take away.

Cassis has a fairly extensive breakfast menu if you are looking for something more substantial.

You can try the French toast with cinnamon sugar, raspberry sauce, honey, crème fraiche and fruit for R78, or salmon with crème fraiche and scrambled eggs on a brioche for R90.

For lunch, you can chose from a variety of sandwiches for between R68 and R90, including the classic croque monsieur, a ham and cheese grilled sandwich for R81.

The café also serves pastas and hamburgers.

After your meal, take some time to admire the pastries and breads at the counter.

You’ll find a selection of savoury tarts, sweet pastries, cakes and desserts, from eclairs (R28) and almond pear tarts (R33) to the “nougat pomme tart” of roasted apples topped with caramelized almonds in a case of sweet dough (R36).

But the highlight is undoubtedly the rows of multicoloured macarons for between R12 and R14, made from crushed almond and egg white.

They’re firm and spongy with decadent creamy fillings such as pistachio, raspberry or chocolate; why not buy one of each flavour? jan.cronje@inl.co.za

A selection of traditional macarons from Cassis.