The European-Inspired Cafe To Visit On Your Next Trip To South Carolina

Foodies and java junkies have the world at their fingertips when visiting Charleston, South Carolina. The city has become a treasure trove of culinary offerings, and in 2023, it was ranked in Food and Wine's Top U.S. Cities for Food and Drinks. From acclaimed restaurants like Fig and Husk to smaller neighborhood restaurants, Charleston has an eclectic food scene, as also evidenced by the European-themed cafe Babas on Cannon. 

Babas on Cannon is a European-style, all-day noshery that's a nod to the bars and cafes found throughout Europe.  The restaurant serves up easy-grab coffees, bakery items, and small plates, as well as a selection of Euro-inspired cocktails and wine. While limited on inside seating with no table service, the vibe is distinctly Continental. Charleston locals are meeting for good conversation, quick bites, and a place to unwind from the rigors of the day.

Located in the heart of downtown Charleston, Babas on Cannon bills itself as an old-world cafe, and as such, it is housed in a small, white-tiled, rustic 750-square-foot space that was formerly a barbershop.  Founders Edward Crouse and Marie Stitt aspired to make the restaurant a neighborhood staple that reflects the busy life of patrons looking for daily rituals of respite –- a place to stop for a morning coffee or an afternoon or evening beverage. The formula has worked so well that they opened a second location (Babas on Meeting), and the menus, which are designed to be friendly at all times of the day, are curated from regional, high-quality ingredients.

Babas on Cannon's menu is geared to helping you begin your day, get through your day, and top off a long day. Menu offerings of coffee and tea also highlight regular espresso and cortados. The cortado is an increasingly popular drink of strong espresso with a one-to-one ratio of milk. Babas also offers a cinnamon matcha cortado, macchiatos, and a peanut mocha drink made from the restaurant's signature peanut milk. Pastry pairings include banana bread, chocolate hazelnut pound cake, and a cream puff with salted caramel pastry cream. Small plates, in keeping with the all-day cafe theme, range from jammy farm eggs or a quintessentially French ham and butter sandwich to pickled shrimp toast with shallot, lemon, and parsley.

Fridays and Saturdays at Babas on Cannon wind down with the apertivo hour, a daily Italian ritual akin to happy hour in the U.S. and other countries. Light hors d'oeuvres and small plates are offered alongside cocktails, beer and wine. Signature cocktails like the Jack Rose Fizz (apple Jack, white wine, lemon, Jack Rudy tonic, and fizz) are offered next to the less challenging but more familiar Babas gin and tonic. An evolving menu of salty and briny small plates is offered during apertivo. Patrons are invited to sip and sample pairings of appetizers with cocktails and wine including sparkling, white, pink, and red, most notably from Italy, France, and Germany. Babas on Cannon is open Tuesday through Sunday, so the next time you're in Chucktown, step into cafe life.