Le Petit Jacques — Specialty Store in Mouffetard, Paris

Le Petit Jacques is an independent specialty shop on Rue St Jacques, in the Mouffetard neighbourhood, and the first thing you notice is how much of the space is counter: cold cuts, cheeses, jams and spreads laid out for you to point at rather than pick up yourself.

The sandwich is the reason to come. Ask for one that is not in the cooler outside and it gets made fresh in front of you; the ham and cheese baguette is the one to start with, and the blue cheese version holds its own. The charcuterie runs to patanegra and a lean herbed ham closer to porchetta, and the cheese counter includes a truffle cheese that turns up in the sandwiches too. If you want something sweet, the spit cake is the curiosity here, and cookies go into picnic bags headed for the Luxembourg Gardens.

Buying works through the staff. They hand you samples of the meats and cheeses before you commit, and everything can be vacuum packed for travel, which makes the cold cuts and whole pieces of charcuterie realistic to carry home. Pre-packed items are set out for exactly that purpose.

The lunch deal is the value: ham and cheese baguette, cookie and soda for 12 euro. Beyond that, prices run high for what is a small neighbourhood shop, so decide what you want before you reach the counter.

Come on a Sunday, when French sandwich shops near the Luxembourg Gardens are thin on the ground and this one is open. It suits anyone assembling a picnic, and anyone who wants their charcuterie wrapped flat for a flight home.