Espresso Vivace Alley 24

Alley 24 is Espresso Vivace's grand bar in South Lake Union, a roomy indoor counter on Yale Avenue North that gives the Capitol Hill institution a second stage on the north side of downtown. Vivace was founded in 1988 as a partnership with a charter to research, develop and prepare caffe espresso as a new culinary art, and the bar here carries that approach to the neighborhood's offices and apartments.

Since 1992 the company has roasted in the Northern Italian style, searching for the mildest arabicas and bringing each bean in its blends to the peak of caramelized sugar content, which is why Vivace calls its coffee literally the caramel coffee. Its founder wrote a widely used espresso technique book and produced barista training courses on latte art. Weekday hours run six to four and weekends seven to five.