Espresso Vivace Roasteria
Seattle, WA 98122-8400
Phone: (206) 860-5869
- Price:
- $
- Best of Citysearch:
- Coffee 2006
- Hours:
- Daily 6:30am-11pm
Editorial Review for Espresso Vivace Roasteria – by Citysearch Editors
In Short
Northern Italian-style roasting and a whole lotta love go into roasting the beans at this Capitol Hill roasteria, where they take their coffee seriously (and have won competitions to prove it).Employees must work as bar assistants for a year before earning the coveted position as barista. Take a load off and have one of the double-shot espresso drinks in the cafe, with a view of the reservoir and life on Broadway.
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Insider Tips
Where to SitVivace also has a nearby sidewalk bar where you can sit and watch the everyday parade of humanity on Broadway.
Know Before You GoThere's no drip coffee here, so don't ask. If you're the sensitive type, be aware that all drinks are double shots.
User Reviews for Espresso Vivace Roasteria
02/02/2008 Posted by mimnar
Yes, they do have some of the best coffee in Seattle. But, the music is horrible and very loud and the baristas don't care about patron comfort. It is freezing cold out, and the door is wide open as I write this. I asked them if I could close it, and the barista replied that it was too hot behind the machines. While I can sympathize with being too hot, and having to deal with discomfort in the workplace, the people they are serving are cold. Everyone is in their coats. People are hugging themselves from cold. My drink went cold in a matter of minutes. If they disregard the customer's comfort entirely, why should I care about theirs?
Pros: Good coffee
Cons: Freezing cold, both physically, and emotionally
07/19/2007 Posted by mstaggart
Espresso Vivace's staff consistently make some of the best espresso beverages around. Their "crappy square-plastic" grinders have a vented fan mounted on the back in order to cool beans that otherwise might get hot and essentially cook as they are ground--a small but essential alteration that many other caffes have somehow missed out on. And, upon reading the board, one is greeted with the information that Vivace's northern Italian style of esspresso preperation includes a cappucino that is very similar to a latte, with a creamy foam that melds seamlessly with sweet espresso, not the cup o' foam that so many have come to expect in this post-Starbucks age. Their espressos, (when drunk within 10 seconds, after which any shot goes sour) at their best acheive the owner's goal of tasting the way coffee smells. Fortunately, the well-trained and professional staff nearly always turn out espresso at its best. Unfortunately, not every drink can be perfect, and the variety that comes out of this unpredictable but reliable art might well be celebrated by patrons rather than bitterly ruled out after one or two experiences. And, to a self-assured individual, being on the recieving end of a little sass can be an envigorating and delightful thing.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful
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