SteamDot Coffee O'Malley Cafe

A Slayer Espresso Machine sits front and center, single-origin roasting happens on site, and the espresso program here gets called the best in Alaska by regulars. SteamDot's O'Malley Cafe runs an Italian-style service that includes sparkling water alongside the espresso, plus house-made chocolate ganache that goes into the mochas.

The room reads more downtown metropolitan than cozy reading nook. Bright and airy, with large ceilings and metal accents, classy in a tucked-shirt way. Some find it generic and open rather than warm. A hand-painted brew-method infographic covers one wall, doubling as decor and a teaching tool. A kids area with toys and high chairs sits off to the side, which is a useful detail in a city where family-friendly third-wave coffee is not a given.

The cortado is the order for espresso drinkers. The espresso of the day rotates through single origins. A mocha with the house-made ganache and a dusting of cinnamon is the signature drink, and a decaf version exists for the afternoon crowd. White chocolate ganache mocha is the sweeter variant. A single-origin Chemex is the technical move if you want to taste what the roasting program is doing without milk in the way.

Espresso enthusiasts and business professionals in meetings make up the bulk of the room. Families take advantage of the kids area, and virtual workers come for the airy space. It is, however, not the cozy reading-nook crowd's first choice. Power outlets are hard to find. And while the espresso program is strong, the milk drinks suffer from lower-quality syrups compared to a few other Anchorage operations, so stick with the cortado, espresso, or ganache mocha and skip the syrup-heavy seasonal items. The Slayer earns the trip, the ganache earns its place on the menu, and the brew-method wall is genuinely worth reading while your drink gets pulled.