Stix Coffeeshop

NOTE: 3.5 STARS!
October 2012 marked the third time I made a visit to the beautiful city of Amsterdam. I have a few friends that live there so visiting is always a fun time. My first two visits, I stayed at NH Amsterdam Centre (a 4-​star hotel) near Leidesplein Square. This visit, my friends and I decided to go the Airbnb route (a little more cost-​effective) and settled into a cozy apartment right off Frederiksplein.
When it was time to hunt down a coffee shop that was close to where we were staying, we consulted Unilocal and Stix was the first to come up. It was a 15-​minute walk from our temporary home so it was good enough for us.
Now I’m kind of torn. The gentleman behind the counter was somewhat patient and answered the questions we had. But he was SUPER strict. We just ended up spending a decent amount of euros in his establishment but he was very annoyed at the fact that we brought water from outside into the shop. If we took a sip, he reprimanded us. If we rested the bottle on top of the table, we’d get reprimanded even more sternly (the justification being that Stix sells beverages of their own).
However, the product that Stix had to offer was probably the best quality wise we had for the five days we were in Amsterdam out of the all the shops we visited. The Royal House Blend got a big thumbs up all-​around. And the music was pretty groovy (instrumental neo jazz type stuff). It’s also worth mentioning that it’s pretty small. But if you can snag a window seat, the people watching is pretty sweet.
I wouldn’t recommend going out of your way to visit Stix (because there are a plethora of options throughout the city) but if you happen to be in the area or staying near there, it’s worth a pop-​in. Just be on your Ps and Qs.

Not too shabby. Upstairs area is gezellig. The downstairs is okay. Very clean. Friendly service. Music is a unique assortment (read: sometimes great, sometimes strange).
Minus 1-​star: got harassed for a buddy taking a bite of his leftover croissant.
Minus 1-​star: no cigarettes allowed to be smoked inside.
Otherwise, for a quick dip & smoke, not a bad spot.

by far, the house royal stix was my favorite blend i came across in AMS!