Quartier Putain

With its name that refers to a song by the late ‘drs. P.’, Quartier Putain is well aware of its location in the middle of Amsterdam’s red light district. The coffee bar is owned by the Dutch Top-​Notch hip hop label, which is clear from the second you enter; the place contains ample decorations that refer to Dutch hip hop giants and hot newcomers alike. What’s more, you can treat yourself to a hip hop album when you order, because there’s always a nice selection of CDs at the counter.
There’s plenty of coffee to pick from, which takes a while to be prepared, but tastes good; ‘good things come to those who wait’, after all. Waiting tip: if the weather allows it, be sure to sit outside, since people-​spotting will provide you with some top notch entertainment in this area of Amsterdam. For these reasons, we think Quartier Putain is a neat coffee bar with tons of character; we love dropping by when we’re in town to start off the day.

Amazing coffee and top notch atmosphere. They have very fast wifi which is hard to come by in this city and not to mention the people watching in the red light district. There is seating right on the cobblestone street. They also have delicious bakery items that are fresh.

Esta cafetería es como un paraíso hipster de buena onda y buen gusto con rica torta y buen café en la entrada del Red light district.
Ubicada jusssto en la rotonda de la iglesia que limita la entrada al red ligth, y situada posta a metros de unas ventanas con chicas, acá te podés tomar un té bien hipster con una cookie y pagar algo más de la media en la ciudad pero la verdad es que es comodísimo y es un gran lugar para descansar de la cerveza y las tormentas que azotan la ciudad cada tanto.
Me vine a laburar un par de horitas y el wifi 10 puntos, mesa comunal y buen café.
Qué más querés?

Ok, c’est vrai qu’avec un tel nom cet endroit peu paraître douteux.
A vrai dire j’ai même hésité à faire mon check-​in ici.
Et même si l’établissement est situé à côté du très fameux quartier rouge de la ville, c’est bien un coffee store !
Je dis bien coffee store, donc amoureux et amateur de la plante verte, passez votre chemin. C’est un café très cosy, on commande au rez d chaussé, un peu en mode fast food (à cause du comptoir) et on monte au premier étage pour s’asseoir dans un espace relativement cosy.
A tester: Leur latte, qui est vraiment bon!
MONEY MONEY MONEY
Comptez 2 – 3 euros pour un café latte
LES PETITS PLUS :
— Le nom ! essayer de glisser dans une conversation le plus sérieusement possible que vous êtes allés chez «quartier putain» ce matin pour prendre votre café.
— Le service à l’étage avec la grande table blanche.
— Le wifi gratuit
LES PETITS MOINS :
— la déco au rez de chaussé qui donne un peu un côté fast food du café

A café called Whore Quarter? Oui oui oui!
True to the name, this newest installment to De Wallen area is literally wedged between some red light erotic professionals and the back wall of the Old Church. If you go early in the morning or later in the afternoon, you can view these fine sexual entrepreneurs as you sip some coffee at Q-​Putain. It would be my pleasure to give such a java haven in the middle of stoned tourist central a Unilocaling 5 stars, however, I don’t feel like this place is blossoming to its full tulip potential.
One thing is the service… I’m happy to say that the staff is not the pants-too-tight-I-listen-to-music-on-soundcloud-that-you’ve-never-heard-of hipster type, but I have yet to speak to someone remotely friendly. Perhaps, they have already become jaded from a constant bombardment of tourists even though they only opened this July? Or maybe since it’s a small establishment they figure that a non-​friendly staff, even to Dutch standards (or lack thereof), will keep their fragile baristas from being too busy. I’m not a fan of acidic or sour coffee and I figured since they asked me what beans I wanted, they would have some knowledge of the beans? This was not the case and I had to just say «doe maar» to whatever they felt like making which was mostly likely whatever was the shortest distance from their current standing position.
What I DO like about this place is the fact that I live right down the street and it’s the ONLY place I can sit outside and sip a nice cup of brown liquid caffeine on the weekends. I mean… take a look at the alternatives in the area:
1. Warmoesstraat — the only places remotely «coffee» on this street are coffeeshops so NEXT!
2. Oudezijds Achterburgwal — There are some places here to sit along the canal or outside, but be prepared to fight off stag partying drunk brits and shady folk selling «unicorn» dust
3. Oudezijds Voorburgwal — Sitting anywhere outside here after 9am means drinking beers while dodging crazy Amsterdam bikers (I’m one of them!) and not enjoying coffee outside
Inside they have magazines and newspapers (in Dutch) that you can grab and see what’s going on in the exciting world of the Netherlands! Also, I like their freshly baked stuff like cookies and cakes. Again, the service is severely lacking, so it is entirely possible that you are hungry, you want a snack, you see rolls of cookie dough just waiting in queue to be baked, and the lovely barista telling you that there is nothing to eat… Sorrrrrry!
Anyway, I come here because it’s one of the few gezellig places in this area to sit down (inside and outside) for a nice relaxing cup of coffee and I will keep coming here because of that. But three stars is all they get from this poutain-​Yelper!

This is a cool coffeehouse adjacent to one of the more «fetishized» sections of the Red Light District. Just look at the ladies in the windows of the brothel next door, and you’ll gain some idea of what I’m talking about.
Inside, this no-​frills coffee-​slinger is all about good coffee and conversation. There is a jukebox available, which is a fun little twist for a coffeehouse. Even better, the barista will freely hand out the tokens for it, if you ask.
My latte was very solid, pretty much on par with the better coffeeshops back home. The difference is, while those places make such a big deal about their coffee, places like this just shut up and make you a quality cup of coffee without the geekiness.
Wi-​fi is available — just ask for the password. Our companion, the lovely Philippine W., took full advantage of this on her laptop as she graciously gave us a crash course on Amsterdam and what it has to offer (cheers and thanks again!)