If Motek looks like it was born in Miami, that’s only because it was. The flower-strewn, seed oil-free chain was founded in 2020, eventually expanding to seven outposts across South Florida. Like its peers, the Flatiron location serves a generic mix of Mediterranean food that’s neither especially thrilling nor painfully expensive. With a decent number of entrees below $30, it’s a useful place for a casual group dinner, and that goes double if you prefer your dining rooms spacious, lively, and crawling with fake vines.
A meal at Motek is less about the food, and more about the cabana-like setting and comforting reassurance that you won’t be consuming seed oils. The chicken shawarma is a bland imitation, and the schnitzel reads more like chicken fingers, but with a menu that’s over 60 items long there are bound to be a few distant runners-up. If, after picking your way through a lifeless salmon ceviche, you find yourself struggling to understand how this place has so many locations, order the hummus with a side of laffa. The velvety dip and charred flatbread are even better than everyone says.
Food RundownLaffa
Order the blistered, stretchy laffa every single time. It comes included with all of the dips, and you can also get it on its own, with optional toppings like pastrami and feta.
photo credit: Bryan Kim
Hummus
Skip the hummus topped with minced beef (pictured above). It’s a bit too much. But do get an order of the plain, silky hummus.
Tzatziki
Motek is gifted when it comes to making dips. This thick and garlicky tzatziki finishes in second place, after the hummus.
Crunchy Cabbage
A well-named, if slightly wet dish that really does taste like a pile of crunchy cabbage. Even if with the almonds and mint, there isn’t much going on. But the salad’s pleasant enough.
photo credit: Bryan Kim
Chicken Schnitzel
For $25, you can enjoy a few thinly breaded chicken strips with a plain side salad. Or, ideally, you can take that money and order more laffa.
photo credit: Bryan Kim
Turkish Lamb Kebab
Juicy and well-spiced, this is a fantastic kebab. It also costs $32 and doesn’t come with any sides other than that pepper.
photo credit: Bryan Kim
Butcher Cut
This is Motek’s take on steak frites. Ours arrived with limp, cold fries and an oddly salty and sweet cut of hanger steak. If you really want some beef, the intensely fatty arayes is a better route.
photo credit: Bryan Kim
Dining and Cooking