MOTW Coffee & Pastries

Date and cardamom in a latte, Yemeni chai beside the espresso machine, and a lounge of sofas rather than a takeaway queue. MOTW grew out of the Muslims of the World project, which began online in 2014, became a nonprofit, and opened its first café in 2021 under the line “Specialty Coffee & Arabic Pastries.”

Specialty lattes share the bar with Yemeni chai

The drinks list runs in two directions at once. Flavoured lattes carry the espresso side, with Date Cardamom, Spanish and Pistachio the named signatures, all of them familiar café formats rebuilt around Middle Eastern flavours rather than novelty syrups.

Tea has equal weight rather than a token presence. Yemeni chai and Egyptian teas sit beside the lattes, with iced refreshers and matcha drinks covering everyone else, so a table of four can order in four directions without anyone settling for something they did not want.

A café shaped like a lounge

The Quincy room runs to just under 1,700 square feet, with table seating and a lounge area of sofas. That layout is the argument the café is making: counter service in mechanics, but designed for people to stay, talk and order a second round rather than take a cup and leave with it.

The neighbourhood role matters too. Quincy was picked as a changing community and a strong fit for a hangout, which is why the shop is pitched as a South Shore gathering place rather than another branded coffee counter. It is not a dining room and does not try to be one, but the sofas, the tables and the “bringing people together one cup at a time” framing make the room intentionally social.

Order the Date Cardamom latte with baklava

Date Cardamom is the clearest signature and the right first order. Spanish and Pistachio lattes are the other espresso picks, Yemeni chai and Egyptian teas carry the tea side, and refreshers or matcha cover the non-coffee route entirely.

Baklava is the natural first pastry, because Arabic pastries are half the concept rather than a case filler. Date cookies extend the same tradition, milk cakes and muffins add familiar café sweets, and halal savoury empanadas give the case a non-sweet option. The pastries are made locally and treated as equal to the drinks, which is consistent with a café that expects visits to run long.