Motek by the Sea’s patio at W Fort Lauderdale. Photo courtesy of Motek / Happy Corner Hospitality, via Markets of Tomorrow.
Motek by the Sea opened for dine-in service Nov. 5 at W Fort Lauderdale, bringing a 315-seat Mediterranean restaurant to the hotel’s beachfront dining lineup. The new spot occupies the former El Vez restaurant space at 401 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. and is the first oceanfront location for the Motek brand, according to opening coverage by Browardist and Markets of Tomorrow.
For Fort Lauderdale Beach, the opening puts a large-scale restaurant back in the hotel’s former El Vez footprint. The space covers approximately 12,000 square feet, with indoor and outdoor seating, according to Happy Corner Hospitality’s announcement published by The PR Net. The group describes the opening as its first in Broward County.
The restaurant’s indoor dining room. Photo courtesy of Motek / Happy Corner Hospitality, via Markets of Tomorrow.
What’s on the menu
Motek serves an all-day menu that runs from brunch through dinner. The Fort Lauderdale menu, published on the restaurant’s official site, includes hummus, hot and cold mezzes, salads, kebabs, sandwiches and fish dishes, alongside fresh-baked pita and laffa.
The Arayes Burger is among the restaurant’s highlighted dishes. Motek’s online menu describes it as pita with kufta, tahini, harissa aioli and grated tomato, and lists it at $27. The restaurant also says the burger won the People’s Choice Award at Burger Bash in 2022 and 2023. Other dishes on the current menu include classic hummus, listed at $15, and whole branzino, listed at $48. Menu items and prices can change; readers can check the Fort Lauderdale menu for current details.
Food at Motek by the Sea. Photo courtesy of Motek / Happy Corner Hospitality, via Markets of Tomorrow.
Motek and Happy Corner Hospitality describe the restaurant as kosher-style and 100% Seed Oil Free Certified. “Kosher-style” refers to the restaurant’s culinary approach; the available opening information does not state that it is kosher-certified. The restaurant’s official Fort Lauderdale page lists hours as 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday. It also lists happy hour Monday through Friday from 2 to 6 p.m. Check the restaurant directly for current availability and details.
Sesame Kitchen is next door
Motek is the first of two concepts planned by Happy Corner Hospitality at the hotel. Sesame Kitchen, the group’s Mediterranean café, is expected to open next door in the coming weeks, according to Browardist. No exact opening date has been announced in that report.
The café is planned as a separate, open-air space with about 40 seats. Browardist reports that its expected offerings include house-made croissants, bourekas and sufganiyot, as well as specialty lattes, coffee and tea. The Fort Lauderdale outpost will be Sesame Kitchen’s second location, following its café at SoLé Mia in North Miami, according to the same report.
Outdoor seating at Motek by the Sea. Photo courtesy of Motek / Happy Corner Hospitality, via Markets of Tomorrow.
Happy Corner Hospitality, the group behind Motek, also operates Yalla Motek and Sesame Kitchen, according to The PR Net. Motek began in Downtown Miami in 2020, Browardist reports, and the new restaurant brings the brand to Broward with a setting directly on Fort Lauderdale Beach.
For now, Motek by the Sea is open at the W, while the neighboring café remains forthcoming. Readers can find the restaurant’s current hours, address and menu on Motek’s Fort Lauderdale page and browse more local reporting in South Florida Digest’s News section.
