Vivian Yee for the NYTimes:
“I visited this place and was in a total shock!” Tarak Alhamood, a customer at Nabt Fenjan, a Riyadh coffee shop, raged online recently. “YOU r VIOLATING the rules of this country. I hope this place get closed permanently.”
The blame lay not with the matcha iced tea and flat whites (good, other reviewers opined), the nondairy milk options (appreciated), the chocolate cake (don’t miss) or the prices (less popular).
The issue was the decision that made Nabt Fenjan a daring outpost of the new Riyadh: Originally opened only for women, the coffee shop began allowing male and female customers to mix in late 2018. […]
In early December, however, the government announced that businesses would no longer be required to segregate customers — the latest expansion of the social reforms initiated by the de facto Saudi ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Social change while caffeinated and full from a pastry sounds delightful.