Kismet Mediterranean Grill — Restaurant in Burlington

We came in for an early dinner at 3pm to meet with our friends who are Turkish. The decor of Kismet is formal dining and well appointed with excellent lighting due to the large windows in the space. Our server was attentive and provided excellent service throughout our dining.

Our party had four adults and one child. We appreciated the kids menu, which offered kebabs and a homemade pizza, and stuck with the shared plates in the main part of the menu. The beverage menu has an excellent selection of Turkish wine and local Vermont beers and ciders as well as nonalcoholic beverages. We shared the meze platter with two orders of lavash bread; it had hummus, baba ganoush, haydari (a yogurt dip), Turkish salsa and stuffed grape leaves. The stuffed grape leaves were amazing with a stuffed rice and light sweetness that makes it tempting to eat more.

For our main course, we shared the mixed kebab (with Döner,Spice Oven Chicken Chicken Shish, Lamp Chop, Lamb Adana, Chicken Adana, Meatballs. It's good for 2 people to share. Served with rice, bulgur, sumac onion, red cabbage, grilled tomatoes, and peppers) and it was quite filling meal for our group. Indeed for two people this would be the main meal plus a dessert; skipping the appetizer so you can appreciate the perfectly cooked and flavorful kebabs.

We also shared the rice pudding (our daughters’s favorite), which was smooth with a touch of cinnamon. We had the warm kunefe, a pastry with sweet cheese and syrup, and I would get a coffee or tea the next time I have this. Last we had the pistachio baklava, which was a perfect treat to finish our meal.

Looking forward to bringing friends and family back for lunch and...

We were, in short, disappointed.

In long: The meal was fine, but clearly cut a few corners. The ten grains of sumac, plain iceberg lettuce plate filler, and extra cost for bread to accompany our order of yogurt (seriously?) was really discouraging. We felt cheated, overcharged, and like a bother for existing. For the price, it really felt like we’d been played. Multiple “small” things just added up to a negative overall experience — like that onions were white onions (again, with barely a dusting of sumac) which was not good (and pretty sure a corner cut), the ground lamb was either cheap or incredibly under seasoned, and the rice is 99% butter (why??).

This place has RAVE reviews and we were so so confused. The atmosphere is not inviting or thought through; it feels adapted from an old restaurant with a random flooring layout and textures, cheap painted pomegranates randomly on the walls, a single beautiful Turkish lamp, elementary school ceiling tiles, and thick stemmed wine glasses.

If it wasn’t $22-30+ per plate, or the food had some more care put into it, I would totally accept this no questions asked. I totally understand sometimes the love gets poured in elsewhere, that good high quality Mediterranean takes a LOT of time, and that often the most authentic amazing places are kind of a drag.

However, to pay such a high price for an experience like this one and food that made us have a bad taste figuratively and literally afterwards begs the question - where is that love going? Does it not exist? Because clearly something is amiss. Thankfully our (hopefully new??) waitress was kind, though not supported by her...

The moment we walked into Kismet Mediterranean Grill, we knew we were in for something special. The owner himself greeted and seated us, which made us feel like VIPs—or at least like we were about to have a meal worthy of royalty. Spoiler alert: we were right.

We started with the crispy cheese rolls, and let me tell you, if I could marry a food, these would be serious contenders. The Turkish feta and dill filling was creamy perfection, wrapped in a crisp shell that shattered like the dreams of anyone who’s ever tried to make these at home. And the cacik/tzatziki-style sauce? It was so good I briefly considered asking for a straw.

Not stopping there (because why would we?), my wife and I shared a combination plate, and every single bite was grilled to absolute perfection. Juicy, flavorful meats, perfectly cooked rice and bulgur—it was like a greatest hits album, but for food.

Just when we thought we couldn’t eat another bite, dessert arrived: knafeh, a crispy, cheesy, syrupy miracle that somehow made room in our already full stomachs. Magic? Probably.

And let’s take a moment to appreciate our wonderful server, who had an almost psychic ability to keep our drinks topped off—our glasses never dipped below half full. That’s some next-level service.

Long story short: Kismet is a must-visit. This was hands down the best meal we’ve had in months, and you better believe we’ll be back. Maybe next time, I’ll actually try to behave myself around the tzatziki....