This week, Kismet expands with a third concept and plenty of the trappings that made the original restaurant a neighborhood—and citywide—go-to for California-Mediterranean cuisine. Of course now, there’s rotisserie chicken.
At Kismet Rotisserie, the latest from chef-owners Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson, the vibe is just as breezy and modern as its originator a few doors down, but with a quick-and-casual setup and a menu that draws from both Kismet and its other sibling concept, Kismet Falafel in Grand Central Market.
Starting on Wednesday, you can order the plate and your succulent, slow-roasted, turmeric-rubbed chicken includes the falafel shop’s signature fluffy pita and so-creamy-it’s-absurd hummus, while à la carte sides lean toward the full-service restaurant’s breadth of the menu: cabbage in a yogurt vinaigrette with fennel; shredded carrot salad; and some otherworldly-good potatoes cooked in schmaltz (or, if you’re leaning vegetarian, a variety that’s cooked without).
You can order chicken by the quarter, half and whole—served with chili oil and garlic sauce—or as a plate, in lemony chicken-soup form, or in a pita sandwich (à la Kismet Falafel). If you’re not looking for meat at all, there’s a big salad replete with chickpeas and broccoli in a miso-and-poppy seed vinaigrette, plus a veggie sandwich stuffed with tahini-roasted vegetables, with plenty of new recipes tested, retested and developed to perfection by Kramer and Hymanson and the rotisserie’s chef de cuisine, Erik Girton.
Leaning in to that neighborhood feel, Kismet’s latest also offers a kids’ menu (adorably titled “Kidsmet”) in addition to party packs and catering, and it’s open every day of the week, all day long.
Wash it all down with the rotisserie’s unique drinks, including a tart carrot gingerade and a house hibiscus cooler, and don’t even think about leaving without a cup of the halva pudding for dessert. (Seriously, someone give pastry chef Meadow Ramsey a medal for that one.)
Take a peek at what to expect from Kismet Rotisserie, below, then stop by for yourself on Wednesday and every other day that you’re craving some of the best new chicken in town:
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
Photograph: Stephanie Breijo
Kismet Rotisserie opens January 15 in Los Feliz at 4666 Hollywood Blvd, open daily from 11am to 9pm.