The word, ‘kismet’ means destiny, or fate, and the root of the word is the same in many different languages. It is originally a Turkish/Arabic word that means portion, or division. The restaurant is run on the simple idea that food we grew up with (depending on where in the world you are from) should never be forgotten, and they want to make somewhere far, closer – and something traditional, timeless!
To kick things off, we went for the Arancini octopus, wild rice and pistachio aioli, and the nutty aioli was a beautiful partnership with these crisp octopus rice ball starters. A traditional Italian dish, but quite their own. The Prawn Tacos with soft yellow corn tortillas, fried prawns and pickled cucumber were tasty, light and moreish as a finger food. The 3 Way Brussel Sprouts were actually 2 way, with truffle and cauliflower puree, but delicious nonetheless and we managed to eat halfway through them before we realised we hadn’t got a shot of them. We had ordered the Who Killed the Duck? (a peculiar dish name and presentation in comparison to the rest of the sober menu) and wished we had been served the sprouts as an accompaniment with the smoked duck breast, with red berry gastrique and rice paper, as the duck alone seemed somewhat lost without a side of something. The Ribeye with its bourbon demi-glace and padron peppers could have also used the sprouts as its side dish and it’s maybe one thing that could thoughtfully be suggested by the staff when people order these lone meat dishes. The ribeye was excellently cooked, rare just as I like it. A bottle of their reasonably-priced Giorgio & Gianni Negroamaro was the perfect red to suit.
For dessert we ordered the Cannoli Duo with mascarpone pistachio and chocolate hazelnut filling, which was a comforting Italian treat, and the Sunset at the Beach meringue with lemon curd, raspberry sorbet and mango foam was incredibly sweet, but a rewarding and decadent plate full of strong summer flavours.
This is the perfect place to have dinner if you are off for a night at the Dubai Opera, as they are located just outside the main entrance on the plaza level. The restaurant on the lower level looks on to the open kitchen, and upstairs is the lovely lounge bar with white and black chequered floors, salmon pink sofas and potted palm trees overlooking the lit Boulevard. It’s an ideal way to start the evening with an early quick bite, or to end an evening with a nice late dinner and drinks.
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