Kismet Rotisserie, the seasonal restaurant that focuses on chicken and fresh veggies, is expanding to Studio City and Culver City.
The Studio City location will sit in The Shops at Sportsmen’s Lodge, located at 12833 Ventura Blvd. At the same time, Toddrickallen recently pointed out the Culver City location will move to the 10000 block of Washington Blvd, next to the the incoming Konbi. Co-owners Sara Kramer and Sarah Hymanson partnered with Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo to open Kismet in 2015, following a short-lived falafel counter stint at the Grand Central Market. Since then, Shook and Dotolo have mutually split to focus on their restaurant, Jon and Vinny.
“The decision was the right one for everybody,” Kramer told Resy last year following the split. “Sarah and I are excited to take full control of our own businesses and grow our company from our perspective. Jon and Vinny have had the opportunity to grow their business in the way they wanted to, and they have obviously done that very successfully. We just wanted the same opportunity to grow our business the way we are inspired with our perspective, and that’s why we split. They gave us a huge opportunity and we’re grateful to them, but it felt like it was time for all of us to move on. We think it’s a positive shift.”
The bar is set very high for these two new locations. The company has earned several local and national accolades. Last year, Kismet Rotisserie landed on Los Angeles Times’ 101 best restaurant list and a bid from the Michelin guide. Other recognitions include a James Beard nominations for the best new restaurant in 2018 and best restaurant design in 2017, Jonathan Gold’s best dish of the year and best restaurant in 2017, and Eater’s essential 38 restaurants in LA in 2018 and chef of the year in 2017. Hymanson and Kramer have also been featured in several publications, including Bon Appetit Magazine, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, and Wall Street Journal.
