Kismet – the latest pop-up restaurant to occupy the space above The Globe pub in Borough Market (the same spot where Bridget Jones’ flat once stood) – may have only been in action for less than a month, but it’s already looking for a permanent home. “Maybe Mayfair!” our waitress says, as she clears up the last plates at the end of a long weekend lunch.
The brainchild of Dom Handy (Crispin, Bistro Freddie, and Canal) and chef Keiran Mustafa (previously BiBi, Chez Bruce, and The Harwood Arms), Kismet opened on July 16 and word has spread quickly – dinner bookings for a reasonable hour are already near-impossible to secure.
Such pop-ups have become part of the fabric of London’s restaurant scene, and in an increasingly turbulent environment – The Guardian reports that around three restaurants a day closed in the first quarter of 2026 – a temporary venture makes sense. Restaurateurs get access to a space, staff, and crucially, the public, before making a big-bucks investment into their concept. If things go really well, permanency (or indeed more pop-ups) follow.
For now, though, we get Kismet and its loveliness for a year only. The residency is inspired by Mustafa’s Turkish-Cypriot heritage, and looks to the nations’ traditional meyhanes – convivial, welcoming restaurants where the food is unfussy and authentic and the hospitality is warm. “Growing up … food was always at the center of gatherings” says Mustafa. “The meyhane has long been one of my favorite expressions of hospitality; generous, lively, and built around sharing.”
Kismet has captured that generosity in every sense. The service is warm, genuine, and informative, and the portions are ample; enough for a hefty to-go bag to take home. There’s mezze and breads, and meats and fish on the grill – but for the full show, opt for the set menu.
Plates of dip descend first, so many that a graceful game of tetris is needed to fit them all on the table. There’s sharp strained yogurt drizzled with chili-laced butter; a powerful, garlicky cacik (Turkey’s answer to tzatziki); and lemony whipped tahini. With them, a seasonal plate of fruit and veg (slices of ripe honeydew melon with a dollop of that spiced yogurt) and oil-drenched flatbreads.
The star of the set menu (and indeed Kismet as a whole) is the meats, marinated richly and cooked over a charcoal mangal grill. Ours was the cumin-heavy lamb and beef koftas with just the right amount of chew, and peppery hunks of chicken thigh. With it, a plate of patates kizartmasi, which transpires to be golden thick-cut fries, piping hot and doused in oregano.
Mustafa clearly knows the size of his set menu well and anticipated no need for indulgent desserts: the perfectly formed slice of sticky baklava that comes to every table (along with Turkish tea, served black in tulip-shaped glasses) is more than sufficient.
Drinks look predominantly to Turkish vineyards. The house white – Karmen, a Tokat-region blend that predominantly uses local Narince grapes – leans a bit too acidic, but the Pinot Noir-esque Sevilen Kalecik Karasi is light and lovely. If you’ve the mettle, have a glass of raki. Apparently, regulars are being encouraged to buy and keep bottles here, but I do wonder how many raki-drinking regulars can be amassed within a single year at busy Borough Market.
The space itself also looks to traditional Turkish meyhanes. Designed by Studio Adra, what might at first look like the blueprint for a trendy London bistro is actually the fundamentals of a traditional meyhane: crisp white tablecloths, upright dark-wood chairs, lace curtains, and framed black-and-white photographs.
At the peak of service, smoke from the mangal softly spills into the dining room, creating a dream-like scene, almost as if on purpose – though a brisk post-lunch walk along the Southbank might be needed to banish the grill fumes from your hair.
