In Turkish, "kismet" means destiny or fate. However, Serkan Çetin's journey to opening Kismet Mediterranean Grill was far from simple and serendipitous. The building on Burlington's Battery Street was completely gutted when he received the keys, despite its previous use as Esperanza Restaurante, which closed in January 2019. "We had to buy everything brand-new: the burners, the walk-in fridge, new carpet, all the sinks. Everything," Çetin said. Once it was all in place, Kismet opened on August 6 with a delightful menu of mezze platters, kebabs, seafood and other traditional Turkish dishes. Çetin, 28, and his uncle, Ali Varlik, own the restaurant; Çetin's parents, Naciye and Veli, run the kitchen. None of the family members is new to the industry: They were employees at Burlington's Istanbul Kebab House for nearly 13 years prior to opening the restaurant, and Veli, Çetin's father, was the executive chef of the WOW Istanbul Hotel prior to moving to Vermont from Turkey's largest city in 2012. Çetin has many early childhood memories of working in restaurants, he said, including busing tables, changing silverware and washing dishes. He moved to Vermont in 2014 with his mother and his sister, Duygu, and enrolled at Burlington High School. "I spoke no English in the beginning, so I had to learn quickly," he said. While in school, Çetin was also a server at Istanbul Kebab House. He always dreamed of opening his own place and went on to study business at the Community College of Vermont. The result of those dreams, Kismet Mediterranean Grill is an ode to Istanbul. Çetin's parents and uncle use family recipes and import spices and oil from Turkey. The menu includes a section dedicated to seafood, as Istanbul is a coastal city. "It's real Turkish food, cooked by real Turkish people," Çetin said proudly. "The menu is completely traditional, but it's large. There is something for everyone." I explored the 30-plus-dish menu on a Saturday night in mid-September. Even though it was rainy, the lake view out the large windows evoked that coastal connection. Next to me at the bar, a couple dove into the large European sea bass ($25.99). Elsewhere in the dining room, a small family sat next to businessmen with laptops, and a group of family friends laughed and spoke Turkish over full glasses of wine and empty plates. I started my meal with the Kismet salatasi ($12.99),…