Kismet Cafe

Very quick service I have been here multiple times food is HALAL. Food is always very tasty. Very affordable while being great quality food. Always plenty of parking and the inside dining area usually always has space. Many people also order takeout if that is more your style. They do have a kids meal aswell. I recommend to anybody who is looking for a quick bite to eat.

We took the Drizzled plates with Creamy Orange sauce (a must try for spicy and tangy lovers‼️) and the other plate with Crazy jalapeno and white sauce. Both were mind boggling good! We had it for iftar. The halal food is much appreciated!

“We tried the chicken over rice, lamb Masawi, Arabic wraps, and some drinks—and everything was delicious! The chicken over rice and the lamb were especially standout. The hummus tasted freshly made, and the fries had a naturally savory flavor. It felt like the perfect blend of Middle Eastern cuisine with an Asian twist. Planning to come back again, hopefully with more family next time!”

Beef over rice is actually ground beef. Baklava was too dry and looked like waiting for a week. The food was disappointing for me. Wouldn’t go again

I genuinely don’t know how this place doesn’t have a higher rating. I’ve eaten so much Mediterranean / Greek food around town and this is definitely in my top 2! All of the sauces are delicious (especially the orange explosion and garlic sauce). The fries are well seasoned and everything is amazing all around! Wish I lived closer.

Great customer service. A blond woman helped us out. She answered all of our questions, she was great, super helpful and knowledgeable about the menu. They have chips, yogurt drinks, candy bars, ice cream, high chairs for babies, damn they have everything you need to have a comfortable and warm meal. The place is super cozy with booth and table options. The music is nice and relaxing. The food is perfect! So delicious, prepared fresh! Also cool, they have a self ordering kiosk, a really nice touch.

My most frequented restaurant in Austin. Generous portion for around $14 with tax and tip. The rice, meat and veggie options, fries, and sauce hit the spot. I’ve tried the beef, gyro, eggplant, and falafel and all are great in their own ways. The chicken has been a bit dry, so I avoid it. The beef options can get a bit rich. The falafel is good to balance it out. Also, the employees are fast and friendly!

Kismet Café has a good mix of fresh and affordable Mediterranean food. Portions are generous, and there are plenty of options, including vegan and vegetarian dishes. The cauliflower wrap and seasoned fries stand out, both full of flavor. The chicken shawarma wrap was a bit heavy on garlic sauce and the chicken felt slightly dry, but still decent overall. Service is counter-style, which is quick but not ideal if you want to sit and relax. Open late every day, so it’s convenient when you need a quick bite near campus.

One of my favorite places in Austin and I have to come here every time I'm in town. I've been eating here even when they used to be on West Campus and I was seriously so sad when they moved locations. I always rotate between the vegetarian over rice (their zucchini/eggplant/cauliflower is top tier), baked okra over rice, or p17 the jalapeño sauce bowl. My food hits every time and I ALWAYS put everyone onto p17 and it has never failed me. Truly love this place so much I just took my new hoe here.

I love this place. We get their P1 and P2 and share it. Food is delicious! Love the garlic sauce. Highly recommend it.

I came to Kismit Café to explore some new places in my area. I ordered the Chicken and Gyro plate along with a slice of baklava. It was a rainy Saturday evening, and the café was doing well, with a couple of tables occupied by diners and two people ahead of me for takeout. The food came out really quickly; I was still reading the rest of the menu, considering ordering a Cauliflower Exploding Wrap with fries, when my order was ready. The trade-off, however, was that the plate was probably just at room temperature--I would have preferred the meat and rice to be hotter. The plate included two sauces and pita bread. I enjoyed making myself a wrap with the tzatziki sauce. The baklava for takeout came in a sealed plastic container. While the taste was fine, it wasn't as fresh as I had hoped. Overall, the experience was fine, but I can't say it's a place I would actively seek out. The most memorable aspect was the speed of service. This place would work well if you're looking to grab food quickly, and the option to choose two meats at a reasonable price is a nice perk.

The P17 at Kismet is to die for! There are many halal bowl options in the Austin area but I truly believe this one has to be the best. There's something about that jalapeño sauce that is so incredible and unreplicable. The style of this place is "build your own" with choosing from bowls or pitas. Flavor and quantity is plentiful. Not the best area to sit and eat so would recommend take out

We love coming here all of the time. The food is great and has easily become one of our favorite regular spots.

I come to Kismet almost every time I visit Austin because it is just that good! They have many vegetarian options, but my favorite is definitely the chicken plate! They provide a large quantity so it ia great that that provide all orders in to go containers. You can eat as much as you can and take the rest to go easily! One plate can easily be shared by two people. The eggplant was my favorite veggie item. I also highly recommend mixing the rice with the white and red sauce! I'm not a huge fan of the tzatziki sauce but the regular white and red sauce are such a fire combo here! They do not disappoint with these sauces! It is also amazing that that don't charge extra for these sauces, where most other stores have been charging for any sauce they provide. The waiter was very patient because we took a while to order since there were so many options. He even took the time to explain what the items on the menu were. The ambience is a bit more on a chill size. Some of the seating is torn up and the bathroom isn't super clean, but the food is worth it! You can always take it to go if the ambience does not fit your vibe!

The loaded Gyro is an absolute must! So much flavor is the sauce!! I walked out paying just under $25 for two people and with left overs, it was so worth it. Big tip, if you get the loaded gyro, get it spicy with fries on the side, so GOOD. The service was friendly and super fast. I don't think we waited more than 5 minutes after we sat. For a cheap dinner that's packed full of flavor you got to try it out! Plus the music choice is absolutely PERFECT

It's OK, not great. Very casual. You go to a counter and give your order and they call your name. I ordered veggie plate. Cauliflower and eggplant cubes were fried in oil without any seasoning whatsoever. Very greasy. I asked for a slice of lemon which would have helped significantly but they had none. Hummus and rice good. Price is right. All in all unremarkable. If I worked nearby or something I might get it for lunch but that's it.

Casual Mediterranean spot. Generous portions and the salad tastes fresh. I got the drizzled plate with chicken. I think the chicken was a bit overcooked. I like the spicy hot sauce they use. Good spot for a quick and casual meal.

My go-to place after seeing a show at the Bass Concert Hall. Tasty, affordable, big portion sizes, and open late. Love how smooth the hummus is here, and how tangy the tabbouleh salad is. The meat is good and very generously portioned. I always end up getting something different and it's always good.

Needed a spot to grab something vegetarian and filling, for a Lenten Friday. Kismet came up as an option for the Mediterranean in the area. While I'm not too fond of the shopping area, I would certainly recommend Kismet. Easy to order, either with an employee at the counter or using their kiosk screen. Tables kept clean. I ordered the Vegetarian Mezza with a side of Lentil soup and a side of extra hummus. Would order again! The hummus was served smooth and creamy, unlike gritty hummus you'd find at a store. The falafel was crisp and not overly oily. The eggplant dip, despite looking similar to the hummus, had a distinct taste that added variety to the dish. Also came with tabouli.

Eggplant dip is lovely, hummus traditional and solid. VERY good proportions for the price (2 for roughly $25). Chicken over rice is simple and still a staple for me. Cauliflower is nice and the pita is great with the dips Cheers!

Best halal in the area. Always fresh, always fast, and great service. The falafel comes out piping hot and crispy. The spicy beef Arabi is so good and filling. Love this place

The food here is so good and very fairly priced. I got the gyro plate and loved it. Would highly reccomend!!!

Absolutely 0 stars! Went in this place today, 1/16/2025 at around noon & was completely ignored! Big head dude behind the counter preparing food spoke to the white lady ahead of me but side eyed me and never said a dang thing. Nobody else came up to the registers either. No "well be with you in a moment" just coldness and big head stared over my shoulder twice! If the place only accepts online orders then where's the sign? Why have 2 registers and a menu overhead? Just cold and rude. In my eyes it's racism. Lady ahead of me was white and I'm Black. I'll never set foot in Kismet ever again. Went right next door to Wingzup, was greeted immediately with a smile, & order quickly placed for lunch. Keep away from racist establishments!!

Walked in and saw contact free codes all over tables for easy ordering. You can also order up at the counter if you'd like. I got the veggie plate with rice. Ordering on phone with Toast was slightly confusing on what subbing meant (I accidentally ordered double salad when I was trying to specify that I wanted hummus - will order at the counter next time probably just to be sure). Salad was not great. Grape leaves were alright. I got the fried cauliflower and fried zucchini - zucchini was great and rice was great, cauliflower was only gently charred on the outside but still just seemed steamed in the middle. Had to cover with the garlic sauce to eat it. Will definitely come back though to try the chicken over rice (and hummus). The service was quite fast. Also, the baklava was great!

Food was okay here. We ordered the cauliflower, beef shawarma, and chicken shawarma. Both the beef & chicken shawarmas were shareable. I can only speak for the chicken but it was very dry and the pieces were cut super tiny. The rice wasn't very flavorful either. The hummus was good though and the salad tasted fresh. I really liked the fried cauliflower, it was pretty tasty. They don't have wifi here and the service was pretty quick. The music they play here is pretty loud/distracting.

Gyro was slightly heavy on the sauce and light on veggies but flavors were good. Reasonable price/value and convenient if you're doing an HEB shop!

It's fate that Kismet Cafe hit my radar right when I was craving something veggie-forward, but not necessarily too healthy. Fried cauliflower and zucchini over yellow rice with hummus is exactly the ticket. I would go back to get three orders of the cauliflower alone; I cannot explain or stress HOW GOOD THIS WAS. Yes, cauliflower, not cauliflower masquerading as gnocchi or pizza or rice, but just as cauliflower, cooked and seasoned PERFECTLY. Also noteworthy about this hidden gem: It's Halal It's open until midnight everyday It's highly affordable It's also full of vegan proteins like meatless gyro, shawarma, and of course falafel All the vegan things are labeled too so you're in good hands. Just go, and DON'T forget the cauliflower!

Kismet has always been a reliable lunch spot, but they recently saved my behind with a last minute catering spread for a group of 15. There are some misspellings on the website, but the food and service is incredible.

The p17 comes with your choice of protein over rice and salad. It's drizzled with a creamy jalapeño sauce. It's my go to dish. You can get a crazy version which has the white creamy sauce as well. I normally get the gyro or kafta (beef) with mine. I have done sambal at home to make this even more spicy and you can add some harissa if you don't any pepper paste. All the meats are tastey and I love the salad too. I mix everything well together. The food here is a really good value for money. This place is popular with students and families as well. Service is counter service and they call you when your order is ready. I usually go at lunch and there's a slight wait. You can also order ahead to go online. It normally takes about 10-15 minutes once you order.

I really enjoyed the gyro over rice. The portion size was great and prices were reasonable. The restaurant is very simple inside with plenty of seating. I did not like how we were given our food with single-use plastics for dine in. It is very wasteful.

This is my second time here. First time I tried vegan options (with a side of Chicken).. :) Actually came with friends who follow vegan lifestyle, I also tried vegan that day, but order chicken, baklava, nut roll on side to try. Everything was good, but I found chicken was little dry for me. Today I tried chicken shourma roll, eggplant and hummus dip and everything was yum. Chicken was also. Had their nut roll again it became my fav.

Amazing vegetarian/vegan options. Love the falafel wrap, veggie supreme, and the vegan shawarma. French fries are fresh. Moderate pricing. The sauces and additional toppings are kind of pricy to add to the meal, especially if you're a sauce person. Inside vibe is hole in wall-y. Decent proportions.

It's just great. So good, so fast, so consistent. Simple chicken, rice, salad and hummus plate never misses. I'm sure they have other wonderful things but we've never strayed from the basics.

A great place for Mediterranean food without it being Austin price. The food portion are big and really good for the price. My favorites there has to be their baklava. It's always so sweet and delicious. They also have a dessert called nut roll. It tasted like cashew in it. I love their crazy sauce with chicken and gyro. Their gyro wrap is decent too. I tried their eggplant side, and it was good if you like eggplant. Wished it was salted though. There's free parking and a nice dining area.

Great customer service. A blond woman helped us out. She answered all of our questions, she was great, super helpful and knowledgeable about the menu. They have chips, yogurt drinks, candy bars, ice cream, high chairs for babies, damn they have everything you need to have a comfortable and warm meal. The place is super cozy with booth and table options. The music is nice and relaxing. The food is perfect! So delicious, prepared fresh! Also cool, they have a self ordering kiosk, a really nice touch.

TRY THE HUMMUS!! Walked in a the cashier was a bit cold. I ordered the Chicken Shish kebab plate. There was a warning that it would take awhile but it went well over. The food itself was pretty good. The chicken was dry but that is pretty typical for skewered chicken. The best part was the hummus. I could have eaten it all day long. Overall, I would eat here again I just would not order a kebab due to the time.

All i can say is it was an ok experience. It could very be that this is just not my food type. Atmosphere was good and Kismet appeared to have a strong following with regulars. Beef gryo was fairly tasty but chicken which took an extra 20 minutes to prepare had a seasoning I just didn't care far. Service at pick up counter was efficient

I have eaten at this place 3 times in 2 weeks which is a huge deal because I rarely do that with any restaurant lol - Love love the taste and you cannot beat that price. The staff is super nice and the meat is always fresh (which is super important for Mediterranean meal).

There's a difference between "Chicken over rice" and "Chicken Sh. Tawooq". The later is much more amazing if you like grilled meat and can wait 20mins(they've that mentioned on the board but it's worth the wait). The Chicken Shawarma and the kids meal with Chicken Shawarma were great as well. They've enough seating to accommodate lot of people and few outdoor seats.

Such a staple to me over the past few years. Flavor, consistency, speed. Love this place with all my heart!

Great food, pricing is fair. The staff is always professional. Has a younger crowd from time to time

I'm in Austin a couple times a year, and this place is always a must, replacing Mothers as my go-to meal. Sauces, entrees, desserts, drinks - nothing disappoints. The gyro, garlic sauce, lemon-mint drink, and baklava were excellent this time.

My new favorite Mediterranean place! I came here for the first time today and the cashier was great at showing me all of the options and the most popular items that people order. I decided to order two chickenand falafel drizzle plates (you can get 2 meat combinations with these ) with the jalapeño sauce, but I added a side of garlic sauce because I had read other reviews stating how delicious it was. I also ordered two sides of lentil soup and this meal did not disappoint! Firstly the lentil soup was smooth but with a little rice, and it had a nice thickness to it. The soup was a little peppery but well flavored. The chicken and falafel drizzle plates were delicious! The salad was fresh and crispy and even though the sauce was added onto the items by the restaurant, by the time I got home everything still tasted delicious. I was a little worried that the Shawarma may be dry but to my surprise it was actually marinated and very juicy. I wish that there was a little bit more chicken in it be honest, but overall I was very happy with my meal and will definitely be back!

Astonishingly mediocre food. Definitely edible and I didn't get sick but as someone that grew up in a middle eastern household I wish I had my money back to go to the store and cook my own dinner.

Located in the Hancock center, very convenient to grab a bite after grocery shopping at HEB. The business is really hot as I saw the cashier kept answering phones and taking orders. People were also there ordering from the counter. The flavor was very good! The gyro wrap was fulfilling with good balance of veggies, meat and sauce. My order came out less than 5min. Would recommend this place for sure!

Wife and I came here for a lunch date. Food was great. Very reasonable prices. Great service from the lady behind the counter! Can't remember her name though. Shelly? Shirley? Anyways, we're looking forward to coming back and prob will bring the kiddos :)

I was told this place was similar to Halal Bros, but I would disagree. This place definitely has more options than Halal, I was definitely overwhelmed but I don't think that the food is as flavorful. I got the Vegetarian Sampler. The best part on the plate was the cauliflower! I am normally not a cauliflower person but the way this is prepared is to die for, I wish they gave more. The hummus is also really good as well as the grape leaf wrap. The pita is a bit too hard and chewy, my jaw kind of hurt from eating it. And the eggplant in my opinion kind of lacked flavor. Good pricing and Endless options to choose from.

Love this place. Great service, great food. If you're a vegetarian or if you're a meat eater - this place has wonderful/healthy options. 10/10.

The P17 is the best thing here. I gave them only 4 stars because the price got raised so much higher and they charge for sauce. Also the staff was pretty rude today, but they are usually chill.

Alrighty folks, you know the drill :D the item to order is P17! I substituted salad for fries. The salad is refreshing after a humid hike. The rice is fluffy and fragrant. The roasted cauliflower has the perfect crisp texture. The kafta is a ground beef that has been mixed with lots of Lebanese 7 spice seasoning, minced onion and fresh herbs, and grilled to perfection. My companions tried gyro and fries and they are also lovely!! I tried a fry and the crisp was sheer perfection.

The food is so GOOD they have lots of different options. This is my go-to for Mediterranean food in Austin. 10/10! Quick delivery always

Nice and fast service with a big open interior. I love the layout and the location in the Hancock center. They work hard and they make amazing food! They have a variety of sauces that all have a different flare but the tzatziki sauce is classic and I would definitely order extra. My favorites are the Arabi wrap, loaded gyro wrap, and the eggplant wrap if you're eating vegetarian. The falafel is moist and taste fresh if they are busy but an off hours it could be a little dry. Shawarma point is another favorite on my list. Is a little bit more of a quality fast food place than a sit down Mediterranean / Arabic restaurant.

Peace love kismet... this is my go to when I dont have time to cook. Awesome flavor, kind workers, can stretch to two meals if needed!

I'm impressed, aShelly was so helpful and overall wonderful. Awesome Spot To Check Out!!! My daughter & I went to Kismet Cafe on the Thursday before Mother's Day. Let me tell you this place was so good we went 4 times in the first week. Yes, the food was delicious, but there's nothing better than having really good food on top of great service, it makes for an overall enjoyable experience that keeps you coming back. Here's what really stood out, and her name is Shelly. I was not very familiar with Mediterranean menu items and really wanted to enjoy more by having a better understanding. Shelly was there & more than willing to assist. I must say she's Absolutely Amazing, she took the time out to explain the menu, certain dishes & how they taste. She even made suggestions based on what I already like, and went over all the sauces. I love how there's so many substitution options if there's something on your plate you'd rather swap. I was a little confused placing my first order from table ordering app (Toast Tab) bc I did have items I wanted to add & sub. Shelly helped with that as well and now I have a choice to order with her or from table. Every time I see her she's smiling, friendly, and literally & consistently busts her ass. I'm delighted to say we are now very loyal customers!!!

Delicious vegan and non-vegan options! The arabi wraps are so good, highly recommend. The chicken and gyro plate is great as well.

This place is open late, and has really high quality Mediterranean options. I go out of my way to come here every so often, because of its consistency & authenticity which never disappoints. No alcohol served here FYI. Kismet does have outdoor seating, technically; but it is literally a couple of tables and chairs on the sidewalk between the parking lot and front door. Most sit inside as a result. Super good, and highly recommend, especially their Mediterranean BBQ offerings that take up to 20 minutes, but worth it.

I was really craving some Mediterranean, so I ordered from Kismet Cafe and got: - P18: Rice & Salad Bowl with Beef and Tzatziki Sauce ($9.99) - P17: Rice & Fries Bowl with Zucchini and Jalapeño Sauce ($9.99) - Gyro Wrap ($7.39) - P16: Vegetarian Mezza - 6 falafels over salad & tabouleh, side hummus, eggplant dip, and pita ($9.99) - Baklava ($1.99) As you can see, there is a wide variety of options to choose from. Whether you want a wrap or a bowl, something light and healthy or something filling and hearty - there is a bit of something for everyone. I don't have a specific favorite item as I liked how different each were, so if I had to take the best of each and combined them I would get a P17: Rice & Fries Bowl with Gyro and Jalapeño Sauce with a side of pita. Do me a favor though, whatever you order, make sure to get the Baklava!! All in all, I had an amazing time eating Kismet Cafe and would definitely be ordering from them again soon. Delicious food and affordable prices? I give them a 5/5!