BAR KISMET IS REFINED, RELAXED AND A LITTLE BIT RETRO. Dark wood and white beadboard, milk-glass light fixtures, mix-and match china and potted plants — all contribute to a room of inviting comfort, falling somewhere between your grandmother’s dining room and a farmhouse inn in the French countryside. Chef Annie Brace-Lavoie’s menu draws from Mediterranean and French regional cuisines. Handmade pasta is a specialty. Seafood and vegetables are charred, grilled, braised and torched. Along with oysters, clams and mussels, you’ll find blackened octopus or plump whelks in their knobby coiled shells. Raw scallops are regularly featured, recently presented in bright citrus- and-lemongrass- accented olive oil with cilantro root and raw radish. Brace-Lavoie’s husband, co-owner Jenner Cormier, is an award-winning bartender who oversees an exceptional beverage program, the cocktails infused with flavours that range from sea buckthorn and rhubarb root to mole bitters and spruce. Wines and beers highlight producers from Eastern Canada, some of which are also available through Kismet’s new wine agency.