Tasting Notes
Kemikli Evi occupies the Avni Bey Konağı on Marangoz Street in Dabanoğlu, beside the Kadı Mosque inside Sur. Like many old Diyarbakır houses it is built of dark basalt around a stone courtyard. The business dates back to 1955 and the menu is short and local.
Kemikli kavurma and the grill
The dish that gives the restaurant its name is kemikli kavurma: pieces of lamb cooked on the bone until tender. Alongside it are Diyarbakır kebabs — Siverek kebab, taraklık, Adana, kuşbaşı and patlıcan kebab — liver skewers, chicken, and two dishes for sharing, saç tava and the Diyarbakır güveci, a clay-pot stew.
Lahmacun and ayran
Lahmacun and pide come from the stone oven, and are a good way to start while the meat cooks. The drink to order is yayık ayranı, frothy churned yoghurt, which is listed among the house recommendations. Tea is served after the meal.
“Visit after a walk through Sur, take a table in the courtyard, and order kemikli kavurma with a lahmacun and a glass of yayık ayranı.”
LR Kitchen — field note