Tasting Notes
Ciğerci Zeko brings the grill traditions of Diyarbakır to Ulunay Street in Kartal, close to the Pendik border. The menu is short and built around lamb: liver and offal skewers, minced-meat kebabs and a handful of sides, with a Diyarbakır breakfast spread in the morning. It is a busy, informal grill house rather than a place for a long, formal meal.
Perdeli ciğer and the house signatures
The dish that made the place known is perdeli ciğer: pieces of lamb liver wrapped in the thin, lacy caul fat of the lamb and grilled slowly, so the fat melts into the meat. It takes about half an hour to prepare, so order it as soon as you sit down. The same technique is used for perdeli kuzu eti, small lamb skewers wrapped in caul fat. Two smaller house plates complete the signature list: mushrooms in a spiced sauce and whole garlic roasted in a clay pot.
The rest of the grill
Classic Diyarbakır liver skewers, cooked over coals, are the everyday order. Beside them are çöp şiş (small lamb skewers), Adana and Urfa kebabs of hand-minced meat — the first spicy, the second mild — lamb heart and chicken. For sides there are lentil soup, çiğ köfte and a plate of fresh vegetables, and the dessert is Diyarbakır-style burma kadayıf.
“Order perdeli ciğer as soon as you sit down, since it takes half an hour, and eat a few liver skewers in lavaş with a glass of ayran while you wait.”
LR Kitchen — field note