Tully, N.Y. — Dumplings take different forms depending on the cuisine, and Tully’s K Kurdish Mediterranean restaurant adds another version to our dining lexicon. draws
Manti ($20) takes the form of little purses made from an egg pastry, similar to German spaetzle, filled with a marble-sized portion of seasoned ground beef. They were cooked and served with garlicky yogurt and Aleppo pepper-infused olive oil. The tiny manti were packed with flavor, exhibiting notes of sumac, garlic and onion. The oil and yogurt played off one another with a fiery spice and savory coolness in each forkful.
Mandi, or Kurdish dumplings stuffed with beef and spices, at K Kurdish Mediterranean Restaurant, Tully, N.Y. (Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gmail.com)Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gma
Syracuse has a plethora of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean restaurants, and each draws inspiration from their familial roots in regions like Lebanon (King David’s Restaurant and Byblos Mediterranean Cafe), Jordan, Syria and the Levant (Diwan Restaurant, Munjed’s Restaurant and Lounge, Mediterranean Combo and Kabob House), Palestine (Kabab Guys) and Iraq (Baghdad Cafe). Now Kurdistan — a region of southern Turkey, and northern Iraq, Iran and Syria — is represented through Huseyin Tunc’s 4-month-old restaurant in Tully near the intersection of U.S. Route 11, and Warren and State Streets.
No offense meant to our friends in southern Onondaga County, but Tully seems like an odd place for a Kurdish restaurant. It was a question posted to Tunc by a neighboring table of Tully natives. He said that he came upon Tully when visiting others in the area and fell in love with its natural beauty, so when it was time for his family to relocate from New York City, he knew exactly where he wanted to land.
The menu encompasses appetizers, salads, kebabs, sandwiches, Kurdish specialties like the mandi, flatbreads and pizza. K Kurdish sits in a former pizza shop and the brick oven left behind gets a workout with both traditional pizzas and pide, a Kurdish-style flatbread. Pronounced PEE-day, the edges of the flatbread are curled to create a well in the center that is filled with meat or cheese. The ground beef pide ($12) held a thin layer of meat cooked with onion, bell peppers, tomato and spices. It’s a very savory dish that tastes like it should be greasier, as the meat filling coats the palate when chewing. The spices and meat mute the vegetables, and though it says ground beef, I could have sworn I tasted lamb.
The mixed appetizer platter with (clockwise from top) carrot yogurt dip, cacik, babaganoush, and muhammara. Hummus sits at the center. Dinner at K Kurdish Mediterranean Restaurant, Tully, N.Y. (Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gmail.com) Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gma
K Kurdish’s mixed appetizer platter ($24) is an early entry for the Best of 2025 starters with five starkly different spreads served with a side of unfilled pide flatbread. The hummus was very simple; tahini, chickpeas, olive oil and garlic. There was no lemon to brighten it and the olive oil was used sparingly, allowing the chickpeas to bind with the tahini and create a creamy texture from the starch. The babaganush, my favorite Middle Eastern dip, was thicker than any other preparation I’ve ever enjoyed. The texture was more coarse than a puree with just enough olive oil to hold the blend together. We picked up a distinct grill flavor from the eggplant’s preparation.
Cacik is a variation of Greek tzatziki. It combines cucumbers, dill and a generous helping of garlic with strained yogurt. Dunking a piece of bread in this and then in the muhammara brings two together complementary flavors. Muhammara blends roasted red peppers, walnuts, tahini, and onion for a dip with the consistency of Mexican salsa if you drained off all the liquid.
Our surprise from the platter was the carrot yogurt. Baked carrots are mashed with olive oil and garlic in yogurt to create the base, with slivered carrots mixed in to add texture. Natural sweetness from the carrots drove the flavor in this dip, pivoting away from the piquant flavors found elsewhere.
The mixed grill at K Kurdish Mediterranean Restaurant, Tully, N.Y. (Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gmail.com)Jared Paventi | jaredpaventi@gma
Our mixed grill entree ($30) included four kebabs served over a thin lavash with rice pilaf and a small green salad. Chicken and beef shish kebabs were traditional, featuring marinated meats cooked over an open flame. The chicken and beef Adana kebabs used ground meats mixed with Aleppo chili peppers and spices threaded onto a skewer before grilling. Oil from the Adana kebabs ran off on the plate, infusing the neighboring meats with spicy chili flavors.
Baklava ($6) is good in almost any form, but we prefer it not to swim in honey or syrup. Three pieces were filled with chopped nuts and sweetened syrup, and finished with chopped pistachio pieces. The combination of nuts and phyllo dough gave a bit of crunch to each bite.
There was steady takeout traffic to join the handful of local residents seated in the dining room during our visit. Tunc told a table near ours that the restaurant gets quite a bit of traffic from Syracuse and he’s had people make trips from Binghamton to give the menu a try.
The 20-mile drive from Downtown Syracuse to Tully is a lot closer than the nearly 5,800 miles between Upstate New York and the Kurdistan region. And, when you think about it like that, there’s no reason not to get in the car and make the journey to Tully.
The Details
The Restaurant: K Kurdish Mediterranean Restaurant, 6 Elm St., Tully; (680) 287-7250.
Takeout/Delivery? Orders can be placed by phone and through their website.
Reservations? No.
Credit cards? Yes, with a 3% surcharge.
Noise level: Comfortable though conversations carry through the dining room.
Access to the disabled: The entry and dining room are at ground level and have plenty of room to move. The restrooms are too small for a wheelchair.
Parking: It’s a shared lot with the plaza.
Alcoholic Beverages: None.
Special diets? Vegetarians and dairy-free diners can navigate the menu easily. Gluten-free dishes are available but you will want to ask about preparation and cross-contamination.
Children’s menu? No.
Hours: Seven days a week, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Cost: Dinner for two with starters, entrees, desserts, tax, 20% gratuity, and 3% credit card surcharge was $130.56.
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Jared Paventi is a restaurant critic for syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. You can reach him at jaredpaventi@gmail.com and follow him on Facebook, Instagram, or BlueSky. Sign up for our free weekly Where Syracuse Eats newsletter here.
