The restaurant is gorgeous. Modern, impeccably designed and decorated, with attention paid to natural light, greenery, and conviviality… and yet, Darna Restaurant is nearly empty.

Here in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, this local institution has pared back their midday staffing from 8 servers to just three, and a cavernous room full of long family-style seating… is an echo chamber. After over a year of full-blown war with Gaza and increased raids and settler confrontations in the West Bank, the economic after-effects are in full swing.

And what a shame. Darna – which means “Home” – wouldn’t feel out of place in any major metropolitian dining scene.

Impeccable dips – from hummus and baba ghanoush to the lesser-known “Turkish dip” of tomatoes, onions, potatoes and spices come whizzing out of the kitchen with hot whole-wheat pitas. Even simpler: swiping the hot bread through local olive oil and za’atar seasoning. As one local said, it’s what he ate every morning for breakfast as a kid – but this version’s better.

A fattoush salad is served with wafer thin fried pita and Darna’s version of fried halloumi cheese is one of the better iterations I’ve had of the dish… not a drop of oil to be seen.

Shreded beetroot is tossed with walnuts and raisins for a sweet side… and the sour is handled by the requisite plate of pickles.

But don’t fill up!! The centerpiece of the table is the meat platter: juicy chicken kebabs, grilled lamb, and minced beef kebabs are served on a slowly dampening bed of lavash, with a handful of vegetables just off the grill. It all looks like an overwhelming – groaning – amount of food on the table but sit there long enough, and it somehow manages to disappear!

But there is a certain sadness, and a certain guilt, to being the only table in a restaurant built for hundreds. One can only hope that soon… eventually… everyone can return Home.

Darna Restaurant; https://darna.ps