Address - Tokyo-to, Shinjuku-ku, Hyakunincho 1-11-1, Urban Shinjuku Bdg B1 Opening hours - 11:00am to 2:00am.Closed on Wednesday Map - Yes Telephone - 5389-7313 Menu - In Japanese and English CC - OK

Some of you probably remember Hamadi, a great Tunisian restaurant in Hiroo that closed fairly quickly some years ago. I was truly sorry to see it go down the tubes, because it was exotic and excellent. Well, now we have reason to take heart, because not all is lost.
The cook at Hannibal used to work at Hamadi and in my humble estimation, besides being a good guy, has nothing to learn from anybody.

The menu is long and interesting, so much that in desperation we decided to just tell him how much we wanted to spend (4000 yen apiece) and let him choose our dishes. It was a good move. Here is what we got: assorted mezze, traditional Arab vegetable appetizers that at Hannibal are wonderfully original, a great tomato soup sour with the tang of lemon juice, the most exotic plate of spaghetti of my life, Tunisian-style tripes, and a whole fish with wine and nuts. As dessert we had a nuts cake on the house. The whole meal was as strange (raw mashed carrots with cinnamon and mint?), as juicy and tasty. The spaghetti were an especially pleasant surprise, because I usually don't like fusion between different cuisines: the chances of trivializing both are too great. In this case the blend of Italian and Arab was perfect.

And no wonder, the lively Tunisian guy in the kitchen used to work in Italy, so Hannibal serves also good (I think) Italian food. The man is a very interesting fellow who, while working, chats in four languages with his customers and is one of the attractions of the place. Physically small, he is actually larger than life.

Just one caveat: since he is so talkative and there's just him and his wife to run the place, getting your food takes some time, but it's absolutely worth it.

See also Hannibal's Web site.

March 20, 2000