Don't roll up at Hannibal with ideas about mysterious Middle Eastern souks, exotic belly dancers or desert caravansaries. Nor should you expect ancient classical motifs and provender of Punic proportions. Just forget you ever saw the movie "Casablanca" (and don't even mention "The Silence of the Lambs").
Hannibal is certainly 100 percent Tunisian -- as is its cheerful young owner-chef, Mondher Gheribi. But he does not trumpet his food and his nationality with flags, maps and the whole caboodle of ethnic knick-knacks. Instead, his little basement diner brings a bright, contemporary feel to the cosmopolitan back streets of Shin-Okubo.
Gheribi used to be on the kitchen staff at the late and very much lamented Hamadi, down in Hiroo, the place that first introduced Tokyo diners to the pleasures of the Tunisian table. When that admirable operation was superseded by its sister restaurant, La Cueva, Gheribi spent some time in Europe, honing his skills in both French and Italian cooking.