You'd be hard-pressed to stumble across Ibn Battouta as it is crammed in a little alleyway in the building across from The Den that is perhaps best known for housing Hooters (everything else in there seems to go in and out of business with alarming regularity).
However, it's worth the hunt. Went for a visit at lunch and was pleasantly surprised. We tried the beef tagine -- a delightful plate of meatballs with a savory sauce and an egg on top, paired with fantastic fresh pita. My dining partner requested a vegetarian choice (none listed on the menu) which the restaurant was more than happy to oblige and was presented with a fragrant mound of delicious veggies on a bed of couscous.
The piece de resistance was the Moroccan Sweets (RMB 18), each tinged with different flavors such as (I'm guessing here as I'm not an expert) citrus zest, rosewater, sesame and honey.
Three things prevented me from giving it a star rating:
1. It appears one of their walls abuts some sort of sewage system as at one point during the meal some rather unpleasant odors permeated the tiny dining room, and the staff was armed with air freshener as if this was at least a semi-regular occurrence.
2. No coffee to go with the fabulous sweets we had following our lunch (mint tea is the only thing on offer -- not a big fan myself).
3. With such a limited menu, it was a bit of a surprise to find the restaurant out of chicken tagine which was my original order.
Nevertheless, I'll be back -- great stuff.
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