Bistros, trattorias and the everyday places where Hiroshima actually eats.
Bistros, trattorias, taverns and neighbourhood rooms: the mid-tier places where Hiroshima actually eats.
Nagataya griddles Hiroshima okonomiyaki two blocks from the A-Bomb Dome, and is one of the few counters in the city with plant-based versions.
OrderThe standard soba okonomiyaki, or one of the plant-based versions
TipVegan and vegetarian okonomiyaki both sit on the board, cooked in vegetable oil and listed on the English menu.
Lopez in Hiroshima is run by a Guatemalan okonomiyaki cook in Kusunoki-cho, and the jalapenos on the griddle are the reason people cross town.
OrderVegetables, pork and egg with soba, plus jalapenos on top
TipThe counter is small, opens only in the evening from 16:30 and shuts all weekend, so plan a weeknight visit.
Reichan is the veteran okonomiyaki counter inside ekie at Hiroshima Station, running from late morning through to the last shinkansen crowd of the day.
OrderSoba okonomiyaki, 790 yen with noodles
TipSquid and prawn toppings are the house extras here; the plain soba version is the fastest plate off the griddle.
Bakudanya is the Shintenchi shop that pushed Hiroshima tsukemen beyond the city: cold noodles dipped in a chilli and seafood-stock sauce you grade yourself.
OrderHiroshima tsukemen, choosing your own heat level
TipThe dipping sauce comes in graded heat steps, so order low on a first visit and add chilli powder at the table.
Chukasoba Youki has cooked one dish in Eba since 1958, and its soy and pork-bone bowl is exactly what Hiroshima people mean when they say chuka soba.
OrderChuka soba, the only thing the kitchen makes
TipThe Eba flagship shuts on the 1st, 12th, 13th and 26th of each month, so check the date before crossing the river.
Musashibo serves Hiroshima's broth-free tantanmen a short walk from the Chudenmae tram stop, ordered by vending machine and graded by heat at no extra cost.
OrderShirunashi tantanmen, stirred thirty times before eating
TipHeat runs on a four-step scale with level two as the house standard, and stepping up costs nothing extra.
Mongoi-tei in Tanna builds a chicken, pork and seafood broth finished with dried fish and prawn oil, one of Hiroshima's busiest late ramen rooms.
OrderThe seafood tonkotsu ramen with extra dried-fish oil
TipThe Tanna flagship sits south of the centre near Ujina, and it runs lunch every day but shuts the dinner service on Tuesdays.
Tsubame Ramen works a small Higashi-Kanon room in western Hiroshima, a neighbourhood chuka soba counter rather than a stop on any visitor circuit.
OrderChuka soba, the shop's soy-and-pork standard
TipService runs unbroken from 11:30 to 22:00 on every day except Sunday, which is the one day the shutters stay down.
Rai Rai Tei is a plain Minami-ku noodle room in Hiroshima with a split lunch and dinner service and a queue that forms without any signage at all.
OrderChuka soba at lunch, before the kitchen breaks at 15:30
TipThe kitchen closes between 15:30 and 17:00 from Tuesday to Saturday, and the whole shop shuts on Mondays.
Wadato works a Hakata-style tonkotsu bowl beside Hiroshima Station, open through the afternoon at weekends and until 23:30 for the last-train crowd.
OrderThe house tonkotsu ramen on thin straight Hakata-style noodles
TipWeekends run straight through from 11:30 with no afternoon break, but the shop is shut all day on Mondays.
Kitchen Minot is a two-table Hatchobori kitchen in Hiroshima where the menu changes constantly between European plates and Japanese small dishes.
OrderWhatever is chalked up that night, plus the squid fritters
TipThere are only two tables and a counter that wraps the kitchen, so call ahead or come at 18:00 when the door opens.
The Hatchobori flagship of Mitchan Sohonten is the Hiroshima okonomiyaki counter most locals still send first-time visitors to, a brand trading since 1950.
OrderSoba niku-tama, with grilled oysters alongside at the evening teppan service
TipEvening service adds teppanyaki plates of oysters, horumon and koune that the lunch menu does not carry.
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