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.
Signature: Hiroshima okonomiyaki, Vegan okonomiyaki
Order: The standard soba okonomiyaki, or one of the plant-based versions
Tip: Vegan 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.
Signature: Jalapeno okonomiyaki, Chili Rio Grande
Order: Vegetables, pork and egg with soba, plus jalapenos on top
Tip: The 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.
Signature: Soba okonomiyaki, Ika kyodai
Order: Soba okonomiyaki, 790 yen with noodles
Tip: Squid 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.
Signature: Hiroshima tsukemen
Order: Hiroshima tsukemen, choosing your own heat level
Tip: The 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.
Signature: Chuka soba
Order: Chuka soba, the only thing the kitchen makes
Tip: The 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.
Signature: Shirunashi tantanmen
Order: Shirunashi tantanmen, stirred thirty times before eating
Tip: Heat 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.
Signature: Seafood tonkotsu ramen
Order: The seafood tonkotsu ramen with extra dried-fish oil
Tip: The 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.
Signature: Chuka soba
Order: Chuka soba, the shop's soy-and-pork standard
Tip: Service 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.
Signature: Chuka soba
Order: Chuka soba at lunch, before the kitchen breaks at 15:30
Tip: The 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.
Signature: Tonkotsu ramen
Order: The house tonkotsu ramen on thin straight Hakata-style noodles
Tip: Weekends 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.
Signature: Squid fritters, Miso-stewed chicken skin
Order: Whatever is chalked up that night, plus the squid fritters
Tip: There 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.
Signature: Soba niku-tama, Grilled oysters, Koune
Order: Soba niku-tama, with grilled oysters alongside at the evening teppan service
Tip: Evening service adds teppanyaki plates of oysters, horumon and koune that the lunch menu does not carry.