Hiroshima has a strong food identity, built around one dish: okonomiyaki. The Hiroshima version differs from Osaka's in a fundamental way — where Osaka mixes all the ingredients together, Hiroshima layers them. A base of thin batter is poured, then cabbage, pork belly, and (usually) noodles are stacked on top, then a fried egg, then another crêpe on top of that, and the whole thing pressed flat on a hot iron griddle. It is more filling, more structured, and more complex than its Osaka cousin, and most people who try both prefer the Hiroshima style.
Okonomi-mura ("okonomiyaki village"), a three-storey building near Hondori, houses around 25 individual okonomiyaki stalls, each run by a different operator with their own style. The atmosphere is communal and cheerful — sit at the iron counter, watch the chef work, and eat with chopsticks straight off the griddle. Any stall in the building will serve you well.
Hiroshima is also notable for oysters — the prefecture produces about 60% of Japan's farmed oysters, and they appear everywhere: raw, grilled, deep-fried, in pasta, in nabe hotpots. The season runs roughly October to April, when they are at their fattest.
The covered shopping arcades around Hondori have plenty of cheap lunch options. For coffee and pastry before an early visit to the Peace Park, the streets around the park have several small cafes.