Holiday Shokudo – Hiroshima Fusion Comfort Food

Holiday Shokudo is a contemporary fusion izakaya wrapped in a warm, European-inspired atmosphere.

The stone pot pasta is rich, creamy, and warming. (Joy Photo / Michael Farrell)

Like a Western bistro, the menu centers on small plates of hearty dishes meant to be shared around the table and paired with carefully chosen drinks. The dishes may look familiar to Western diners, but the ingredients and cooking approach are distinctly Japanese, drawing on local seafood, regional flavors and thoughtful technique. 

 Rich & Hearty East-West Fusion

Stone Pot Pasta

Hiroshima’s “soul food” adapted to a plate of fries works finger-licking well. (Joy Photo / Michael Farrell)

Consider the stone pot pasta (石鍋パスタ) served only at lunch. Thick, fettuccine-like pasta curls in a rich soy-milk and kombu dashi broth. It signals its Hiroshima identity with local oysters on top, and subverts Western expectations by coming with a thick, scorched rice cracker called okoge, which is meant to be added to the dish much like we add oyster crackers or saltines to chowders. 

Okonomiyaki French Fries

A towering pile of potato fries is a familiar sight to many Westerners, but Holiday Shokudo’s okonomi potato fries (お好みポテトフライ) are drizzled with okonomiyaki sauce then topped with diced green onions, aonori (seaweed flakes) and kezuribushi—shavings of dried, fermented and smoked skipjack tuna. A vermillion pile of beni shōga, young ginger pickled with plum vinegar, accents the dish. 

Hiroshima Specialties

Raw Claire Oysters

In Japan, Hiroshima is famous for oysters. Cultivated in the area since the 1500s, Hiroshima’s oysters are large, plump and rich in umami.  Holiday Shokudo’s special raw oysters (スペシャル生牡蠣) showcase Hiroshima Claire oysters with color contrasting toppings like fresh green onion and coral-orange ikura—salmon caviar. The flavor is so clean and fresh there is no hint of the iodine taste that the shellfish are often associated with. Their unique flavor comes from Farm Suzuki on Osaki-kamijima Island, where they are raised in organic conditions in former salt ponds—a style of aquaculture based on a French technique. Currently, nobody else in Hiroshima grows oysters this way.

Craft Hiroshima Lemon Drinks

Farm Suzuki’s Claire Oysters bound to be eaten raw have strict hygiene controls including ultraviolet irradiation to ensure safety. (Joy Photo / Michael Farrell)

With a sub-tropical climate well suited to citrus farming, Hiroshima is also nationally associated with citrus fruits, especially lemons. Holiday Shokudo takes fresh Hiroshima lemons and makes their own house lemon syrup which you can see brewing beside the kitchen. The syrup is used to make signature cocktails like the holiday specialty lemon sour (ホリデー名物　ホリデーレモンサワー). It is also used in their flavored Holiday Shokudo lemon beer (ホリデー食堂のレモンビール) which is bright and lemony in perfect complement to the base: Asahi Super Dry.

Modern European Tavern Warmth

The modest storefront hides a rustic interior evocative of European taverns. The entryway is narrow with an open kitchen on the left and a few small tables suited to dates or small groups of close friends on the right. Concrete floors and exposed metal rafters with dim, unshaded lightbulbs in the entrance give way to a warmly lit hall of wooden dining tables under a chandelier. Stone floor tiles; beige walls; a leather upholstered bench; a wall length mirror and heavy, exposed timbers seamlessly shift the modern industrial mood of the front end to old Europe in the back. 

Close to Peace Park, Orizuru Tower, Hondori

Holiday Shokudo is conveniently located for people touring Peace Park, Hiroshima Orizuru Tower or Hondori. It is a three-minute direct walk from Hiroshima Orizuru Tower. It is within eye-shot of Peace Park, and it is at the western end of Hondori. 

Getting There

If you are coming from Hiroshima Station, take Hiroden tram Line Two or Six to Genbaku Dome-Mae Station. You’ll come out in view of Orizuru Tower and the Atomic Bomb Dome. Walk south for three to five minutes along the road on the eastern side of Hiroshima Orizuru Tower. You’ll come to a three-way intersection with the Peace Park on your right and the start of Hondori on your left. You’ll see a Seven Eleven on the left-hand corner. Holiday Shokudo is the next building on the left after Seven Eleven. 

Try These Cozy Places

If you’re looking for cozy places to relax and enjoy Hiroshima’s unique cuisine culture, Pasta Ceppo’s warm, wooden interior compliments their unique Italian-British-Japanese Fusion menu. For a more traditional Japanese environment, but no less warm and inviting, Tempura Suehiro serves crispy, Tokyo-style tempura with a carefully selected drink menu in a calming, Japanese, wa-modan interior. 

Video by Hiroshima_Lunchsan (Japanese IG / English IG)