{"id":3347,"date":"2019-01-28T09:42:15","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T00:42:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/mexican-food-in-hiroshima\/"},"modified":"2025-08-28T11:34:53","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T02:34:53","slug":"mexican-food-in-hiroshima","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/mexican-food-in-hiroshima\/","title":{"rendered":"Mexican Food in Hiroshima"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

The rest of the world\u2019s foodies may cast a longing eye toward Japan, but let\u2019s face it, if you live here sometimes you just want a\u00a0 decent taco. Once upon a time, this was surprisingly difficult, but no longer. Hiroshima has at least two good Mexican options now, while an hour\u2019s drive (a little longer by train) will take you to a third and praiseworthy option in Yamaguchi Prefecture\u2019s Iwakuni. In no particular order, here they are.<\/span><\/p>\n

Graffity Mexican Diner<\/b><\/h3>\n

After living in San Diego, the Nakashima brothers returned to Hiroshima with the skills and flavors they\u2019d acquired while working at a Mexican restaurant a stone\u2019s throw from Tijuana. Their Graffity Diner (and yes, some of the walls are covered with messages from happy customers) was one of the first Mexican places in town to make a successful start, and in their 11th year, they\u2019re more popular than ever, with both locals and travelers. Expect to run into overseas players for the Hiroshima Carp here on a fairly regular basis. On my most recent trip, one brother manned three burners and a fryer, cutting up beer battered fillets of catfish and tending his carne asada, while the other brother worked the floor and register. They make their own sauces, and in addition to tacos, burritos, and chimichangas they offer steak, chicken mole and a popular Pescado a la Veracruzana. I ran out of guacamole in a hurry and was promptly provided more without asking. Their collection of beers and tequilas is a welcome feature, including Dos Equis lager and both a Porfidio and Olmeca. Group courses and all-you-can-drink specials are also available, though I wouldn\u2019t count on that Olmeca being included.<\/span><\/p>\n

Borracho\u2019s<\/b><\/h3>\n

A more recent player, Borracho\u2019s opened up about two years ago and immediately began winning rave reviews. Located well into the chaos of the Nagarekawa drinking district, it should be tricky to find, but luckily the enormous Virgin of Guadalupe above the entrance makes it fairly easy to spot. The menu isn\u2019t especially surprising; it includes tacos, fajitas, taquitos, and chimichangas along with other bits and pieces. But the food is excellent, especially the small corn tortillas made fresh on the premises and featured in many of the dishes. The guys in the kitchen travel to Mexico often and have a lot of the flavors just right. I especially liked the little show they make out of creating your guacamole fresh at the table, and with the help of a few extra jalapenos, you\u2019ll soon feel that friendly prickling of the scalp that means you\u2019re enjoying yourself.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Borracho<\/span>\u00a0is also a great place to share dishes, and a large plate of chorizo tacos is an excellent place to start. The decor steps right up to the edge of being overdone and stops just in time. Mexican blankets, milagros, braided ristras of chiles, and other touches grace both the first and second floors. The top floor is nonsmoking, with a small bar of its own to see to parties and other groups. And the selection of tequilas? Outstanding. And since they\u2019re open until 5 in the morning, you have plenty of time to try them all. God speed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Mike\u2019s Tex-Mex<\/b><\/h3>\n

As a transplanted Texan, this is the closest thing I\u2019ve found to the kind of restaurants my family visited in the halcyon days of the 1970s. My kids love it, and despite it being an hour by car from our front door, we make the trip two or three times a year. Mike’s is old school Tex Mex, with enchiladas, refried beans and \u201cMexican rice\u201d all running together on the platter.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I assume, that you\u2019ll be ordering the Hungry Hombre special. The chips arrive at the table hot and greasy, and the guacamole is served in a bowl at least twice the size you\u2019ll find elsewhere. Even drinks come in the kind of pebble-textured plastic tumbler I remember from childhood. Cocktails include both the regular margarita and the \u201cCoronarita,\u201d with a bottle of Corona upended in the margarita glass. Dessert? Try the cinnamon tortilla chips and vanilla ice cream. You\u2019ll leave full and happy.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mike\u2019s has locations near U.S. military bases around Japan, so they\u2019ve no doubt benefited over the years from customer feedback. And while the other two restaurants mentioned here are relatively small, Mike\u2019s offers a spacious, non-smoking dining room with a rack of sombreros for the kids to wear and polaroids of happy diners covering one wall. The only thing missing is a mariachi band.<\/span><\/p>\n

Graffity Mexican Diner<\/b><\/h3>\n

Address<\/b>: 6-4 Fukuromachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima-shi 730-0036<\/span>
\nAccess<\/b>: South from Yoshinoya in the middle of the Hondori Shopping Arcade. Walk two and a half blocks toward Peace Boulevard and look for the sign on your right. The restaurant is on the fourth floor. <\/span>
\nHours<\/b>: Seven days a week. Lunch 11:30-14:00, dinner 18:00-24:00<\/span>
\nTelephone<\/b>: 082-243-3669<\/span>
\nAdditional Info:<\/b> English menu, and limited English spoken. Smoking. Credit cards accepted<\/span>
\nWebsite<\/b>: <\/span>http:\/\/graffity.info\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Borracho\u2019s<\/b><\/h3>\n

Address<\/b>: No. 2 Mizuno Bldg, 6-5 Yagenbori, Naka-ku, Hiroshima 730-0027<\/span>
\nAccess<\/b>: Easiest way to find it is probably to head south along Yagenbori from Kamiyacho. It\u2019s about six blocks, but just keep an eye out for the huge Virgin mural over the door on your right. <\/span>
\nHours<\/b>: Monday-Saturday, 18:00-05:00. Sunday, 18:00-02:00<\/span>
\nTelephone<\/b>: 082-241-3911<\/span>
\nAdditional Info:<\/b> English menu, and limited English spoken. Smoking. Credit cards accepted<\/span>
\nWebsite<\/b>: <\/span>http:\/\/borrachos-hiroshima.jp\/<\/span><\/a> (apparently down at time of writing)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mike\u2019s Tex-Mex Restaurant<\/b><\/h3>\n

Address<\/b>: 1-7-12 Mikasamachi, Iwakuni, Yamaguchi-ken 740-0016<\/span>
\nAccess<\/b>: By car, take Route 2 to the Hatsukaichi Interchange entrance to the Hiroshima-Iwakuni Toll Road. Exit at Ootake and continue south on Route 2 into Iwakuni. At the junction with 110, follow 110 south. You\u2019ll find Mike\u2019s on your right shortly before the bridge over the Imazu River. Or, from Iwakuni Station, follow the tunnel below the station and walk south (right) along 110, past the Yamaguchi Prefectural Culture Hall. You\u2019ll see Mike\u2019s on the right.<\/span>
\nHours<\/b>: Lunch 11:00-14:00, dinner 17:00-22:00. Closed Wednesdays and some national holidays.<\/span>
\nTelephone<\/b>: 082-724-7001<\/span>
\nAdditional Info:<\/b> English menu, English spoken. Nonsmoking. Credit cards accepted<\/span>
\nWebsite<\/b>: <\/span>http:\/\/mikes.jp\/shopinfo04.html<\/span><\/a>
\nWebsite 2:<\/strong>\u00a0www.facebook.com\/borrachosonline\/\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo by author<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rest of the world\u2019s foodies may cast a longing eye toward Japan, but let\u2019s face it, if you live here sometimes you just want a\u00a0 decent taco. Once upon a time, this was surprisingly difficult, but no longer. Hiroshima has at least two good Mexican options now, while an hour\u2019s drive (a little longer […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":3348,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[162,94,49,54,85],"tags":[51,52,192],"class_list":["post-3347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-family-friendly","category-food-and-dining","category-hiroshima-2","category-japan","category-miscellaneous","tag-hiroshima-city-2","tag-hiroshima-prefecture-2","tag-mexico"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3347"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3347\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":50603,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3347\/revisions\/50603"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrcjapan.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}