Onigilly – 1st and Market

I got the edamame set and chose three onigiri— after contemplating for ten seconds, I just chose the three most expensive sounding ones. I got the snow crab, the unagi, and the salmon. The set came with edamame and three slices of daikon pickles. It was empty when I came so they made it really fast and after I ordered, I was out of there in a matter of one and a half minutes.
Salmon — It’s cooked salmon, not sashimi.
Snow crab — It was kind of like a giant California roll minus the avocado.
Unagi — «It’s what the Japanese call… Unagi.» –Ross Gellar (honestly, this was my favorite because it was stuffed with unagi and I could see it poking out from the top when I opened the box. YUUUM! FRESHWATER EEL!
Everything was good honestly. It was a bit expensive for just three rice balls at $ 11.50 but I did choose the most expensive ones :(I thought the edamame was included in the set but it’s actually a $ 0.45 charge. Next time I’ll try the $ 2~something ones because as filling as three onigiri are for a meal, you can get hungry really fast in an hour when it all digests. There is a bottle of spicy sauce on the counter against the wall along with a bottle of sea salt? I didn’t use any of that since I just took mine to go. There are no seats but I guess you can eat standing up against the wall on the counter if you wish.

My boss kept raving about this place, and my boss is awesome and also has refined taste, so I kept meaning to go… Today, I literally came upon it as I was rushing back to work at 2, not having eaten all day.
I got the edamame set, which means 3 of the «rice triangles» as I prefer to call them, edamame, and pickles. I got spicy bacon, miso tuna, and snow crab. Yum yum yum.
I liked the bacon one best… A bit warm, so not chewy nori like the cold ones. Spicy, too.
The guys working here are totally NorCal chill. Definitely a business worth supporting! The 1^st st location is much less chaotic than Embarcadero center. Nice.
Will eat here regularly so I can try allllll the ballllls!

Great new spot right by my work! I’d seen this spot a few times when I go on my daily walks and decided to come here for lunch. The place is small and a bit cramped (it’s strictly to go, but right around the corner there are plenty of seats for anyone). The place is clean though and the workers were very friendly. I ordered the Miso Soup Combo and got the Spicy Bacon and the Teriyaki Chicken. The food was really good! I’ve never had rice balls like this, but it reminded me of sushi for the most part. The soup was very good too and still warm after my walk back to work. The pricing was good with the only real gripe being I wish the combo included one more rice ball and then I know I would have been full enough! Overall, good spot and a place I can see myself coming back to soon to try out their other items on the menu!

Although I messed up with picking up my order at the wrong location, the cashier was completely understanding and graciously accommodated my order even though the line was out the door. This was done all with a smile on his face.
This on top of consistently great food has made 5 stars totally well worth it. The amount of rice is plenty but never exceeds the flavor of the meat or filling you choose to add with it. Always so fresh too.

GREAT addition to the ‘hood!
While the space is super tiny and often has long lines — and BADLY needs some kind of loudspeaker to tell folks waiting outside that their order is ready — the food here is amaze-​balls.
You really can’t go wrong with the traditional onigilly — all of their protein accompaniments are awesome, and they mix it up with cool seasonal choices (there’s a squash filling on the menu right now for winter). However, I usually do the rice bowl to make the eating process a bit more civilized for cubicle life.
I pretty much always get the salmon, unagi, and snow crab over rice. The salmon is a little boring sometimes, but the other proteins are VERY flavorful, so I feel like I need to balance those out. I’m not super crazy about the tuna — it skews bland like the salmon, plus it gets really stinky in my office.
They have zōsui on the menu right now as another winter special (a rice porridge soup) that’s really good, and their salads /​edamame are enjoyable.
I always feel awesome about my life after eating here :)

I usually get the miso soup + 2 onigilly set for $ 7.88 including tax.
The onigilly pieces (triangle shaped) are surprisingly filling. I originally thought I would need 3 but 2 is more than enough for me. My favorite flavors are Soboro (ginger ground beef) and Spicy Shrimp. Both have a flavorful sauce combined with the protein.
The line to order isn’t usually long but it takes a long time for them to prep all of the food. It takes on average 8 – 10 minutes to get your food.

Just picked up an edamame set from this new location and I’m wishing I went to my normal one in the embarcadero center… I arrived well after the lunch rush and was not greeted nor even looked at when I entered the door. The two gentlemen were chatting and cleaning and I had to ask if they were still open. I placed my order for a snow crab, salmon, and spicy shrimp, but the music was so loud that I had to repeat myself several times. Once I received my order and tasted it back in the office the shrimp was chewy and EXTREMELY fishy tasting. The other two were less fishy and had better texture and flavor. Not sure if it was older shrimp because I came so late, but I will definitely not be ordering it next time.

Sometimes you just crave some simple carbs and protein as a snack… what a perfect combo in the form of rice balls! This is a throwback to my study abroad days in Asia where you can pop into a convenience store and grab some cheap pre-​made rice balls to go.
Onigilly brings that same convenience to SF, while offering really fresh ingredients. I usually opt for the Edamame Set (3 rice balls + edamame + pickled veggies) for lunch. My favorite rice balls are the unagi (soft, flaky eel), spicy shrimp (bay shrimp with just a little kick), and salmon. This FiDi location is very quick and efficient, which is a slight improvement over the Kearny/​Bush store. Although I usually come around 1PM, so I may just have beaten the lunch rush.
The price is slightly higher than I’d like to pay for lunch (~$ 9 – 10), but you do get a decent portion of rice and meat in these rice balls.
If you’re tired of grabbing the typical sandwich/​salad combo for lunch, try out Onigilly!

Financial district could use more Onigilly and a lot less Specialtys.
The staff at this particular location is very nice, polite and helpful. The food is pretty good, and priced right given the location.
Overall concept is pretty cool possibly one of the healthiest lunch options DTSF.
Downsides are — almost guaranteed to have a line at lunch, and no inside seating.
Trust.

The spot: Located right next to the always crowded Focaccia, you’d miss it if not for the sign out front.
The food: Ordered the Edamame trio (3 onigiri, a small scoop of edamame, and a small scoop of pickles). Pretty decent. Got the snow crab, the spicy bacon, and the Soboro and ate them in that order. Snow crab was good. Spicy bacon had more kick than I appreciate (but I know everyone has a different tolerance). And the Soboro was just ok, though I’m thinking the spicy bacon killed some semblance of my taste buds.
Value: Just under $ 11. Not bad for downtown SF, but paying that price for some prepared scoops and rice anywhere else would be a little much.

delicious and affordable option near my office! they have lots of interesting rice balls, and their ratio of rice to filling is excellent. i will definitely be back!

It’s true: there is an exceptional amount of sushi restaurants in the Bay Area, but nary a place that specializes in the cheap, filling, and quick snack item that is onigiri. Solution (well, at least in the city): Onigilly!
I’ve been meaning to try the location on Kearny, but there was always a line. So I was definitely excited when one opened up right across the street from my building, taking the place of that prime rib sandwich business. Upon finding out they were open for business, I rushed over to FINALLY give them a try.
The edamame and radish option ($ 9-​$ 11 depending on what kind of onigiri you order) gave me the option of choosing 3 different flavors. I went with natto, unagi, and teriyaki chicken, and out of those flavors, natto appealed to me the most. Unagi and teriyaki were very delicious in their own right, but the flavors were quite overwhelming, and for the amount of brown rice in each piece, it wasn’t enough to nullify the flavors. Natto tasted a bit sweet, thick, and healthy! However, I wouldn’t advise everyone to order it; natto is an acquired taste, it seems.
For convenience and flavor, I give it a 3.5 (rounded to 4) for now… because I’m coming back to try more flavors soon!

Patience is a virtue, but it is unfortunately not a virtue that I have, meaning lunch times in SF is an absolute nightmare since I hate waiting. Onigilly is quick with relatively short wait time both to order and to get the food, making this one of my go-​tos when I’m in a rush (there’s no seating). It’s also relatively healthy unless you’re one of those people who avoid eating carbs like the devil, although portion may be a bit small if you eat a lot. Still, pricing is reasonable ($ 2−3/rice ball), and with such quick wait times, highly recommended for a fast lunch.

I usually get the salad with 3 onigily choices. I’ve tried the bacon, braised beef, seaweed, salmon, tuna, snow crab, and the unagi. All are delicious!!! I would give this place 5 stars but the amount that they give you over rice or salad is so small. I’m addicted to this place! My favorite onigily by far is the unagi, bacon, and snow crab.

My manager suggested this new spot that opened up near our office so I went here around 1pm on a Friday afternoon — one of the few popular spots in fidi without a line. SCORE. You’re basically eating sushi in a different form imo, minus the wasabi and excessive soy sauce.
What I ordered:
–Takana — pickled mustard greens + sesame seeds. This was a litttlee too salty even for me (and I love my sodium). Feel like this needed another sauce /​topping of some sort to come together.
–Shiitake — mushrooms in some teriyaki type sauce. This was delicious — lots of fillings and the teriyaki wasn’t too powerful.
Pros:
+For $ 6, I got two rice balls — really good deal because they’re pretty large and can fill you up (would recommend 3 if you’re really hungry)
+Got my order ~5 min after ordering
+Lots of vegetarian options — can’t wait to try more
+They use brown rice!
+They have this interesting mix of spices you can add to your rice balls — definitely try some for some extra kick!
Cons:
–No seating

Time: 3:41pm/75°F mostly sunny
Purpose: Knowing that they’ve another location near by. The search was on. Address listed lead me to a secure business building. Found it when security personnel pointed them out.
Set-​up: Shoe box size place without seating in/​out just to-​go or stand and eat. Minimal décor of dark wood with three electronic menu panel. Rest of place counter prep area, pick up counter, beverage fridge with self help utensil/​water dispenser. Music playing is that off Yukyu (Symphonic Album).
Staff: A guy and girl seems annoy when ever someone enter. Looking at me with the WTF now look. I said let me check out menu first both literally walks away never saying a word. I almost walk out myself, but onigiri craving held me down. Not gonna let them push me to the limit.
Cleanliness: Grade A, impeccable clean with no compromise. Brand new place. Nothing that would suggest questionable.
Eats/​Drinks: 2pc onigiri spicy bacon $ 2.99 and unagi $ 3.26. Freshly made to order seaweed wrapped rice triangles and choice of meat tucked in middle. Both were luke warm with generous amount of filling. I like eel best of the two with sweet bbq sauce garnish off. Eel tasted great with complimentary (Like) condiments. Spicy bacon tasted weird, but fresh just didn’t appeal as much as eel. It has more than enough chopped up bacon mixed with garlic & chili. Simple easy snack for all occasions and great for the pocketbook.
Main Features: Onigilly single purchase to set meal.
Products/​Services: Onigiri of veggie, meat, and seafood, edamame, takuan, wakame salad, miso soup, tamagoyaki, green salad, matcha organic lemonade, rice bowl, salad bowl, heirloom kokuho rose rice. Find them on FB, Twitter, Instagram. Takes CC.
Punch Lines: Fresh, made to order, zippy service, friendly, no seats, set meal, can’t go wrong, pleasing flavors, good portion, limited meat/​seafood option, drool worthy, better than average, budget watchers.
Tradeoffs: No formal sit down or walk up counter to enjoy meal while chatting it up with colleagues.
Final Thoughts: Great place for people with sushi cravings, but only if simple rice, meat, and seaweed will do. Onigiri to me is just simple snack to tie over hunger pangs. Come if you want a quick bite with zippy service and not a burden on your wallet.

Heard from a coworker that Onigilly took over the Prime Dip in our building which was struggling. Ppl don’t want a surf and turf dipped sandwich for lunch to fall asleep to :) Happy to see they had various options outside the rice balls. Tried the salad bowl with three items: unagi, spicy shrimp and chicken. Liked all three, the unagi and shrimp were excellent. Very filling and for $ 11 not bad for a good sized salad in downtown SF. Asked the owner if they have been doing well and he said yes.

Ordered two onigillies (?); miso bacon and unagi. Miso Bacon was a bit of a let down as it neither delivered on the miso or the bacon. Plus it was thin on the filling which made the whole thing dry and called out for soy sauce.
The unagi really saved the day though. Really good stuff and there was enough of it that it didn’t get lost in the rice. Will eat again.
Overall most of them are 2 – 3 bucks a pop so if you’re in the mood for a quick and savory snack this will definitely hit the spot.

Yay finally Onigilly is close to me!!! Love their Soboro and Unagi rice balls! Price is good and affordable!