Saturday late lunch, we were craving onigiri like what we had in Japan. Of course, it's cheaper in Japan but here, we don't have to travel to get it. Easy to find. The parking lot here is shared with other stores but is small and the parking spaces are so tight. I would be scared to park a big truck here. The restaurant is small. Not ideal for large groups. You choose your meal via a kiosk tablet. Easy to use. We tried a few but my favorite is deluxe Ponzu Salmon Poke, Sweet Soy Salmon Poke or the Mini Poke Salad. The house made Lemonade Strawberry drink was very good but so small. I could finish two of these. My son had a combo with Karaage. It was pretty good and crispy outside but needed sauce. There was only one person manning the front and maybe two in the back. No real service as this is more a to-go place but I would still come back here. Decent price for their onigiri. They even offer catering trays. I may try that for large gatherings. [42R,2026] read more

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Cute little onigiri store for a quick and easy snack while on the go. I have doordash from them before and didn't think too much of it, but the portion size seems bigger when ordered in person. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

I can eat one or two rice balls everyday! Made to order, fresh ingredients, healthy meal. My go-to flavors -- crab, spicy bacon, shrimp and shitake mushrooms. Plenty of parking, friendly staff, easy kiosk self serve ordering. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Updating my review to share some pictures of the food that I love.. my top favs are spam and snow crab! Sharing my disappointment that they discontinued the Matcha Cheesecake (what!)!. I went in specifically for that cheesecake today :( Shoutout to Brenda for her awesome customer service, and as much as I wanted to like the cream puffs- I did not! The puffs were great, very light and airy, the filling however was not great. Please bring back the matcha cheesecake! read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Spam, and snow crab - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Randomly stumbled upon this place for lunch, they have a wide selection of onigillys. I tried 2 of them (forgot the exact names) and the miso soup, overall pretty good and price was very fair for a lunch. It doesn't get you super full but it's a nice light lunch read more

This is my first time trying Onigilly at an actual storefront I've only had a small kiosk. At first when I arrived, it seemed to be closed with open sign off however I went and checked and they were still open and I am glad I did. Onigiri is almost like a a musubi, but with flavors besides spam. I ended up getting the bento box with three pieces, and my girlfriend had the two piece with a miso soup. I enjoyed these very much, the flavor alternatives suits the pallet with their mixers of spices and protein choices. Especially for the price and how quick these were to be made. This is definitely a new staple when I am in the area. Along with the mouthwatering food it is in a cute little space with seating inside. Everyone was super friendly and wanted to make sure we had everything we needed. Again, we will definitely make future plans and revisit this location. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Three-piece bento box with Karaage Tamargo edamame Bento Set w/3 Onigilly - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Had Onigilly on my list to try for a while, and I'm glad I finally pulled the trigger. The workflow is fast and efficient, making it easy to grab a authentic bite. They have seating available if you decide to stay, but it's unbeatable for a quick, delicious Japanese lunch. read more

18$ for combo meal: 3 onigiri + 3 pieces of karage and edamame The sweet soy raw salmon was tasty, flavorful and balanced well with the rice. The seaweed was slightly soggy/soft by the time we tried it, but I'm sure its nice and firm when it comes out! read more

Food 8/10 Very good Value . $18.17 for 2 onigiri, edamame, 4 pcs of fried chickens, pickles and 1 pcs of tamago and tips. Facilities 5/10 Sticky tables, sticky floor. Bad HVAC. You'll come out from the restaurant smelling like old oil. Will pick up only in the future! read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Bento Set w/2 Onigilly - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Came here during my work lunch. I got their curry because I wanted curry that day. Their curry came on the side and looked darker than I'm use to. The flavor was good but I've definitely had better. The fried chicken was cooked well I thought. Overall my meal was okay. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Chicken Karaage Curry & Rice - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Ordered the pumpkin croquette, custom poke bowl, and the 3 onigiri bento. The portions here are pretty decent and the restaurant is spacious/clean. Food was good. Main con was that the female bathroom was out of toilet paper. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Disclaimer: Doordash Delivery / Not dine-in or direct take-out. Therefore pricing will not be included. First time I've ordered from Onigilly - Thursday August 14th Order: Custom Set with 4 Onigilly *Snow Crab / *Baked Salmon (GF) / *California / *Unagi (Braised Eel) + Sides (For additional cost): Added Half Chicken Karaage and 1 Kabocha Pumpkin Croquette Beverage: Strawberry Lemonade sweetened with Agave Freshness check: No ammonia or "fishy" smell present at the time of eating. The smell is indicative of freshness in seafood, usually, and how likely it can make you sick. Always pay attention to the look and smell of any seafood before consuming to prevent illness. -- Actual Review -- The meal was decent and amount for the price (at least through doordash.) wasn't too bad. Salmon was a bit too dry for my taste but that's more of a personal preference. The size of the onigiri were large and they definitely fill you up nicely and for me personally, I was not bloated after eating the entire meal. Chicken Karaage were bite sized which for me is perfected and the pumpkin croquette I can definitely appreciate that most of the bones in the Unagi were removed, however, it is not completely deboned. There were some finer bones that were left in so be careful while eating the unagi. read more

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Great for a quick and delicious meal! It's located in a plaza so parking is available. It's on the cusp of affordable and overpriced. I'd say to expect to spend $20 pp for what you get. The best bang for ur buck is their signature poke bowl. It's massive and comes w all 3 of their poke options. We got everything to-go so it was quick service. Their Karaage is really good. I got the Custom Set w/2 Onigilly $7.70 SALMON TARAKO $1.00 Spicy Miso Beef $0.50 Add Half Chicken Karaage $3.50 Add Mini Poke Salad Shio-koji Tuna* I don't think I'll frequent here as much for lunch but if I want a no frills and no mess meal, I'll think about this again. There is seating inside w small tables and seemed clean during our short wait time there. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Custom Set w/2 Onigilly: Mini Poke Salad Shio-Koji Tuna, Spicy Miso Beef, SALMON TARAKO, half Karaage - Fried Chicken - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

I came here to take a couple of onigiris to-go on to my plane ride the next day. I got the salmon ume and the tarako. You order from the screen as soon as you get in, and the options they have is quite impressive. I stuck to some typical flavors and was really happy with the salmon ume one. I usually get mentaiko, which is a spicy tarako, and the tarako seemed like it was cooked and not raw? I wouldn't recommend the tarako if you're expecting it to be like mentaiko. However, it was really good and even though I ate it the next morning, it was still really delicious. I'd come back for sure and would recommend this place. read more

Door dashed and it was great. Solid paper bags stapled close. The bento box was great! The chicken karage was so crispy and flavorful. I will get a full order next time. The edamame was fresh and tasty, not over spiced. The onigiri was fresh and delish. The teriyaki tofu was my fav. Fries were good. Nice flavor. Their bottled flavored lemonade is also highly recommended. I had the yuzu. Not too sweet. Not too tart. Highly recommend when you want onigiri read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Bento Set w/2 Onigilly. Tofu and chicken. - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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This place honestly does not get enough love. First of all, there is a small parking lot next to it so it is easily accessible. I met up with a friend to catch-up and didn't have to wait long for each other since parking was right there! The food was very affordable. I got an edamame set with a pickled radish and I recommend maybe not getting a set. The onigiris were already enough to make you full. The chicken teriyaki had a great teriyaki sauce to chicken ratio. The chicken was tender. The salmon ponzu was also good. The pumpkin croquettes were perfectly fried, but I was not used to them being sweet. It was great to try though! I wish I lived closer so I could try more flavors. I look forward to trying this place out again. The tables were small so do not recommend for large groups. But if you're just meeting up with one or two friends or eating lunch/dinner alone, it's perfect! It is also very takeout friendly. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Kabocha Pumpkin Croquette 2pc - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Custom bowl with side of karaage for a total of $20.28 5 years ago, I tried the Onigilly location in downtown Palo Alto. This time I tried their custom poke bowl: all greens 1 scoop salmon poke 1 scoop spicy tuna poke 1 scoop ponzu salmon poke wakame salad wasabi slaw red cabbage furikake crispy onions wasabi soy dressing Plus side of karaage because I can never resist fried chicken! Though the side only came with 3 pieces for $5, I thoroughly enjoyed the juicy yet perfectly marinated crispy fried chicken pieces. I wish the side of mayo was larger than one tiny teaspoon though. My custom poke was a little on the small side but I guess it's about right for the $15 price. However it was overly saucy and I didn't even add any of the wasabi soy. It also didn't taste as fresh. I came in the middle of a workday and the place was totally empty. This store is located in an interesting small lot. I like that I don't have to pay for parking. I came here many years ago when it used to be a chicken karaage place. They still have fried chicken sandwiches on the menu and if I ever come back, I might try that. I think they need more items on the menu but since this is a chain, I'm not sure they can do that. Imagine a chicken karaage burrito! Also if they can bring back the old meat mountain sandwich from the previous karaage burger, I would be in heaven... imagine tonkatsu + karaage + teriyaki chicken + Japanese hamburger + gyudon + chashu... are you drooling yet?? They do have some interesting selections for the custom bowl: spicy bacon unagi spicy miso beef soboro (ground chicken) ume (plum) miso nasu (eggplant) tarako (fish roe) lemon shrimp read more

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We ordered for delivery through grubhub. The delivery was decent and everything a good shape, but they forgot to bring miso soup I got poke bowl which tasted very good. The pumpkin croquettes was very tasty too. My wife ordered miso beef which she did not like because it was very spicy for her, however I did enjoy eating them next day. My wife did not like chicken karaage. This was all dark meat and I wish they would let you choose. Because she ended up being hungry. I was on the edge of 3 or 4 stars, but I think they prepare good food. Overall, I think we may order again but with caution. read more

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I had just finished moving all of my stuff in into my new apartment in foster city by myself and needed a quick bite as I was quite hangry. This is my second time at onigilly and I might have gotten similar food last time. Two rice balls and mini poke bowl is the move, ordered to-go via toast. Service: 4/5 I ordered at 8pm for pickup at 8:20pm, and arrived at 8:30pm just to find out they didn't do intake but she made it very quickly afterward. I'm not mad about it but definitely wish I had just gone earlier to order in person. I wonder if they're actually checking the toast orders. Ginger Ponzu Salmon Poke Bowl: 3/5 not sure what happened this time but there was way too much sauce. So sour. But salmon was still fresh at the last hour of the day Miso Tuna Salad GF Onigilly: 3/5 too salty for my taste. Wish they had tuna mayo Tarako -pollack roe GF Onigilly: 5/5 good as I remembered from last time They also include a packet of soy sauce which is pretty unnecessary in my opinion because of how flavorful everything is, read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Ginger Ponzu Salmon Poke Bowl, Miso Tuna Salad GF Onigilly, Tarako -pollack roe GF Onigilly - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Got really excited after my first visit and came back again on a Wednesday. Signature poke bowl again which was still good but a little too heavy on the sauce (too much salt and acid) on this second visit, and the fish didn't seem as fresh as that first visit. Still going to be a go to lunch spot since they have a good range of options (curry, noodles) and need to try their onigiris. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Signature Poke Bowl* - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Great place for snacks and raw fish cravings! I mistook this place to offer just onigiri but they have sides, poke, and even Katsu curry! Staff is small and there are ordering kiosks. Seafood is fresh and service is efficient. For the onigiris, tried the Salmon, Crab Salad, and Tempura Shrimp (3 set customized combo). I'd def recommend asking for soy sauce packets as well since some of them can be on the drier side, especially the salmon. Tempura shrimp was my favorite due to the crunch and sauce. Would love to stop by again. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Tempura Shrimp, Crab Salad, Salmon - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

I had a really good onigiri experience in SoCal so I was looking for something similar here in San Mateo. I found Onigilly which is close to my work and they deliver! I ordered the miso soup set with 2 onigiri. It was so yummy. I want to try all the different onigiri. One day I'll eat in store. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Miso Soup Set w/2 Onigilly - shrimp tempura & crab| ig: @jlr.eats - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Tried ONIGILLY for the 1st time today. Lots of choices! I'm a light lunch eater. So I chose just the "Tarako" (pollack roe) onigiri & the Unagi onigiri. My order was fulfilled super quick and both onigiri were truly yummy and satisfying! The rice was the perfect consistency and the filling in both seemed fresh (not at all fishy) and generous--especially for the price. Speaking of the value and for the sake of comparison--I've had onigiri from Suruki Market nearby (often). While the Suruki's onigiri is around $1 less, these ONIGILLY onigiri far exceeds the ones from Suruki Market in overall size, amount of filling, overall texture and taste. Basically, the extra $1+ for one from ONIGILLY is definitely worth it. Besides, parking is free and close parking to Suruki Market is not. Looking forward to going there again and hopefully very soon. Don't let the tiny nondescript shopping strip nor the minimal parking (really small lot but free parking) dissuade you from going there. It's well worth doing laps in the parking lot till a spot opens up. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Tarako - pollack roe (left) & Unagi (right) - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

First time here and the worker here was very helpful and helped pick the right order for me

Had these for lunch and of the options available, I got a custom poke bowl with 2 scoops. It's a large serving size with good portion sizes of vegetables and poke. Some places are never as packed as this bowl was. Packed bowls (whether rice bowl, poke bowl, etc) are always the best. Next time will try out the onigiri options! read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Custom Bowl - 1 scoop of ahi tuna and 1 scoop of salmon with green onion and spicy mayo sauce - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

The veggie food was not edible. The poke was bad. The food tasted stale. In all, best avoid the place

I find the Onigilly concept appealing, so I was excited to see one in San Mateo when I was working there recently but I have to be honest the offerings are lackluster despite cheery service. This is a failing of the brand and not the workers at this location. The only onigilly I like here is mentaiko. Have tried salmon in Palo Alto and it's too dry and bland. Why don't they make better onigilly with interesting sauces and fillings? Seems ridiculous to create a cool brand like this but half ass it on flavor and quality. The additions to the meal do not include great choices. Miso soup was weak and flavorless. Pumpkin croquette was good and crisp though somewhat bland in flavor. I'd love to see jazzier onigilly options and healthy, interesting, flavorful sides added to the menu. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Miso Soup Set w/2 Onigilly - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

My first time here I liked it so much I came back a couple times. While I know there are other locations now, this one is still my favorite. The onigiri is always freshly made to order and they don't skimp on the fillings. It's never really busy every time I've gone, although the parking lot can get full. I love to come here and eat or just grab to go, the vibe is pretty chill. You can order on the iPad or you can order online and just pick up. Either way, of the locations of this place close to me this one is my favorite! I come here pretty often and will probably continue to do so. read more

So delicious!! Tried the unagi, ginger beef, and the eggplant Onigiri and no complaints whatsoever

I'm so glad they finally opened a location in San Mateo! I ordered via their website and picked up my food in 15 mins. They have a $15 deal for lunch special which comes with 3 Onigilly, 2 pieces of chicken karaage, 2 tomagoyaki, and a matcha lemonade. This meal is definitely filling for both me and my bf. We upgraded the onigilly for the flavors we wanted which came out to under $18. Pickup was super simple and the food came with a sticker for tamper seal and utensils. We actually ate in the car and the food was still warm. To start, the karaage was crispy and not too heavy on the batter. The onigilly had a good ratio of filling to rice. It was wrapped pretty well since there was no spillage as I ate it. I tried the unagi, crab, and shrimp tempura. My favorites were probably the unagi and crab, so will use my extra slot to try something else next time. The matcha lemonade was pretty refreshing and not overly sweet. It's a great bonus for the lunch combo. Overall, I'd definitely order this again and continue with the onigilly upgrades. read more

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Spicy miso beef - it reminded me of Korean food because I could only taste the gochujang. The miso wasn't coming through. I still enjoyed it though. Teriyaki chicken - it was okay. The teriyaki chicken was tender. Unagi - very rice heavy because there wasn't a lot of unagi. Tempura shrimp - very rice heavy because there was a very small piece of shrimp tempura. I was just eating rice most of the time. Miso tuna salad - this was my favorite. It was a solid tuna salad. The rice quality wasn't great so that was a little disappointing. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Miso tuna salad, spicy miso beef, tempura shrimp, teriyaki chicken, and unagi - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Nice place. The location is kind of tucked away, but it's cute. The inside is nice and there's a couple tables to sit at outside. You order at the counter via a touchscreen and they either bring order to your table or get it ready for to-go. Menu had lots of options so we were pleased. Staffing was limited so it makes sense and worked well from what I could see. Decent number of customers coming through during lunchtime when we were there. We tried a couple options plus tempura yam and the pumpkin croquettes. Everything was quite tasty with lots of flavor. I'd go back again. read more

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Very good balance rice onigilly with flavorful fillings, fried chicken, steamed egg, and tart pickles. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Bento Set w/3 Onigilly - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Went for Dinner Food - 2/5. I was surprised by the amazing texture on the chicken karaage. It had a tempura style batter which gave it a juicy bite and the chicken itself was moist. Onigiris were disappointing. The rice wasn't particularly seasoned, nor did they have an amazing bite to them. For an item that has the main feature being rice, I expected more. The filling wasn't too impressive either with the seafood options having a very strong aroma. Tarako was overly salty, and the salmon was dry. The tuna was on the saltier side was well, but not as much as the tarako. It was hard to avoid the unpleasant aftertaste due to the strong seafood smell that was prevalent in every bite. Tamagoyaki was spongy and mealy at the same time. Whatever flavor it had was overpowered by the off-putting texture. Service - 4/5. You can order via self-service kiosks. Food came out in a timely fashion. Value - 2/5. The bento set comes with karaage, three onigiris and some sides for $16. The portion is fitting for the price, but I didn't enjoy any of the onigiris. It wasn't so bad to make you feel bad about your purchase, but it wasn't particularly good either. Parking - Mall Lot (Free) read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Bento Set w/ 3 Onigilly (Miso Tuna Salad, Salmon, Tarako) - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Solid food just two blocks from the main portion of downtown San Mateo. Highly recommend the onigiri and the rest of the menu is pretty solid too! read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Not sure if it was a shared kitchen is still the same business but I picked up my katsu sando (chicken sandwich) to-go order from Onigilly. It's not exactly the Japanese kind of sando, they use the round buns so its more like American style to me instead but that's okay as long as it's tasty. The sandwich was really good, chicken was super crispy and juicy, and the sauce the cabbage and the cucumber that went with it was a good compliment. read more

I recently moved to San Mateo and knew the food options were going to be great and plentiful. I was super excited to find out there was an Onigilly nearby! I used to go to the one in SoMa often back before the pandemic because our office was so close. Online ordering makes it easy and efficient. The crab, spicy shrimp and unagi are my go-tos. It looks like there is plenty of space to dine in also. Highly recommend if you're in the area. read more

I tried out one of the onigilly sets today. Pollack roe-tarako, spicy miso beef, and pickled plum-ume. Pollack roe was extremely salty and looked unappetizing -- the pink slop was like a fish version of Armour potted meat both in looks and taste. Spicy miso beef was delicious, can't go wrong with that one. Pickled plum tasted about how I expected, except that the filling was not very well distributed so the last 2 bites were all rice and seaweed. The small slice of matcha cheesecake was ok, nothing to write home about. I had to turn around after leaving, too, they'd forgotten to put the cheesecake in the bag. I prolly wouldn't get an onigilly set again. While the offering is unique for the bay area, it's 7-11 convenience store food in Asia. There's things I miss, but onigiri doesn't top the list, especially at this price point and when I have to drive out of my way for it. read more

Onigilly Japanese Kitchen - Poke Bowl - Japanese Near Me - San Mateo, California

Everything was a bit lacking tonight, so maybe it was an off night for them. Tried the pork katsu curry and the chicken karaage. The pork was dry and rather flavorless. The curry had a funny taste to it, not your typical Japanese curry. And the chicken was slightly better but the batter was unappealing. I might be open to trying other things on the menu, but based on just those two items, it's 2.5 stars at best. read more

Overall, an average experience. The taste was fairly okay for the price. We tried the onigiri poke, karaage, tamago, and miso soup. The miso soup didn't quite feel worth the cost, but it did go well with the rest of the meal. If I need a quick, affordable bite, this would be the right place. read more