I have absolutely fallen in love with onigiris, especially the ones at Tenori!!! Sooo happy that the hubs and I stumbled upon this place one wkend afternoon when we are looking for a new spot to try for a lunch date. Neither of us had been back to this University Center in forevs, so it was nice to see a surge of new eateries! I know I'm late to the game, but honestly, I have never tried an onigiri before. I knew of them and how they're a popular Japanese rice snack ~ typically shaped like a triangle or cylinder, filled with savory ingredients, and wrapped in a sheet of dry seaweed (nori). On this particular lunch outing, based on popular Yelp reviews/recommendations, I tried the pork belly and honey shrimp. My hubs opt'd for the KBBQ and spicy tuna. Everything was YUMS!!! I loved both my options, as they were flavorful and savory. I also took a bite of both my hubs' onigiris, and they were good as well. My favs & RxFoodie recommendations are definitely the pork belly and honey shrimp, FTW!!! At $4 a piece, that's a pretty good deal these days. I feel like 2 onigiris are the perfect amount for me ~ 3 would be pushing it, or else I'd be too full. Both the lychee & strawberry lemonades ($4.50/each) were refreshing, although I wish the lychee one had a stronger lychee flavor. It's a very hands-off eating experience ~ you place your order via the iPad kiosk, and they call out your name at the counter when your order is ready. The staff is friendly & efficient. Seating is minimal inside, but there's plenty of seating outside if you like some sunshine & fresh air. Would definitely be back again and bringing the kiddies!!! :) read more

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Ohhh yeaHhhh Glorioussss $Pammm' i Was there on a Sunday... 11:00 Am to 11:30ish place was packed...I wanted to take da Spam posteron da wall Home! LoL! Cute spot For grab and go... i got the delightfully delicious Lemonade... buggaH Was guud! Broke da Mouth! That means it was Super ono! After driving For Hours From Vegas Spam and Lemonade Hit da Spot! It was between Shootz ans Tenori... but I like it Better Simple Than Fancy... great job @ da Front, da girl @ The counter was busy and Had Her Hands Full... with mutilple orders coming thru... ill be Back For Sure... i did da Spam... Pork belly and Korean beef! Tankz and ALoHa... gang! Amazing! read more

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Onigiri spot at the University Town Center. While it does have some indoor seating, it is mostly a non-interactive dining experience. You order via kiosk and wait for your order. The staff at the front are probably college students that have no interest in greeting or assisting customers. Before I realised it was kiosk-order only, I was asking about an item and then tried to proceed to order via the staff, only to be told I can order on the kiosk instead. The food is prepared relatively quick by a kitchen staff in the back. Price is fair, you can grab 2 pieces for less than $10. Quality is okay too. It is a great spot for a quick lunch grab. read more

I absolutely love rice balls , so when I heard about this place, I knew I had to check it out! I ordered two Pork Belly onigiri, one Honey Shrimp onigiri, and a Spam Musubi, and everything was delicious. Each item was packed with flavor without feeling too heavy or overly filling, which I really appreciated. It was the perfect amount of food and left me satisfied without feeling stuffed. The ordering process was super easy too. Everything is done through a kiosk, and my food was ready in about five minutes. Quick, simple, and convenient, especially when this place gets busy. Luckily, I came during a slower time, so the whole experience was smooth. The restaurant itself felt very welcoming, and everything was clean and well-kept. Overall, I had a great experience and can definitely see myself becoming a regular here. Thank you, Tenori, for the delicious food and great service. You'll definitely be seeing more of me soon! read more

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Enjoyable. Had the spicy tuna. I liked it but it just seemed like a lot of rice and not a lot of flavor although I did like to seaweed paper and furikake. I would take a regular spicy tuna cut roll all day over one of these though. read more

We loved our visit to Tenori. It's in a great center with lots of shops, seating, and parking. It's right next to UCI so it's a great place for students to get a quick bite to eat. Service was great. They were helpful and kind. Inside was clean and had moderate seating. We ordered one of every nigiri and reallllllly loved them. They fill them generously and have a yummy crunch seasoning on the outside. The lychee lemonade is good, bur we didn't taste much lychee flavoring. Our only other comment would be that the pork belly was tough to detect flavor. Other than that, they were all great! We will definitely be coming back :) read more

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My daughter and friend wanted in n out, but my other friend and I so t like burgers. Found this place not too far from in n out. We loved their onigiri. We scarfed em down that I forgot to take photos except for this bitten one. I got the tuna mayo, and pork belly onigiri. What I got was yummy. That being said being out of towners we had no idea that where we parked was only for campus parking for students. I guess I should've read the signs better. Noticed the tow truck waiting for any of the perps. Then when I moved my car to where we were supposed to park, the person who was trying to park at her spot gave me the evil eye. Oh well I made it out on time. It's basically a mall where you can get food. Next time I'm in town I'll for sure to get these for a quick bite. Place was small, but there were seating outside as well for those nice sunny day. Being from Seattle it was nice to have some sun eating my onigiri. read more

Tenori - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Great simple meal. It's fast, convenient, and very tasty food. Nice on the go type food and it's pretty filling. I always get the pork belly. Easy to order online, pickup and go. Clutch when hungry and want something fast. read more

The staff is sadly pretty underwhelming with regard to making customers feel welcome and wanting to come back. The vibe is super crammed with weird table designs that make people need to weave around just to dine in. The musubis themselves are pretty disappointing and don't have any wow factor as far as the food, although the packaging is interesting enough (and invented by the Japanese long, long ago). There's very little substance or filling inside the rice and although the price is not too expensive, it's not worth the drive and hassle to come back. There's very little people at Tenori should try harder to connect with their customers at every level, from the product offerings to the human interactions to the dining space layout. read more

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Went back, so tasty and to crave for definitely. Total cost was $12ish and this time I knew to order Spicy Tuna and Shrimp Tuna, both cooked with the crunch and seaweed making it perfect. read more

Tenori - 3 Tenori Sushi's; 2 Spicy Tuna cooked and 1 shrimp tuna. Delicious! - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Delicious! The proportion of filling to rice was perfect, and the furikake seasoning on the outside of the rice made the outside of the onigiri just as flavorful as the inside. I tried the kbbq beef, the tuna mayo, and the spicy salmon. I really liked that the kbbq beef wasn't in an overly sweet sauce, it was tender and savory with plenty of onions. The tuna mayo and spicy salmon were NOT dry at all, plenty of kewpie mayo to keep the filling moist and tasty, and I enjoyed that the spicy mayo had a little kick. Will definitely be back, especially since it's in a nice shopping area! read more

Super simple, super fast. For those who aren't familiar, think of them as rice balls filled with a sauce and meat and wrapped in seaweed. This location is order yourself on a kiosk - then grab and go or sit down... although it didn't seemed many people stayed. It was busy but quick. I could imagine getting a ton for a family event or work event. I love the mentai! read more

Tenori - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Got to try the KBBQ, spicy tuna, spicy salmon, pork belly, and honey shrimp. There is a ton of furikake which I loved! The pork belly and honey shrimp were my favorites by far. A great little spot in the university center that serves fast and delicious food read more

Tenori - A bit of everything - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Stumbled into this cute shop while picking up some groceries. Reminded me of the yummy rice balls (we called them) that my grandmother use to make as I was running out the door headed for class. My grandmother's specialty was kimchee rice balls which is my favorite (secretly hoping Tenori will add it to their menu). Today, we decided to try it all that was on the menu (well almost all). 1. Kbbq-Rice ball 주먹밥 (actually triangle) with furakake sprinkles adding a savory flavor and filled with a decent amount of beef (not much seasoning) in the center. This was good 2. Pork belly: Not a fan. This one was filled with pork belly cubes marinated with a house made sweet sauce. Was expecting the spicy pork belly version. 3. Spicy tuna: this one was good too. Cooked tuna mixed with spicy kewpie mayo in the center. 4. Spicy salmon: this one was good as well. Cooked salmon mixed with spicy kewpie mayo in the center. 5. Mentai: not what I was expecting. This one was filled with pollack fish Cavier. A bit salty. Not so spicy. 6. Spam: yummy spam in rice wrapped in seaweed. Always a standard in Asian American household. Not bad. An easy bite and snack. Would love it if they made it with kimchee please read more

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Love this spot! The food is so flavorful, the service is pretty fast - you order through a kiosk. Great bright clean store!

I love this place so so much! The onigiri are super filling. It's kind of impossible to get a solid lunch for $11, but the three set onigiri does the job. My fave is the pork belly, but the bbq is super good too! They separate and label each onigiri in your order with wax paper which has the type printed on it. I also highly recommend joining their rewards program. You can get free onigiri after a certain amount of points. It's also great to just order for pickup. read more

Tenori - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Great place for a quick meal. Each item costs around ~4 dollars. You can also get three for $11.50 which is a nice little deal! The rice seasoning was flavorful and there was a decent amount of pork belly. The pork belly had around 5-6 chunk pieces. It wasn't the most tender meat, but was still very enjoyable. If I was in the area, I would try it out, but wouldn't go out of my way. Service was via kiosk, but there was a cashier available to answer any questions. There is also some seating inside and outside as well! read more

Tenori - Pork Belly - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

I ordered thru the toast app. I picked up my food when it was ready. I let the staff know that there was an issue ordering on the Toast app. Staff let their manager know and right away he went to login and check to see if there's something wrong. He was not able to fix it on the spot so he said he would reach out to me and let me know when its fixed so I can next time come in and order what I wanted. I had ordered the 3 for $11.50 and I had wanted 2 shrimp and 1 kbbq but the system only allowed me to pick 3 different choices. I really appreciated how things was handled and hope to hear from management when I can order the choices I wanted. read more

Tenori - 3 for $11.50 - Kbbq, Pork Belly and Honey Shrimp - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Nice to have an onigiri place in Irvine. It's hidden in the area with all the other restaurants. You place your order at the kiosk and make your payment there. I got the 3 pack - KBBQ, Spicy tuna and the pork belly. The KBBQ & Pork Belly were great and hit the mark on the flavoring. The spicy tuna I wasn't a fan of. The orders were made to order, so you know they're fresh and it did not take long. Just an FYI they don't travel well - the nori gets all soggy. Would be coming back for more for sure! read more

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I love getting Tenori onigiri to pack on long hikes. I usually get the kBBq because they don't go bad and they taste good the next day. The spam musubi is also a good choice for hikes. I have gotten my friends into this habit too. Tenori makes it easy. Kiosk ordering and service is fast. You don't get any human contact at all except when they say bye to you as you leave the restaurant. Casual. Indoor and outdoor seating. Please come and create your own experience. read more

Tenori - 4/2025 - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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2/1/2025 Tried 3 for $11 of pork belly, bbq and honey shrimp and 1 additional spicy salmon All were delicious!!! Bought take out of the same order PLUS 3 spams. Would def come back for more! read more

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What I love about this spot is that it's convenient for UCI students & I was able to make a quick stop here for lunch. The price seemed very reasonable for the amount of food, which tasted very yummy, you get! read more

Tenori - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Parking: Tenori is located in the University Town Center plaza next to UCI. Parking is difficult during the day time since it is right across the street from the school and there are many businesses around. Interior: The store is very small but clean looking. It has two bars to sit. Service: There are two self service kiosks for you to order at. Once the food is ready, you will receive a text and the staff will also call your name. I did not have to wait long for my food. Food: I got the 3 for $11 onigiri. The price is decent since the onigiris are made to order. I got the kbbq, pork belly, and honey shrimp flavors. The kbbq one was bulgolgi but it was kind of bland. The meat was not very marinated and very pale. The pork belly one had a bit more flavor. My favorite one was the honey walnut shrimp. That one was very tasty. There was also a decent amount of filling in all my onigiris. Overall, it was a decent place to grab a quick meal. read more

Tenori - 3 onigiris for $11 - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

This was a surprisingly good deal! I came in on a weekend looking for a light snack. It was very empty inside. Ordering at the kiosk was easy but I had to keep glancing over at the wall menu to remember the ingredients to each menu item. They have a 3 for $11 special going on so I went for that. I got the honey shrimp, pork belly, and k BBQ. All three had a salty, sweet taste from the topping and filling. I really enjoyed the honey shrimp the most, followed by the pork belly, then the kbbq. It turned out to be a pretty filling lunch. I would definitely come by again. read more

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Visited during the Bites of Onigiri Delights Experience back in mid February. I feel this place is in the perfect spot near UCI for just about any sort of get-together whether you're meeting with an old friend and want a quick bite or maybe you're just wanting something a bit on the lighter side with some awesome flavor. It's a great place to place an order for to-go as it seems to be the more popular pick rather than sitting inside. But for those who did eat there, seem to really enjoy the food! FOOD Spicy Salmon Can't say anything bad about it, it was delicious and pretty much straight to the point if you've ever eaten an onigiri. Safe to say that this is a crowd-favorite! KBBQ A different take but I dig it! Honestly I think this was my favorite one. Had that KBBQ taste without smelling like KBBQ afterwards! Spicy Tuna I also feel that this one is another crowd-favorite! Again, can't really say anything bad about it. Was delicious and I can't complain! OVERALL Pretty nifty spot! The food was great! Rice and meat ratio was pretty balance I feel and every bite was full of flavor. Although the Spicy Salmon and Spicy Tuna wasn't spicy at all lol but that's just me! I was even contemplating on ordering another set for the road haha! Good food, decent space and friendly employees! If you're in the area , you should definitely take a visit and see what all the buzz is about! read more

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I've been to this location 3-4 times now and every time I rave about how delicious it is to my family. This time I was pretty disappointed with the service (or lack of) and food. I got my usual order, which is the three onigiris. I ordered a rice onigiri (should've had spicy salmon), the second item was another rice onigiri (should've had spicy tuna), and the last item was another rice onigiri (should've had honey walnut shrimp). I think you get the point.. all three items consisted mainly of rice and very little protein. They usually have a good ratio but this time it wasn't even close. If they were busy and in a rush, I would understand the inconsistency, but it was completely empty during my visit. Now let's go back to the lack of service. It's already a self service chain where you order on the computer and at the end it asks for a tip. When I walked in the person sitting in the front was on her phone the entire time and didn't even look up and welcome any customers. I placed my order on the screen and left a tip to be nice. Maybe she was having a bad day. But when my order was complete without even making any eye contact and with a very monotone voice, my name was called. It bewilders me that they ask for a tip when staff does not even want to interact with the customers. Needless to say, I will not be raving about my experience this time to my family. read more

Tenori - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Small shop - it's a grab and go situation. You order on a kiosk and you'll get your order shortly. They have a 3 for $11 special so we got two of these. We got a variety of different proteins including spicy salmon, kbbq, honey shrimp, mentai, spicy tuna, and pork belly. My favorites go mentai - honey shrimp - kbbq - pork belly - spicy tuna - spicy salmon. The honey shrimp was sweet but had too much of a mayo taste. The spicy tuna and salmon were good but the other flavors stood out more read more

Tenori - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Came here for a YE! Event, and had to come back to try the other items I did not get to try. During the YE! Event, I had the pork velly, spicy tuna, and spicy mentai. The Pork Belly is #1 for a reason. This is the one you should get if you're unsure. The Spicy Tune was ok. Remember this is Onigiri, not sushi...so the Tuna is a different style (this goes for the spicy salmon as well). The spicy mentai for me was delicious. It's definitely an acquired taste...but if you like roe, this onigiri was spicy, salty, and creamy. I got some to-go the following day, and they were equally as good. The Honey Shrimp, the KBBQ, and the spicy salmon. Only tip I can provide is this is definitely eat-right-away kind of food. I brought them home, and by the time I opened my plastic, the seaweed had wilted due to the steam. That's just a testament to how fresh and hot their Onigiri is! This is one of the top Onigiri spots in South County. So if you're passing by UCI, or craving some rice balls with delicious filling, you gotta check out Tenori. read more

Tenori - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Absolutely delicious! I didn't get to take a picture because I devoured everything as soon as I received it. These onigiris have the highest filling to rice ratio making each bite flavorful. The furikake on the outside is a nice touch making sure you never eat just rice only. The worker was very friendly and polite and the food came out quickly too. I will definitely be coming back soon! read more

Very nice interior with some high stools to sit on and eat. Ordering is completely self-order with a large tablet that only accepts card. I liked that they had a 3 onigiri for $11 combo, which is pretty affordable and also pretty filling for a quick lunch. In my combo, I got the spicy salmon, honey tempura shrimp, and a spam musubi. No complaints about the spam musubi, it was exactly what I wanted out of one and had a good teriyaki glaze and nice spam to rice ratio. As for the onigiris, the furikake they sprinkle on top is soooo delicious. However, my complaints lie mainly with their fillings. For a spicy salmon filling, it wasn't spicy at all and could've been seasoned a lot better in my opinion. The honey shrimp on the other hand... did not really have a prominent honey taste and also, they really skimped out on the tempura shrimp in my onigiri . I found that there was a lotttt of rice and not much filling at all, and for the shrimp to just taste like regular tempura shrimp was a bit disappointing for me. Overall, I enjoyed my meal and would come back again as it is quite affordable and also makes for a good snack! They are a relatively new store still so I believe there is a lot of room for improvement. read more

Tenori - Spicy Salmon Onigiri and Honey Shrimp - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Great and chill place to get some food and study. This location is centered in the middle of University Campus (Irvine) so it's really convenient to go to after class. There is a deal option where you can chose three onigiri for 11 dollars which is what I chose. Out of my fillings I selected Pork Belly, Spicy Baked Salmon, and a spam masubi. I felt the onigiri were great portions and the flavors were great for the price, especially on a college budget. Will definitely be coming again. There really isn't service since you go up to chose your food options from a tablet device but overall still friendly. There is someone who hands you your food and maybe because it was a little bit busy they didn't get the bag for the Togo food we ordered but still great overall :D read more

Tenori - Three Onigiri Combo ($11) - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

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Simple menu, and great staff. I needed some help with ordering and choosing items, and the staff were right there to help me with the process. I went with the tuna and salmon fillings and loved them. I'm quite a big eater so one set of 3 won't quite fill me up, but it's definitely a great snack and would likely be enough as a meal for many people. The price for 3 is reasonable. The shop itself has limited seating, though there was around half a dozen people eating inside. I would expect most people will order take out, which is what we did. Our entire family is very picky with food and everyone had some and loved it so that's saying a lot. Hope they have a promo or discount sometime soon so we can return. read more

These rice balls were delicious. They were open late and we stopped by for a quick snack. Perfect for on the go eating! We tried the KBBQ, honey, shrimp, and tuna with mayo read more

A great spot for a quick and casual bite! The mentai onigiri is delicious and generously filled with the spicy roe, though a little salty. The rice is well seasoned with furikake and the seaweed is crispy if you eat it right away. They are reasonably priced at around $4 each, and 3 onigiris is enough to feel satisfied. It's located next to the UCI campus, so it's always busy with students grabbing a convenient meal. There's ample parking at the UTC, but it's limited to two hours so plan accordingly! read more

This place is really flavorful. My favorites are the spicy salmon and the kbbq. Very tender and juicy. Well cooked that our 6 month old can enjoy it too. The pork belly is listed as a favorite but I thought it was good but nothing that stands out. A little dry on the meat. I enjoyed the honey shrimp more. The little wraps state the flavor so pay attention to that. Make sure you check your order before you leave. There was a mix up but management was quick to fix it. Will definitely come back read more

The made-to-order onigiri from Tenori are way better than the premade ones from the Japanese market. They are $4 each or you can get three for $11. They have several flavors available - from honey shrimp to mentai. I chose their most popular flavors -spicy salmon, kbbq and pork belly. My fave was the spicy salmon (though it was not very spicy at all). Onigiri tend to be rice heavy. These probably had as much filling as possible so that the shape could still be held. Since there's bonito flakes around the edges, I don't think that I ever got a bite that was just plain rice. Tenori is a great reasonably priced alternative to all the fast food chains at UTC! read more

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Pricey for very little filling, but convenient spot if you're craving onigiri's. Just now you're mainly getting a ball of rice instead of protein read more

Stopped by Tenori for a quick bite. I arrived around opening hour so the place wasn't too crowded. Ordering is really easy, you order your food through a touch screen tablet. The food came out pretty quick. There are some high stool you can sit on inside, there is also plenty of seating outside since the restaurant is located in University Town Center (UTC). I ordered the spicy salmon and the spicy salmon and the honey shrimp. Seems like they use good quality ingredients. Personally the main area of improvement I can see them making is having the filling be more flavorful. I was enjoying the texture and quality of the rice more then I was the flavor of the filling. The filling flavor was too subtle. Maybe they seasoned the filling to taste, but when every bite has rice the flavor gets lessened. Besides my one critic I enjoyed the place and would consider coming back if I was in the area. read more

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We came in Tenori on a Sunday afternoon and it was empty inside with plenty of seating. The interior was clean and plain but there was a huge menu on a wall so it was nice to be able to read. You would have to self order on a kiosk but there is a person there if you had any questions. We ordered the salmon onigiri, pork belly onigiri, and spam musubi. The salmon onigiri was my favorite as it was delicious had a good amount of filling. Spam musubi was your standard but I would've liked more porky belly in the filling. I think it's cute that the paper wrapping labels the type of onigiri it is since they may all look the same on the outside. It was $11 for 3 which I think is the best deal there. It's a nice place for a quick bite to eat. read more

Tenori - Salmon onigiri, pork belly onigiri, and spam musubi - Japanese Near Me - Irvine, California

Likes: + Yummy, fun, crunchy Japanese onigiri snacks (rice balls wrapped in seaweed). + Polite, helpful staff. + Efficient service. . Huge but often crowded parking lot. Non-likes: - Cramped, limited indoor space. - The food doesn't provide complete nutritional value for a meal. - Limited drink options. I had: $4 (1) Mentai + $11 (3 for $11) KBBQ + Pork belly + Spicy salmon + $1 unagi sauce + tax = $17.24 read more