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Onigilly’s onigiri, or Japanese rice balls, are now available in downtown Palo Alto.

The fast-casual eatery soft opened Monday, June 11, at 164 University Ave.

This is Onigilly’s first location outside of San Francisco, where the restaurant got its start. Owner Koji Kanematsu, who lived in Japan previously, started Onigilly as a food cart in 2006. He now runs five locations in San Francisco and a catering business, with the company’s headquarters now in Redwood City.

Onigilly’s onigiri are triangles of organic, 50-percent milled brown rice stuffed with fillings such as ginger-honey braised ground beef, teriyaki chicken, miso tuna salad and spicy pickled mustard greens and then wrapped in seaweed. Each onigiri is made to order.


Onigiri served at Onigilly, which is now open in Palo Alto. Photo courtesy Onigilly.

Onigilly also serves rice and salad bowls, miso soup, chicken karaage and other side dishes. Check out the full menu  here.

The Palo Alto location is open daily from 11 a.m. and 9 p.m. It’s the only Onigilly to serve dinner and be open on weekends. Kanematsu plans to eventually add sake and beer.

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