TL:DR - A unique treat, but a bit pricey! Located near the UC Berkley campus, Riceful takes the concept of a musubi and morphs it into a sandwich. In the process of doing so, they are able to add in more toppings and meat. Ordering at Riceful is easy and quick. There's a digital menu outside where you select what you want, pay, and are even given a digital countdown of when your order will be ready. I went with the soft shell crab riceful and it took about 8 min to make from when I put in my order. (I'm not sure what to call this new creation, so I'm gonna call it a rice-wich.) The rice-wich was warm to the touch when I received it, and would continue to stay warm for the next 45 min before I could properly eat it. Despite the really long time between picking up the order and eating it, the food was really good! The soft shell crab still had a crunch to it and I could even taste the crab. Sometimes places will over batter or over cook the crab, in effect destroying any flavor of the actual crab. Riceful did a great job of cooking it! Combined with the mayo and lettuce, my soft shell crab rice-wich was perfect. Even though the food was delicious, the price was not. Each rice-wich ranges from $8 up to $12. It's quite expensive for the amount of food that you get. I think if the price were closer to $6 or $7 you'd find this place packed. Until then, I'll only visit this place once in a blue moon. read more

I would give this place 6 stars if I could. Food was really amazing and made me want to go home and try to remake every one of the musubis that they had. My kid just started in UC Berkeley and this was a welcome surprise. I'd like to get Riceful and Artichoke Pizza every time I visit. We got the double tempura shrimp, the unagi, the Go Bears, the chicken katsu and the soft shell crab musubis. Every single one, and I mean every.. single.. one.. was amazing. I'm getting hungry just writing this and I'm going to be eating something a lot less tasty than one of those musubis. OUT.... read more

See all

I'm so glad I found this place! It's like a simple bento-to-go and one that you can grab as a burger. I was not a fan of spam, but now I know that when it's pan-seared, it is super tasty and goes super well with the rice (almost like ham fried rice to me ;) The original onigiri tastes good. I also like the pork-boy, which is a fried pork chop within. It was cooked extremely crispy and actually acts like the party for a burger. I enjoyed this flavor the most. One is an enough portion as a light lunch. Will definitely be pack for other onigiri, or some bentos too. read more

Riceful - Pork-boy - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

I love onigiri so much and this is my first time trying out this new place. The system is easy to use. The service is pretty fast and the staff is friendly. I order seaweed salad onigiri and hot dog onigiri this time. They both delicious. Highly recommend !! I will come back for sure :) read more

Ordered the salmon one. It's not good and it's very expensive. $11 for one. The salmon was very small for $11.

Riceful is a nice little shop that sells amazing onigiri. I had it twice so far and found that their pork boy & unagi onigiri to be the tastiest! Size: excellent and portionable Taste: phenomenal as it's packed with flavor & very umami. Each ingredient adds on a new layer to each bite. Price: Not too bad for the size and the flavor you get from it. Overall Recommendation: Yes! Try it out if you want to eat good onigiri that's bigger than your standard onigiri triangle. read more

Riceful - Pork-Boy Onigiri - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Due to the pandemic, I will be removing criteria that I had added to my reviews: restaurant ambiance and mood, staff, wait time, etc. This review will only focus on the dish. Quick Summary: - Refreshing dish and easy to eat - Well balanced flavor - Seasonal menus not shown in the photo The first thing I liked about this dish is because how it was packaged. It was like a hamburger, snuggly protecting the dish from spilling all over the place. It was easy to take home. By the way, I love the logo, she's so cute. I got the tempura shrimp onigiri and my relative got the korokke onigiri. What I liked about the onigiris is that even though it contains a savory spam, its flavor didn't overpower the dish. The egg doesn't have extra seasonings, so it served as a spongy and moist texture than an additional taste (which was nice because I think the flavor focus is the name of the onigiri). I liked the shrimp tempura in my onigiri. It's one of my favorite things to have. I also got to try the korokke and this was good as well. Each of the main toppings went well with the rice. Another thing I liked about the rice is that it tasted fresh and sweet. It was like eating cooked rice from a bowl kind of freshness. The rice had its own untouched flavor, so it was a good balancing agent in the dish. If the rice was mixed in with the flavors of the mayonnaise or the fried dishes, it might have been hard to eat. Fresh and fried, it was a good eats. Next time, I would love to try the boba toast as a dessert pair with the onigiri! read more

Riceful - Tempura shrinp - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

Large onigiris, we were able to share three between two people and were just the right amount of full. Parking was relatively easy as there's a parking garage directly across the street. Pick up was fast and we took the food to Berkeley's campus to eat! Would've been 5 stars but the onigiris could use a little more sauce. Flavor was good though! read more

Riceful - Unagi Onigiri, Soft-shell Crab Onigiri, Pork-Boy Onigiri - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

Decided to get onigiri for our picnic. I ordered 5 different flavors and thought they'd be packed in a box like a set but I was wrong. The package was messy and I'm definitely not a big fan of messy packaging. We had Unagi Onigiri + Belly Belly Purple Onigiri + Soft-shell Crab Onigiri + Aji Fish Onigiri + Ika Geso Onigiri. The size is decent so 3 of them would be enough for 2 adults sharing. All of them come with the egg and spam, which are the original flavor (Okinawa Onigiri). Definitely hope that they'd care more about packaging since they only do takeout at the moment. Until then, I'd take one star off for this. read more

Riceful - Unagi Onigiri + Belly Belly Purple Onigiri + Soft-shell Crab Onigiri + Aji Fish Onigiri + Ika Geso Onigiri (@joeynht) - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Quality, fast, cheap(ish), reliable, and easily accessible via the 51B and 79 bus lines are all descriptors I'd use to describe Riceful! It opened up right when I started at UC Berkeley and it's remained quite popular since! That's for good reason -- they offer great Snackpass/general deals like an onigiri and an iced tea! I love the Go Cal onigiri since I'm a big fan of imitation crab... I'd also recommend the soft shell crab onigiri since it's delicious and succulent! Riceful is awesome and the service is always fast and friendly. Try it out :) read more

Riceful takes over Cupcaking Bakes' space. small selling & assemble area with just 4 stools and a steel bench for seating. flatscreens show complete menu. offerings: teas, okinawa onigiri. eats: aji fish onigiri (6.99) -pricier/bigger than the usual japanese onigiri. also tastier sodium wise. -vinegared rice with tamago, fried aji fish, spam, lettuce, wrapped in tasty nori sheet. -1 almost fulfilling on an hot day. -decided to eat it while sitting down. doubt i could have it eaten it with one hand while walking. temaki: -quick service if all ingredients are already premade. read more

I've been wanting to try this place for a while and finally had it today for lunch. There are a few seats inside here but this is more of a to-go type of place. I ordered the katsudon. It was delicious! Fresh, hot, and crispy. Everything from the meat to the sauce, corn, and rice was really flavorful. When I'm craving a quick bite to eat or something Japanese, I'll definitely stop by here again. Pros: -tasty -fresh -quick -generous portions. I couldn't finish my order Cons: - limited seating options. Other: -10 cents if you want a bag read more

See all

I love onigiri and had high hopes for this place, but it doesn't quite hit the mark. + Compliments first-- the simmered beef was reeeaaally tasty! - The size of one onigiri is larger than expected but I'd need to eat 1.5 to get full. Would appreciate a slightly lower price point. - There should be a laminated menu where people can read all of the ingredients in each onigiri instead of squinting at the board and trying to figure it out. - The rice wasn't flavored. - The folded shape of the onigiri means theres a lot more of that bland rice on the bottom. read more

Riceful - The spicy sauce for the spicy go cal was uneven - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

The Pork-Boy Onigiri definitely hit while mid-robotics competition. The succulent pork with salty spam, infused with sweet sauce, and lightened by the refreshing lettuce, all sandwiched between fragrant rice was a great choice. read more

Riceful - yum! - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

On another work day, I decided to go for a light lunch and get some onigiris as snacks. Arriving at Riceful, I noticed the shop's small, cozy interior. A small table with a few chairs at the entrance sat available for a quick meal. Otherwise, the long counter and prep area dominates the interior, allowing customers to watch their onigiri's artisanal assembly. I ordered the classic Okinawa onigiri ($4.95) and the Go Cal onigiri ($5.75). I was not quite ready for the size of the onigiri. Granted, the menu picture suggested that their Okinawa onigiri was 2x the size of a regular onigiri, but feeling the heft in my hand made me think twice about eating both for lunch. However, I proceeded to do just that. I felt quite full afterwards; I imagine one would suffice for a normal person's light lunch or large snack. The classic Okinawa onigiri, with spam and egg, tasted like a spam musubi. The Go Cal onigiri, with imitation crab and egg, tasted like a seafood salad musubi. Overall, I have nothing to complain about. Pricing seems decent for a large snack; the onigiri themselves seemed simple and delicious. read more

Riceful - Prep area - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Tried the Ebi Katsu Onigiri and thought it was pretty good. The combination was stellar and it was definitely fresh to order. This is definitely a different kind of onigiri and similar to what another reviewer said, it's sort of like a pita wrap. Be careful when you eat this because the food from the edges definitely fall out (by the nature of the shape). Nonetheless, I'm glad I tried it but for $9, I would say this is a little expensive for a snack (especially when you're near campus and there's so many other options that would fill you up more). read more

Overpriced for what it is... The onigiri here isn't bad, it does fall apart quite easily especially the simmered beef onigiri even if you eat it in the paper wrapping it's quite messy. They're way overpriced for what they are. I only ordered because I had a coupon on Snackpass but at double digit prices each, if I had to pay full price for these I would've been EXTREMELY disappointed. They're not standout and the egg especially has no flavor and is rubbery, not at all worth the price they're charging especially if you're a college student in the area (which, 99% of the people coming here are). Spend your dollars somewhere else in town and get a full meal instead of getting an underwhelming snack at a meal price. read more

Riceful - Double Shrimps Onigiri - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

If I had to choose between this place and Rice Triangles I would have to say triangles would win hands down. I understand the new age attempt on onigiri, but flavor still has to be present. Japanese food is never good in large chunk's. I stand corrected Thank you to the owner of Riceful for the historical information. BB read more

I absolutely LOVE onigiris so I was pretty excited to find this place. Everything is pretty much contactless, ordered at the kiosk out front and then they called my name inside the store about 10 minutes later. In my opinion the price is a little hefty, about $10+ each but they are pretty "big". If you're not a heavy eater you could probably fill up from one but my boyfriend probably could've had another 2. The pork katsu was pretty good, comes with choice of either lettuce or cheese. Really liked the katsu but was a little disappointed that the meat only went across 1/2 the onigiri so once all the meat was gone I just had a tamago lettuce roll. Still delicious but rather have what I paid for :( Unagi was also alright (allegedly) I actually didn't have a bite since my boyfriend ate it so fast. I think overall this place is pretty okay not sure if I would come back to Berkeley for this though. Maybe if I just happened to be in the area. read more

Riceful - Pork Katsu Onigiri (limited) - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Located in easy-to-find area outside of Sather Lane, Riceful has been my recent go-to place for a bite. It's definitely more of a take out setting given the small interior and little seating, but the inside design and decorations are simple and cute - perfect for pictures! The owner and workers have been incredibly kind and welcoming every time I stopped by. As a busy college student looking for a quick snack, I believe the onigiris are reasonably priced and have a reasonable wait time (although sometimes slow but they did acknowledge that they are still in the process of training during their soft opening). I have tried the Korokke, Go Cal, Aji Fish, and Shrimp Tempura and my personal favorites are the Shrimp Tempura and Go Cal. The onigiris can be messy to eat depending on what you get, but everything I tried was still delicious. Overall: cute space, good food, great people. Would definitely recommend. read more

Riceful - Go Cal Onigiri - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

This is a cute little "onigiri" shop that opened recently near UC Berkeley. The decor inside is really cute and modern, but there isnt really a place to sit due to it's small size. They serve what seems like an "onigiri" sandwich, and we can order what goes inside the rice and seaweed. We ordered a tuna and unagi onigiri, and the total came out to be $16!! The food is really good here with a perfect blender of flavors and textures,, but the price of $6-$10 before tax for basically half a sandwich really doesnt fit their target audience of college students. read more

Riceful - Cute logo with the tuna onigiri - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

The food is tasty and they can accommodate vegetarian order. I asked for the fried potato cake one with no ham and they were able to accommodate that. It is very tasty and I would like to go back again. read more

Riceful - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

Ordered the deluxe bundle for delivery through GrubHub and while it was tasty for what it is, it was way too carb heavy and filling and I could barely eat one whole one so the others mostly went to waste. If you order this make sure you have plenty of people to share with. read more

Riceful - Go Cal Purple Onigiri - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

Came here for a light dinner with friends. We ordered online right outside the entrance and didn't have to wait too long before our order was ready for pickup. Each item was nearly wrapped into a package the size of a hand and I thought that was so cute. I ordered the unagi onigiri, and wow the sauce from the unagi seeping into the rice was *chef's kiss* I was starving, so one of them wasn't exactly filling enough for me personally, but the wait time was short and it was still delicious. I'd come again to try their other items! read more

Riceful - Unagi Onigiri - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Extremely missing Japan, I've been on a onigiri kick lately and came across Riceful, serving Okinawa open faced style onigiri. We did take out and was met with a self service ordering pad at the door. There were so many options to choose from, but we both ordered the double ebi onigiri. It comes with spam, egg, two pieces of ebi tempura, and imitation crab mixture. It was good and fulfilling for a snack. I wish it was just a tad less sweet than it was, and it was ~$11 for each one, which is quite steep for the portion you get. They also serve curries and rice bowls if you want more of a meal! I'd say worth a try if you're craving and in the area. I would go back to the try other options! read more

Riceful - Golden Double Shrimp Onigiri - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

I like this place and we have come here quite often. It's kitschy and cool. The kind of place you expect to find in a college town. These are not onigiri (rice ball) but a different type of omusubi (rice sandwich). At first I thought the price to be pretty high but considering how big each of these are it's worth it as a meal. FOOD: it always tastes on point. And since the flavor combinations are pretty unique it's always fun for your mouth. First you probably should have an idea of spam musubi, that Asian weird but delicious delicacy. These all have spam and egg in them (of course you can ask for it without) and their secret sauce which is a spicy (mild spicy) Japanese mayo. The other protein they offer is what changes the flavor profile. You can get it with simmered beef, crab, fried shrimp, fried fish, potato croquette (they call it korroke), unagi (marinated eel), and even hot dog! Personal favs are simmered beef and korroke. SERVICE: Nice. That's about it. The fun is watching them put it together. I also love their rice machine. Parking is horrible but can't hold that against them. It's horrible everywhere near campus but usually if you go on off hours you can find a spot. COST: A little high but considering the size I'm okay with it. About $6-8 each. read more

See all

Made a trip to Berkeley to try this place out and I'm so glad I did. Riceful is a cute little onigiri shop that has plenty of flavors for you to choose from. I also love how they PACK the onigiri with so much stuff (they definitely don't skimp on the ingredients). Items ordered: - Go Cal Purple Onigiri (4/5) - This one was pretty cool because they used purple rice and bean curd. It was super tasty, and WOW, the spam, crab and egg was the perfect combo. - Chicken Katsu Onigiri (4/5) - I've never had an onigiri with seaweed salad so this was the most unique for me. - Classic Onigiri (3.5/5) - Spam, Egg, Mayo. This one is their traditional onigiri and great if you want something in the simpler side. - Salmon Onigiri (4/5) - Lighter of the bunch, probably because of the salmon but was just as good. - Ebi Katsu Onigiri (5/5) - This was my favorite out of all the ones I tried. The shrimp and crab was so flavorful, and the egg was perfectly cooked. I wanted to order 2 more of these but didn't. Overall, Riceful definitely didn't disappoint. I'd definitely cross the Bay Bridge again just to get this. I highly recommend giving this place a try! It's also a nice takeout spot and you're also helping support a small business! :) read more

See all

Personally for me, Riceful is just alright. I was eager to try this because it's basically an open musubi. I got the original with tamago while my boyfriend ordered one with crab. We parked next to the store and ordered on their self-service register outside. I took about 10 minutes for us to get the order. Even though it was freshly made, my rice sandwich was squished and it was really messy to eat which made me sad because the concept seemed awesome at first. I will say you do get your bang for your buck here as I couldn't finish my riceful and felt really full after finishing half. It was okay but I will say it's one of those foods that if you eat too much of, you get a little nauseous because of all the rice. It's pretty heavy on the stomach which I didn't really like. On the other hand, my boyfriend did really enjoy his rice sandwich. He had the same issue as me where it kept falling apart in his hands and it got all over the car (they don't have indoor seating right now) but he didn't seem to mine. I think I'm glad I got to try it, but in my own opinion I would not go out of my way to get it again. If you do want to try it though, a bonus of this place is it's near a lot of small businesses, including Soso market if you want to go thrifting. read more

Sad to give this review as we had high expectations for this place based on other reviews. We ordered the unagi, golden go cal, ika geso, aji fish, & delux ebi katsu purple rice onigiris online, and they were ready on time. We like the concept of Riceful, but there was nothing special about the onigiri themselves. I thought they were lacking flavor, especially the tamago & spam. Didn't taste the salted egg yolk sauce for the golden go cal. The aji fish was the least favorite with lots of mini bones and the tail still on. My favorite was the ebi katsu. Overall, the onigiris are overpriced, doesn't have a wow factor, & are lacking umami so it's not a place we would come back. Sorry! read more

Riceful - Ebi katsu purple onigiri ($9.29) - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

It's quite a handful but you can handle it Ordered a Royal Bundle: Unagi Soft-shell Crab Ebi Katsu with Spam Golden Double Shrimp Crab Cream Started with the Unagi right out the box in the car because I was famished driven all the way to Berkeley with an empty stomach. (Don't travel hungry , ) Right when I sat in the car I could smell the aroma seeping out the box. Told myself to wait but then, it started to rain so... It stopped raining right after I wipe my mouth from devouring the last bit. Great timing read more

See all

We ordered 2 items, the soft shell crab onigiri and the pork boy. Both were amazing in flavor. Good for a sizable snack or lunch. Prices are fairly reasonable for the portion size. It's best to order online but you can order there at the place. We ordered via Yelp app, but they had not worked up the order when we arrived. However, the wait was not long, (approx 5min) as they immediately started on my order. There is no outdoor seating, just pickup and go. Plenty of parking on Durant St and less than a block from Telegraph. I recommend trying it out. It is now on my families favorites list. read more

Riceful - Pork-Boy Onigiri - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Finally had a chance to try this spot! I picked up the unagi onigiri, which comes with a free soda if you order through snackpass! The onigiri was very hearty and super flavorful! Loved the layers of spam, egg and of course, unagi. All the ingredients tasted super fresh and went well together. For $10, this is a somewhat pricey snack, but I'd still wholeheartedly recommend it because it's super tasty and decently filling. I would categorize it more as a filing snack vs a meal, since I can def eat at least two in one sitting. Stop by here when you get the chance, you won't regret it! read more

Riceful - Picked up via Snackpass! - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California

See all

Although I've only ordered through Snackpass, I have still had a largely positive experience at Riceful. The onigiri-meets-rice-sandwich product is unique and palatable; my personal favorites are the tofu sandwich or the seasonal crab. The only thing keeping this review from five stars is the price and the inability to opt for a vegetarian / pescetarian option in the Snackpass rewards. Despite this, I find this place lovely and believe everyone should give it a try ! read more

Fast and convenient. Healthy if you wanna grab something not with too much sugar or oil. That's your choice! read more

Cute, instagrammable place for Okinawa-style onigiri. Ordered 3 sandwiches (pork katsu, ebi, & shrimp tempura) which came out to be ~$30. Overall delicious and eating them can get a little messy especially if you're decently clumsy like me. Will definitely come again! Food came out quickly ~15min. 2 sandwiches will easily fill up the average human being. My only gripe is that they mislabeled two of my sandwiches so my bf took a large bite into my favorite ebi b/c he mistook it for his katsu... read more

See all

Riceful used to be my stop almost every time I was in Berkeley to visit my cousin. They are near UC Berkeley, but more off to the side, which I prefer because it gets kind of hectic down the street where all the other food places are. Parking is either street or garage parking. Each onigiri used to be about $6, but now it is almost $10 for one and I usually like getting both the Go Cal Onigiri and the Go Bears Onigiri. I must say they are filling though, but it is on the pricier side. They also do not have the hot pressed boba toasts which were unique and pretty good. read more

Honestly I was very disappointed by this place. I bought a musubi. All the sauce had soaked the musubi in the 20 minutes when it was made and when I ate it. It was a mushy, unpleasant mess. The seaweed in particular was complete glop. Not sure what happened but I would be careful if you order a musubi. read more

What do you get when you cross a Japanese onigiri (rice ball) with American processed meat? An Okinawa onigiri! Rice is layered on a sheet of nori and then topped with fillings--almost every onigiri at Riceful comes with a slice of Spam, an egg patty, and mayo, along with a choice of other fillings. I tried the porksung (Chinese shredded dried pork) with purple rice and the fried squid (ika geso) with white rice and seaweed salad. The porksung added a nice saltiness, while the squid and seaweed salad added a nice crunch! Overall, the Okinawan onigiris made for a simple, tasty snack. These rice balls were unique yet familiar at the same time--kind of like musubi, kind of like a burger, kind of like a McMuffin! read more

See all

TLDR don't go to this place if you are contemplating on this place. The is a quick grab and go type of "restaurant". There's no service or environment that is applicable to be reviewed. I just want to review about their food, which is the scammiest price to quality/quantity ever. Rip if you are a student here and have no other options on Japanese rice ball type of food, but if possible do avoid this place. For 10 dollars + fees, you get a thick rice packed with one piece of lettuce, one slab of premade egg (the type you find in fast food restaurants which you know they don't make those eggs fresh), and insert your choice of seafood, which is just a thin cheap slice of the meat that you want. Basically rule of thumb is: anything that you know is cheaper, they stuff more of it, and whatever is more expensive, you can expect a lot less of it Anyway, I'm not usually someone that likes to complain, but the cheapness is so blatant is that I have to review about it. Thanks for reading. read more

First of all, the logo and packaging is so cute! I had to take a picture with it. I was scared the portions would be too small, but it was actually bigger than I thought and pretty filling. Definitely messy to eat and wouldn't recommend for a first date or anything of the sorts. The employees were really nice and willing to answer any questions. The food was super good and I'd def recommend! Thank you :-) read more

Riceful - cutest logo omg! - Asian Fusion Near Me - Berkeley, California