Rice & Nori

"Cute and small spot that specializes in onigiri, but also has a selection of hand rolls, sashimi, and bowls. In our experience the food was pretty tasty, but it's definitely better for a light snack/quick lunch. A must try if you're in Little Tokyo."

"Rice & Nori is a self-service Japanese restaurant located on the first floor of the plaza housing Marukai Market. Within walking distance of Japanese Village Plaza, it offers a variety of rice dishes and hand rolls. I ordered the spicy scallop onigiri, spicy tuna onigiri, spicy tuna hand roll, and spam & egg onigiri. The rice was perfectly cooked and most items were made fresh to order. The spicy scallop onigiri struck a nice balance of spice and creaminess. But the spam & egg onigiri, which combined spam, egg, and eel or teriyaki sauce, was the star of the show. While flavors were excellent overall, the spicy tuna hand roll unfortunately had soggy, untoasted seaweed - visible in the photo I took. Rice & Nori should ensure nori is crispy and fresh. With reasonable prices and generous portions, I enjoyed my Rice & Nori meal and would recommend it to rice dish lovers. The onigiri quality and flavors were excellent, aside from the hand roll's subpar seaweed."

"The shop is small. It's not a bad thing, it's just good to know before you plan a trip to dine in. All of our food was fresh and flavorful! We had the daily special which was a poke bowl of sorts, 2 California onigiri, 1 Salmon yuzu miso onigiri plus 3 hand rolls (salmon, spicy tuna & yellowtail) and a side of spicy cucumber. It was all great quality. I spent about $65 and would do it again for this quality of food!! Nothing was overly fishy, all the textures worked symbiotically. I only gave 4 stars for service because it's all counter service. The cafe seems small enough to where expos or cashier's should be able to drop a tray at a waiting customer's table."

"The food was GREAT, - the onigiri (rice balls) were delicious and freshly made. The flavor was great too, I liked that they put enough protein in the middle. It’s a super cute establishment - modest in the outside but the interior has a specific plant vibe aesthetic, it’s a casual setting. The rice balls are tasty - I got the chicken teriyaki and enjoyed it. One rice ball is probably 4-6 bites, depending on how hungry or full you are you can get more. I had one and it served as a good sized portion for a snack. Definitely would recommend coming here for a quick meal / catch up / casual hangout!!"