Yonekichi

More of a 3.5 star than a 4 star for me. I got the signature combo and got the unagi rice burger.
Got the fries also which had Wasabi flakes sprinkled on them.
Overall I enjoyed the burger, the fries were great.
I also came a second time and got the Ginger Mugifuji which is sliced pork with Ginger sauce. For the price, there just not enough to make you really full, kind of just makes you craving for more! Just wish the portion sizes were bigger.
Overall enjoyed the food though

We ordered one unagi and yukisaki burgers and the wasabi fries. They tasted good, but not exceptional. Fill up our stomachs fast.

Always my favorite burger, love the fries with yuzu flavor and my family loves the pickle dog, and now they are accepting credit cards~! Love MOS burger, but Yonekichi is the only place make rice burger in NYC~!

Love shishito peppers! And rice burgers. Tried the beef and salmon so far, will probably be back to try the others :)
A great takeaway option.

The staff here was very friendly and I liked the burger — for the price I might expect a little bit more food and flavor. However, I would certainly eat here again.
Ownership should consider adding some fry sauce in the side or a creamy wasabi sauce as an add on to the burger.

It’s delicious. Some people rate this 3 stars cuz they were expecting an actual burger, which is ridiculous. I don’t give it 5 stars cuz it’s a little expensive for essentially street food. The fries are great but if you don’t like a lot of salt, ask for half salt.

Sandwiches with «buns» made of rice; not much of a stretch from the ramen burger. But as a self-​proclaimed food fad aficionado, I had to give Yonekichi a try.
Firstly, note that Yonekichi is not a sit-​down restaurant. Their storefront is an ordering window which opens onto the sidewalk, with one small wooden bench out front. Definitely a grab-​and-​go joint. That said, their service is pretty slow so you won’t be going anywhere too quickly.
When I came on a Sunday mid-​afternoon, there were a couple people waiting for their orders. I stood at the window for a while before either of the only 2 employees acknowledged me as they were busy chatting with each other (maybe that explains the slow service). When they did notice me, however, they were very friendly and helpful. They even gave me an extra couple of stamps on my newly acquired frequent buyer card.
I tried their signature Tsukune (pronounced soo-​KOO-​nay), the Unagi, and the Kasu soup. The Tsukune was good; chicken was juicy and had great flavors. The Unagi was like a deconstructed eel roll, key word: deconstructed; the saucy eel caused the rice bun to fall apart. By the end of the «burger,» I was just eating rice and eel with a spoon out of a bag. And the Kasu soup was just a miso with some added veggies and other Japanese fixins; not great.
Overall, cute concept. Worth a try once, but probably not more than that. Anyone want my frequent buyer card?

+1 service is very friendly. It had rained and we wanted to sit on the bench but it was wet. The staff came out and wiped it dry for us
+1 very clean looking establishment
+1 very authentic Japanese flavor in the meat and ingredients
+1 not overly filling. A great appetizer place
–1 overpriced for the amount of food. I get that it’s authentic and Japanese but if it’s a takeout only place the prices is a little high.

Yonekichi is (literally) a hole in the wall spot near St. Marks Place. There are no tables or anything (just a park bench across the window) so don’t visit intending to have a full-​on restaurant experience. It’s more akin to a food truck or booth if anything. They’re also CASH ONLY, so hit up an ATM beforehand.
My favorite rice burger is the Tsukune with an egg. It always hits the spot and though it’s on the pricier side, I’m always willing to fork over the cash because it’s just that good. Plus, it’s the only place I know of right now where I can fulfill my craving of a good rice burger. The fries are also really tasty. The salts are SO interesting and unique — I highly recommend at least giving them a try.
I went to Asia a few months ago and tried MOS Burger, a Japanese franchise, while I was there. It’s pretty similar to Yonekichi (in fact it was probably the inspiration). Food-​wise, Yonekichi feels/​tastes fresher and I personally think it’s better. Price-​wise, MOS Burger definitely wins, but when you’ve got good food in NYC, there’s always going to be a bit of a premium.
Anyway, go check it out. I think it’s worth it.

I make rice burgers at home from time to time and they can be tricky to make. You have to use the right kind of rice, shape the bun just-​so, and the binder is just potato starch. I also cheat and wrap mine in lettuce or seaweed to maintain its shape. I’ve never tried another rice burger other than my own, until today. It was bitter cold out and the surrounding restaurants were busy. While waiting for our table at Cha An, we ordered and cosumed the rice burgers at the takeout window. The burgers were hot and piping, but man, did they hit the spot! I had the Ginger Mujifuji and my boyfriend ordered the Saikyo Salmon, which is gluten free. The Furi Furi Fries were potato wedges with your choice of gourmet salt. They were crispy and deliciously creamy with each bite. While the price point is not ideal, they have a frequent punch card for loyal customers.
Let’s be real – rice burgers are never going to be the next taco but they are nice and filling and more varied than eating onigiri (rice balls). Unlike rice balls they can be messy to eat. Since my boyfriend is gluten and yeast sensitive, sometimes he can’t have a gluten free bun without feeling sick, and lettuce wraps get old. Rice burgers provide more options. Glad we were able to give this place a try!

I want to love t his more. I love rice, and I love burgers. But Yonekichi doesn’t quite serve either.
Yes by the most basic definition it is a burger: meat in between two buns. But the rice portion isn’t quite solid (begins to fall apart towards the end of your meal) and the beef burger didn’t quite have enough meat.
Checking in at $ 8+ per burger, the expectations are high and unfortunately I would have to say that the burgers are just a novelty.
What I did really really enjoy was the Tatsuta fried chicken skewer. Well fried chunks of dark meat generously seasoned with red pepper powder that even gave me a kick. Buyer beware: the spicy is more than «a little spicy» as the guy claims. It’s very, very spicy. But man was that chicken skewer good.

This is my very objective opinion. Take it as you will, since everybody has different taste. But keep in mind I am an Asian food lover
The pros.
— This is the only rice burger joint in nyc
— the fries are good.
The cons.
–Even tho there was no line, they took nearly 20 minutes to prepare our food.
–the only seating area is a small bench
–it gets very cold having to wait for the food in the winter
–very small portions, pretty expensive
— the rice burger was a let down. It lacked flavor and was far too small for something that costed 10 $
— the soup was downright nasty.

Wouldn’t go back again– the price is way too high: burger is small and flavorless. Two burgers average of $ 8/​burger. I had the pork and didn’t taste much out of it and my friend’s chicken burger had the same feedback. The wait time for the burger to be done is around 10min with no line…
Note that this is a window-​shop that does not provide indoor seating.

I really want to support innovative places, and I like this concept a lot more than ramen burger.
I got the pork with ginger and the yuzu fries and ir eally thought it was super tasty! It was a bit pricey for somewhere that doesn’t have seating, but really it hit the spot so i can’t complain. Although the rice burger did not hold as well as I thought it would. If it were more panfried, it would’ve been more delicious.
This is a hole in the wall and they ahve a bench outside so I think they re trying to start off like otafuku. They have punch cards and give double stamps for rainy days! It takes a while for hte order to complete since there was only 1 person there manning the station. a little understaffed in my opinion.
Would definitely come back and try the other options fi I’m in the area.

We practically tripped over this place while traipsing around Greenwich, and we were HUNGRY! Both my wife and I got the ginger pork burger thingy (thinly sliced BBQ pork in a ginger teriyaki sauce between two white rice ‘buns’).
It was so delicious, but the wait was a little long — about 10 minutes of standing there waiting, but worth it.

I passed by this place many times before and I always found the idea of rice burgers to be fun & interesting. I finally found a night when I was neither too full to turn it down nor too hungry to opt for something more substantial.
One of its kind, Yonekichi has a great burger concept. Their sandwiches made of pressed rice — not very different from the rice you find at the bottom of old rice cookers. That said, the rice gives the burgers a strange, unique texture; an almost crunchy, sticky sensation on the palate and teeth. The rice bun was a little too sticky on the teeth for my tastes, but otherwise the burger experience was novel, creative and palatable.
The Yuzu fries, to my disappointment, tasted a bit dull. The Yuzu salt, though very subtle, almost slipped past my taste buds completely. The fries were super starchy and they don’t offer ketchup with your order, so the meal can get real dry … real fast. I highly recommend grabbing a drink to help wash down the burger + fries combo.
Overall, I felt that my visit was straddling between pleasant and underwhelming. In an era where our phone cameras eat before we do, Yonekichi will satisfy your Instagram feed more than your palate. I would recommend Yonekichi if you’re feeling adventurous … but as for me, a second adventure seems unlikely.

I wandered into this place randomly the other day, I love Japanese food so I was excited to try their veggie burger type options. I ordered the Kaki-​age, surprisingly the order took a while. It cost about $ 8.44 for what seemed like a small breakfast muffin type item, so the cost did not justify what I got. The tastiest part of the meal was the spicy sauce that you can get for 50 cents, the kaki-​age was pretty bland.
this place really deserves 2 and half stars since their other items look really good and I do want to go back to try them.

I can’t speak about their hero product (the rice burger) but I will tell you that this little shack has chicken on a stick worth talking about. I ordered the Negipon (crispy chicken skewer with scallions and ponzu sauce) and the Fire Togarashi (same crispy chicken except covered in 7-​spice shichimi togarashi and garlic). Be warned, the Fire is SPICY but it was all so good that I sat on a bench by myself and ate everything in 5 minutes.
Cons: $ 6 per skewer is pretty outrageous, cash only.

These little rice burgers are pretty expensive (averaging around $ 8), but they’re so yummy, I wouldn’t mind having one as a treat once in awhile. Clearly, the chef experimented in the kitchen quite some bit because the combo of ingredients for each of the burgers is spot on. I liked to saikyo salmon which had a shiso leaf in it. The tsukune burger with a runny egg on top was good too. The rice has the perfect crunch on the outside and chewy rice underneath. They make each one to order so it’s piping hot when you get it. But that also means you should only go if you have some time to spare.

Good concept.
Instead of a bun, or bread, they made patties out of rice and fried it and put the chicken or pork or salmon between it. Kinda like a giant round Onigiri without the seaweed and more filling in it.
I wish it was better seasoned. The pork and the salmon had more flavor. A bit pricey for a flat chicken «meatball». Although the chicken did have a good ginger flavor. Maybe it ought to have more sauce to too not with.