John’s Snack and Deli

I love Korean and Asian fusion burritos! Tasty meat, rice, and veggies wrapped up in a nice tortilla that you can hold in a hand… or two. What more can you ask for?
I met up with a friend here for lunch. I ordered the bibim burrito with bulgogi and my friend got the kimbap roll with beef ($ 6)! The prices are a little high here for what you get… $ 10 for a burrito, ehhh! The portion size sort of made up for it. I ended up eating half of my burrito and gave the rest to my friend to finish.
We found a place to sit and eat (there’s no seating in John’s… just the deli where you order) and dug into our food! I liked the bibim burrito, but the meat was definitely not bugolgi. The beef was shredded instead of the usual bulgogi texture. Regardless, the beef was still very tender and well marinated! Not as good as bulgogi would be though. I wish they proportioned the burrito better (meat/​rice/​veggie ratio) because sometimes I got a mouthful of rice and nothing else. Included in the bibim burrito was rice, bean sprouts, cucumbers, and lettuce. I loved the spice and slight sweetness from the gojuchang sauce, except I wish I grabbed more napkins so it wouldn’t get all over my face hahahaha.
Service was friendly and fast. There was no line which was awesome. One «uhh» moment was when I asked the lady what was in the suicide burrito, she told me all the ingredient suuuper fast and I didn’t hear or comprehend a word she said… All I got was that it’s spicy haha, so beware of that!

Quick update on my most recent experience: I haven’t been back for about a year now and when I did at 12pm on a weekday there were only 2 other customers in the store! Quick a stark change from when the line would pile out of the door a year or so ago.
And I can see why — the price has increased dramatically AND the burrito (I got the kimchi+beef) now has barely any meat! It was about 50% rice, 20% kimchi, 20% beef, and 10% spinach. Quite a disappointment…

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m not a big fan of the «Korean Burrito.» In my opinion, fusion food is a hit-​or-​miss. Sometimes you find something spectacular (like sushirito), and sometimes you find something that just feels like the wrong combination of flavors. Everybody is using the burrito as a medium for fusion food these days. Burritos are inherently appropriate for certain kinds of food. In my opinion, Korean flavors are just too much of a contrast. I will say, the food is well prepared at John’s. I just don’t think it’s worth 4 stars.

This place is a hole in the wall place and you can easily walk past it if you are not paying attention.
2 ladies were running the shop today and they were operating with one flat grill to warm up the burritos.
Ordered the volcano burrito. Oh man did it suck, felt like I was eating rice with korean sauce within a tortilla. They barely give you any beef too. Cash only and it was 11 bucks… just for the regular sized burrito.
I won’t be coming back here.

I paid $ 10.85 for a volcano beef burrito made mostly of rice and lettuce. They barely used any meat! In addition, The meat was bland and some type of watery Kim chee sauce was dripping everywhere. Should have followed my gut and got chipotle instead. The only reason this rating is two stars is because the ladies were nice.
P. s. the place is extremely small and only takes cash.

I am just so, so sad at what this place has become :(
I came here a couple years ago. and I ordered the beef bulgogi and kimchi burrito, which I remembs being tasty and fresh! Today. the burrito the bf and I received was the exact opposite of tasty and fresh. I noticed that instead of making the burrito from scratch, it was already premade and wrapped in foil and they just «warm it up» on the grill. Also, I honestly couldn’t tell what kind of meat was in the burrito. It DEFS was not bulgogi and. I’m not even sure if it was fresh/​fully cooked :/​It seemed like it was shredded. beef??? Weird. To add to that. the tortilla was super thick and huge compared to the amount of stuff they put inside.
We also ordered the beef kimbap. same beef that was in the burrito so you already know what I have to say. Other than that. it’s sort of hard to mess the rest of it up.
I really hope that they go back to the original food from back in the day because I remembs it being really good and fresh! Ah well. Probs won’t be coming back here any time soon.

For a cheap eat — come here.
I come here all the time with my coworker for a $ 6 kimbap. You can’t go wrong, and it’s hella filling!

Yes, quality has noticeable diminished through the years, but some things remained the same and I consider John’s one of the better 3-​star business.
I typically order the bulgogi burrito. It consists of their bulgogi, rice, romaine lettuce, and their special sauce. The rice is whatever and the meat is just ok. I feel like the addition of plain lettuce is just a cop-​out and the burrito would’ve been better with the addition of bean sprouts or some sort of korean vegetable side. What really saves the burrito is the wonderful sauce they add. It is this wonderful blend of bean past and sesame oil and other delightful things that the grandmother blends together. I really wish the sold bottles of the stuff.

I’ve seen many reviews saying the food has changed since closing down and reopening. I’ve only been twice within the past year so I guess keep that in mind.
The first time I ordered what was supposed to be a bulgogi burrito. They explained that the meat wouldn’t be traditional Korean bulgogi, due to some kitchen limitations — since I had already read reviews of many changes, I appreciated the heads up and thought I would be pretty understanding. However the meat used was shredded beef and just really not even a fair substitute in my opinion.
The second time I ordered a spam kimbap roll, and when I opened it up I realized the meat used was odeng (fish cakes). I wasn’t sure if this was another odd substitute like my first experience, or some miscommunication… however odeng or fish cake or fish anything wasn’t even on the menu so I was a bit confused.
I wish I could have tried this place a few years back and hope that they find better alternatives do deal with some of the kitchen limitations.

For two years, John’s Snack & Deli was one of my weekly go-​to lunch spots in the Financial District where I enjoyed their kimchi burritos religiously. The bulgogi, kalbi and spicy pork especially, suicide volcano of course. In fact, I found them to be hands down better than HRD, which I think days a lot.
However, as many have noted, the overall quality of the food has dropped significantly since the health department closed then down (I believe it was due to not having a commercial kitchen to prepare the food, rather than cleanliness or other factors). When they reopened, the menu was pared down, with only one type of meat kimchi burrito and Kim Baps, but no more bento boxes, Korean tacos, nor the great selection of meats they used to have.
I’ve been working in the peninsula for the past year and have returned a couple times when in SF, but the burritos no longer have the same flavor. They are still good, but the quality is just not the same, and the shelves which were previously stocked with convenience store goods, now stand empty…
I really think John should consider just preparing food out of the store, make the entire shop into a kitchen, bring back the expanded menu prepared onsite, and just have a street window for service with the line outside.
It actually pains me to write this review, and I pray this place makes it, but if the quality and variety don’t improve, it may be a challenge given just how competitive the SF food scene is.

these are NOT the burritos I reviewed in 2012! I’m DEVASTATED! Back in 2009 when I first tried this place, the burritos were magical! Then in 2012, I catered a company lunch from this place. and they were different, but STILL amazing. Now that I’ve switched companies and I’m literally HALF A BLOCK away from this place, the burritos have been replaced with this subpar, half cold, NO KIMCHI FRIED RICE, soggy excuse for what used to be one of my favorite things to eat in the city. WHAT HAPPENED?
The proportions. THE PROPORTIONS! They’re all wrong! — They stopped using kimchi fried rice, the tortilla wrap for this got a million times thicker, they use white rice mixed with a watery hot pepper paste sauce, THERE IS NO KIMCHI IN THE KIMCHI BURRITO, and threw a bunch of dry, chewed up unrecognizable meat into it (this is NOT bulgogi.).and then charge you $ 10. WTFF.
I’m so incredibly disappointed with this place. I seriously can’t believe how much it has declined since I came here. SMH. You broke my heart, John’s Snack and Deli! :(

I wish I had the spice tolerance of my friend C, she went for the suicide volcano while I chickened out and had a beef rice roll (the only mild thing on the menu).
The beef was lean and fragrant. The rice was firm, not dry and evenly seasoned. So overall I was very happy with lunch.
Their hot sauce tastes what I’ve known korean hot sauce to be — sweet with a slight kick at the end.
Overall, a solid place to grab a bite!

Watery sad saucy mess
My veggie burrito in four words.
I had such high hopes for this place, a Korean inspired burrito is everything I’ve ever wanted in an hour lunch break in the FiDi… combining two of my all time favorite cuisines into one. The day I decided to experience this ultimate combo I realized I didn’t have any cash and this place is cash only.
Heartbroken and hungry I left determine to return prepared with paper currency in hand and an empty stomach ready to take on the modest sized burrito baby.
When I did return, I was delighted to see the place was empty, hoping in the back of my brain this was not a foreshadowing that people knew not to eat here for Korean burrito-​y satisfaction. But I continued with my purchase none the less.
Burrito in hand I left the shop and ventured back to my office kitchen to eat my burrito in peace since there was no seating there. At first bite there was mostly rice, and so, so much sauce. Too much sauce. Usually, I could drench anything in Korean sauces and eat it with a smile but this was going too far. It was also watery sauce… dripping out of my burrito foil blanket. I continued to eat it hoping that it might, it just might get better. But no, I was wrong. It was consistently to saucey and too watery. And for being a «veggie» burrito… it definitely only had like a couple greens and bean sprouts in it, majority sauce and rice. I was not satisfied. Both my mental and physical hunger for this burrito were deeply saddened by this experience.
I will not be back.

Get the Bulgogi Kimchi Burrito! Get the Bulgogi Kimchi Burrito! Get the Bulgogi Kimchi Burrito! DAMN IT! Just get the Bulgogi Kimchi Burrito!
The bulgogi used in the burrito is sooooooooo good! You just have to try it!
The rice to fixing ratio of the burrito is PERFECT!
I just wish they would open later than 4pm so I can bring a burrito back to my family after work.

After reading good reviews, I decided to try this spot, but was disappointed in my kimchi beef burrito.
There as a tiny bit of beef with a lot of spicy kimchi and rice. The burrito was warmish, not hot. I thought that the burrito would be more interesting after seeing all the Unilocal photos, however, it’s as I described — not interesting at all and not tasty.

Hole in the wall convenience storefront that has delicious kimchee burritos!
Service around lunch time can be slow but the burrito is worth it.
Your choice of rice or noodles inside. Get extra napkins as the kimchee juices drip out.
CASH ONLY.

I went through a Korean phase in college where my roommate got me to listen to Kpop and watch Korean dramas. This inevitably lead into an English teaching stint in Korea where hella kimbap consumption ensued.
And so, I crave kimbab from time to time. When I heard about this place I was all in. Its on the pricey side of kimbab sitting at about $ 4.50 per roll however its legit if you happen to like kimbab. You can get kimchi, spam, beef, and veggie kimbab. There isn’t chumchi (tuna salad) but during the conversation the owner alluded to a possible appearance on the menu.
I also ordered the bibimburrito which was about $ 9.50. Again on the pricey side. It definitely had that bibimbap taste. It was filled with korean pepper paste sauce, egg, salsa, zuchini, carrots, soybean sprouts, daikon and hunks of marinated beef flank. I think people would rather have kalbi or bulgogi but the beef flank is the traditional choice.
Overall a pretty good meal, albeit not as cheap as I’d like.

This place is practically an urban legend at work that only us forever-​timers have tried and loved. Now that we have a crop of new employees, including many fellow Koreans, I wanted to take them to this little Mexican-​Korean-​American fusion burrito joint. Unfortunately and unbeknownst to me, they changed the recipe! Instead of delicious kimchee rice in the burrito, there is cold gross noodles (and the burrito is cold too!). What a sad waste of time. I noticed the once great and long line has also diminished. Perhaps the owners will take this as a sign and come up with a way to bring back the old menu and recipes.
Once upon a time this place was easily 4 stars.

FIRST ATTEMPT.
Tiny spot, long line, quick service.
FiDi and good Korean spots are hard to find. I usually go to Henry’s Deli but decided to try John’s instead.
I really thought they make it on the spot but the minute I ordered, the item wrapped in foil was before my face before I had even paid for the item. Hand roll = Korean sushi. This tells me
1) pre made food usually doesn’t taste great
2) trapped moisture in foil will make my seaweed roll soggy and chewy
3) it wasn’t refrigerated
KIMCHI HANDROLL
When I unwrapped the hand roll from the foil, it looked smushed down. The ends did not look appetizing. The middle pieces looked more edible. The taste of veggies, fishy/​sweet egg, and kimchi was okay… I think I could do without the egg being that fishy and sweet. They didn’t give me soy sauce and wish I had something to dunk it in to kill that sweet taste. My rolls were definitely chewy and kind of soggy.
Will I be back? Maybe. But not for a hand roll.
Until the next review…

This place is hilarious! I never would’ve known you could get lunch here if it wasn’t for Unilocal reviews. Don’t look behind the counter– just don’t. Also, don’t watch your food get made. Just know that you will end up with a takeout bag full of international magic
John’s Snack and Deli is truly just that– it’s a little tiny snack shop/​convenient store space. A menu hangs above a small counter where patrons choose tacos, burritos, or rolls. There are several protein and veggie options sure to please anyone. Heck, there are even a «suicide» and «suicide volcano» burrito options for spice-​lovers!
We chose 2 different types of burritos: chicken and bulgogi beef. Everything is made-​to-​order, so expect a slight wait here. The staff was extremely friendly, smiled and thanked us when we ordered and when our orders were given to us.
There is NO SEATING HERE. I suggest grabbing your grub and heading south on Battery street to the seating area just north of Market.
The burritos were BIG and packed with flavor. My chicken burrito was packed with kimchi, rice, and juicy chicken. I was STUFFED after I finished it.
I’ll be back for sure– I hope to try the tacos next round!