Tamon Tea

Heard about this place through my roommate and wish I learned of it sooner! It’s run by a really nice Japanese man and has been in business for 2 years. I got the chicken teriyaki, unagi, and spicy shrimp omusubi (had a huge craving for onigiri) and they were amazing! Drooling as I think about to them tbh. Ranging from $ 1.75 to $ 3 a piece, they’re filling and definitely worth their price. The takoyaki seems really promising as well; I’m planning to return to try it out!

For the life of me, I cannot figure out how to open these packages without dismantling the omusubi. If someone could post a video, that would be *awesome.*
The omusubi are delicious though. Well-​seasoned, warm, and fresh. I also adored the fruit dango (the citrus one — the berry one tasted slightly artificial). More expensive than what you’d find in SoCal, but that’s par for the Bay Area I suppose.
Service was friendly, fast, and attentive. I’ll be back many more times!

The onigiris are excellent. The mitrarshi mochi and dango are so yummy. This is the only place in the East Bay that I’ve seen with Sakura mochi so I was super excited to try and it did not disappoint.

Time: 3:41pm/70°F sunny
Purpose: Had a 4pm meet up next door. With twenty minutes to spare glancing over at Eureka, but didn’t interest me as TT did.
Set-​up: Place is located in the same complex as Pure Barre and other businesses. From the outside looking in you’ll never know it’s Japanese till you go in. Small average size place with six seats is all you’ll get as far as seating goes. The shop is minimalist at best, but has enough offerings to set up a full menu board. Upon entering you’ll be greeted by a open air fridge with display tier filled with refrigerated dessert and drinks. That’s all you’ll need to know because that’s all there’s to it. Rest of the place are plaster with for sale/​rent, newspaper article, business cards from other businesses. Prep counter area can be seen with daily used equipments. It’s a quiet calm setting no television or radio just your daily area routine. Feels isolated when you’re there yourself just bring something to entertain yourself and you’ll great time.
Staff: A older senior gentleman and younger guy (could be father and son duo) with a friendly welcome. Together they’ll enlighten you no matter what. Young guy does front end work while pops does prep and order request. I ask a series of questions regarding their products and they answered them on a timely manner with no hesitation. They pointed out to a new item aka Japanese pizza on a stick. Didn’t waste any time went ahead and order it, as I’m a sucker for new items.
Cleanliness: Grade A, fair and decent place looks clean nothing out of the ordinary. Customers clean up after themselves. All supplies/​equipments are in their perspective spot covered up.
Eats/​Drinks: Kushi dango $ 2.50 and okonomiyaki $ 2.75 (new item). The dango didn’t blow me away or anything close to it. All it was, is three pieces of mochi balls filled with red bean inserted on wooden skewer like kabob. Nothing special about these dango taste like a regular size mochi just made smaller with different food coloring. Okonomiyaki was freaking delicious. Never had them before, as the older gentleman told me its very popular in Japan. Yes sir! I believe you man. Anyhoo, its a small piece great for snack size measured about 1’inx5’inx ½’in with wooden popsicle plucked in. Warm and light tasting with a savory taste, but not a lot of sodium tasted, a little msg though. At first, I thought it was tofu, but was told not even close to it as older guy laughed at me. What this thing was, is sweet sauce, mayo, green laver powder, and dried flake bonito. Best stand out feature was the laver powder aka aonori green seaweed. I enjoy this new item and would order again along with takoyaki (squid ball). I can’t actually compare anything close to this because I had nothing close to it.
Main Features: Okonomiyaki/​takoyaki combo, green noodle salad
Products/​Services: Onigiri, udon, donburi, ramen, gyu, curry, shaved ice, mochi ice cream, choco manaka, omusubi, soup set, miso soup set, shu mai 3pcs, daifuku, hana yuzu, kuri, yokan, matarashi/​berry/​fruit dango, cake roll. CC/​debit minimum $ 5, no receipt under $ 10, no bills over $ 20.
Punch Lines: Family run, friendly, minimal seating, Japanese influenced, pleasing flavors, drool-​worthy, laid back, calm vibe, kitschy décor, light bites, zippy service, nothing out of the ordinary, a twist on traditional favorites, rich and delicious.
Tradeoffs: Student budget prices with some item sold out of package like it’s made in-​house. You’re still paying a mark up price for something not made in-​house, but the convience makes up for it.
Final Thoughts: I’ve never had okonomiyaki till today. This might be the only item that I’ll come for, but I may need to try other offerings as well. Everything else seems like it can be had at nijiya market. Not a bad place for desserts if you’re craving for something that you don’t come across every day. Overall, it’s just one of those places that caters to students more than the general public.

Applause for this Japanese gem in Berkeley. It’s easy to miss so be on the look-​out for their cute stand-​up cartoon while walking down the street across from the Berkeley City College.
I am so pleased it’s doing well since they first opened two years ago. A coworker and I were always scared they’d close because it’s hard to spot, but the food speaks for itself and keeps them busy!
Run by a Japanese owner, this places serves up some wicked tasty omusubi (rice balls) and takoyaki (squid balls).There are around 12 options for the omusubi ranging from the $ 2.50-$ 3 range depending on flavor and if you opt for brown rice. I love the spicy ones – chicken, salmon, shrimp, karaage – most! And for $ 5, you can definitely count me in to buy some takoyaki. These just melt in your mouth and the cat at the flower shop down the street tried to claw them out of my hand; they just smell and taste that good! The tea is dope too, hence the name, Tamon Tea.

Had the takoyaki, Sakura Mochi and sour apple shaved ice. The takoyaki was fresh with big pieces of octopus inside, the Sakura Mochi had just the right level of softness and sweetness, wasn’t a fan of the shaved ice since it wasn’t anything special but will definitely come back to try the omusubi and other mochis!

This place is great! The only downside is that it’s not closer to where I live! There’s nothing like a freshly made omusubi to soothe your life. $ 2.25 is entirely reasonable and there are also things besides musubi — dango, udon, TAKOYAKI! I wish they had an Oakland location! thank you, musubi ojisan!

I have never actually had a Japanese rice cake or onigiri. For 2 – 3 dollars, it’s actually a pretty good snack.
Had the green onion and flakes. Not bad.
Cheap fast snack. Would come again.

I’ve had a great experience with Tamon Tea!
This is my first time coming here and I’ve been looking for a place close to campus that sells quality yet affordable onigiri and omusubi.
So affordability and proximity to campus? A+. It may be a bit of a trek, but a few minutes of walking shouldn’t hurt anyone.
Depending on what kind of omusubi you’ll order, the price will vary. For example, veggie ones will be $ 2.25, meats $ 2.50, and some go for $ 3.00. They have a varying selection of omusubi; take your time in choosing!
Their takoyaki is priced at $ 5 for 6 pieces.
They also have varying desserts and sweets, like dango and mochi and dorayaki — even shaved ice!
Tamon Tea, as extrapolated from its name, also has a wide array of teas.
It’s a very cute shop, with great service and great food. The owner is the one that cooks, and he has a particular system of remembering orders! It’s pretty cool.
Anyway, I ordered the takoyaki, spicy salmon and spicy chicken omusubi and all were delicious. $ 10.58 total.
Taste? A+
You won’t regret coming here!

If I could add one new product into convenience stores in the United States it would be omusubi. In Japan you can find them on every block, in 7/11’s, subway stations, etc. and they’d only cost you around a dollar.
Omusubi is the perfect snack; they won’t make you too full but one can tide you over for a surprisingly long time. A warm little ball of rice with a dab of salmon or tuna in the middle is ideal for restoring you with a bit of energy without making you feel sluggish or disgusted as many alternative snacks might.
Tamon Tea wins 5 stars for serving up made to order omusubis with the option of Ippodo tea (great tea from Kyoto) and fresh mochi. The man who took my order (possibly the owner?) mentioned that the mochi came from San Jose (Shuei-​do, I believe?). I told him I loved Benkyodo’s mochi in SF but had never tried mochi from San Jose. He insisted that Benkyodo’s was less authentic due to being run by Sansei (third generation). As a skeptical Yonsei (4^th gen), I am now interested in doing a taste test and learning more about the history of these mochi companies. No matter, though — the texture was soft and lovely and I am thrilled to have found another mochi source.
Note: I think you can get omusubi cheaper at Berkeley Bowl and Tokyo Fish Market, but they probably won’t be as fresh and warm. And my two salmon omusubi came out to $ 4.50 so I’m not complaining too much.
Another Note: There is an onigiri place on Solano Avenue but the flavors there are much richer and bolder. Tamon tea feels much milder and cleaner and indeed more authentic for lack of a better description.

What a luxury to hold a warm freshly made onigiri in your hands! Biting into warm rice and seaweed — Yaas! Their flavor is good and perhaps a bit too sweet but nothing over the top. It’s smaller than the Geta onigiri at Berkeley Bowl. However two of Tamon tea’s hold my stomach for several hours. I usually get a natto and unagi.*
Careful with the natto and ume, they are usually acquired tastes to the American palate. Even some Japanese don’t like them.
The negimiso is a bit weak in flavor so I would not get that one.
Otherwise try out two and see how you feel.
*They lock you in at a $ 5 minimum for card transactions so that’s why I usually get natto and unagi.

Thanks to Unilocal in helping me locate a Dango shop in Berkeley! I’ve been here a couple of times now and make it a point to stop by if I’m in Berkeley.
Tamon Tea is a café serving Japanese sweets, drinks, on-​the-​go Japanese fast food, onigiri (riceballs w/​a variety of fillings), and most recently, fast meals. Oyakodon, Chicken teriyaki meal, Gyudon (beef bowl), curry, and even Udon! Tamon Tea is similar to the cafes back in Japan offering healthy, delicious, fast food at an affordable price, which attracts the younger crowd.
This is a small shop, and the owner does it all, by himself. We ordered Mitarashi Dango, several bean filled Dango and Takoyaki. There were a number of customers ahead of us but he handled our orders and filled them rather quickly, like a Boss!

I’ll have to give the place another try. Walked in about 30 minutes before close on a Saturday to an empty store, no customers, nobody behind the counter. I’m always wary of places that don’t seem to be busy, but still wanted to give the mochi a try. The place is really small and is very much a mom and pop shop with all their handwritten signs and specials. The offerings are limited and we just grabbed of the dangos from the cold case and were on our way. Was definitely pleasantly surprised by the soft mochi and red bean filling that was just the right amount of sweetness.
Will definitely have to visit again and try some other items. Not sure that I’ll ever really love the space though.

It’s a small place on Center Street not that easy to find. I had the spicy tuna omusubi and a green tea ice cream for a quick lunch. They warm the omusubi and it tastes good. There are only two tables inside the place, so good for take out order and small bite.

I found Tamon Tea awhile ago but wanted to wait awhile before reviewing. I was in search of something new to eat and saw that Tamon was close by and had kushi django. As a lover of mochi, I had to try this place out.
Conveniently located across from Berkeley Community College on Center St., they freshly make your omusubi (rice with a center option of your choice) wrapped in plastic and separated from a seaweed piece. The separation of rice and seaweed is smart; the seaweed remains crunchy. They offer combo meals if you’d like your omusubi with miso soup or a refreshing barley drink.
Their django is what has gotten many of my friends to come to Tamon Tea. After having people try it, they are hooked. So if you like fresh mochi, Tamon Tea is probably your best bet at getting something fresh and very soft filled with red bean.
When I need something quick, I’ve learned to come to Tamon.

I came by here to try the fresh mochi, and while it was good, it wasn’t good enough or big enough to justify the price. I got a red bean mochi, and it was $ 2. The mochi was very soft, and there was too much red bean for my taste. More mochi outer layer please! Under $ 10, no receipt, and under $ 5, no credit card. Don’t think I’ll be back; it’s way too expensive.

The Onigiri is great. Fast and cheap. I grab and go here regularly.
If you are in the area, I recommend stopping in – it is a place you might skip but for hearing about it from someone.

I can always appreciate mom & pop shops serving homemade items. It wasn’t very encouraging though to step in here on a Saturday afternoon with 2 people working, a few people in line, and a long wait if we ordered food.
Instead, we went with the cold case items and picked up an order of mitarashi and a few fruit flavored mocha pieces. The mitarashi was super sweet as it was covered with sweet soy sauce. The fruit mocha definitely fell short, almost medicinal… not what I am used to growing up with my favorite mocha spots in the city. The mocha texture was on point though.
I’d like to come back and try a few other items before making complete judgment. For now, 3 stars.

Very cute little Japanese café in downtown! They’ve added a bunch of new items to their menu from when I first visited (more meal choices), but I still go for their onigiri (rice balls) which comes in a variety of flavors. They make the onigiri fresh for you so the rice is still warm :) Note — if you’ve never used the Japanese packaging for onigiri before, follow the instructions on the plastic so you pull it off the right way without tearing apart your onigiri.
I also love their mitarashi dango (soy sauce flavor)! I always ask for several sticks instead of just one.
It’s a cute little café worth a visit for authentic Japanese snacks! There’s a minimum for credit card charges, so bring cash if you don’t intend to order too much!

I’ve only had the mochi but man, that was some good mochi.
We pulled up just as they were closing and as the owner looked up at our heart broken faces, he graciously waved us in.
The best mochi comes from generous hearts.