Won-Ton House

(Outer Sunset)
1325 Noriega St.  
415-753-6688 Map it

$
cheap eats, kid-friendly, lunch, open 7 days, take-out

SCENE: Walk in on a quiet night, and you might stumble onto a gaggle of servers watching Chinese soap operas on the television. They’ll quickly jump into action, though, delivering your meal in record time. But don’t expect loads of atmosphere: The red pendant lamps hanging above cast bright, harsh light on diners.

EATS: College-age couples seeking shelter from the fog flock here: Apparently, huddling over a bowl of the place’s signature soup (swimming with pork-and-shrimp wontons gently seasoned with Chinese Five Spice) is like the Sunset equivalent of ordering a chocolate malt with two straws—a no-fail recipe for love. The rice porridge with shrimp is bland, in a good, comforting, feed-a-fever kind of way, and the red-bean drink is a sweet thirst quencher.