Restaurant Review
Little Chef Restaurant
4910 Newport Avenue
Ocean Beach, CA 92107
619-222-6627
By Judi Curry
This is my third review of the various Chinese restaurants in the Ocean Beach – Point Loma area. I used to go to the Little Chef all the time and I was curious to see if there were any changes since the last time I was here – over 5 years ago. But before I get into the review itself I found out a few things I want to share with you.
It was too early to call in my order to Grubhub so I decided to go through the menu and have everything written down as to what I wanted to order. I also had down the prices on my list, so I didn’t go over the amount I had allocated for this meal. Imagine my surprise when I finally placed the order to find out that everything was more expensive than the menu listed. And if that wasn’t enough – I had originally wanted to order the “vegetarian lo-mein” because that was something I had always had in the past – it was not even on the Grubhub menu. It was on the Little Chef menu – but was “not available for takeout.”
There were also two items that I could “purchase” that I have never seen on a take-out menu before – one was a fortune cookie for 15 cents; the other was “crunch” – wonton skins for 50 each. Since I was going to order soup, I thought I had better order two packages of “crunch” and I had to have a fortune cookie to compare with the other two restaurants I reviewed earlier this month.
I ended up ordering the Won ton soup, which was listed on the Little Chef menu as $6.45 but was, in fact, billed at $7.35; the Fresh Vegetable soup – listed as $5.95 but billed at $7.50; an order of the BBQ Pork Appetizer was listed as $6.50 but billed at $6.95 and the two “crunch” and 1 Fortune Cookie. The total bill was $33! There were several charges that I was not sure about – two “service charges”, for example. But on with the review.
The first soup I tried was the won ton. It was probably the best of the three won ton soups I had had in the past few weeks. Besides the wontons, there were also dumplings. The soup was tasty; the veggies not overcooked, and I finished half of it.
Now here’s the kicker. I then opened the “vegetable soup,” and it looked and tasted just like the Wonton soup but without the wontons. (And it was more expensive!) Was it the same broth and the wontons were added to the vegetable soup? I would be hard pressed to say any different. The flavor was almost identical – I say “almost” because certainly the wonton and dumplings would make a slight change in the taste. But all of the ingredients seemed to be the same, and, quite honestly, I am just not sure. If I could only order the soups, I would certainly order the wonton and not the vegetable.
The BBQ Pork was soft and tasty. Flavors blended in well. It was a nice addition to the soups.
A word about the extra “crunch” that I paid 50 cents each for – I received 4 packets of crunch. Apparently the crunch do come with the soup and it was unnecessary to purchase extras. And the fortune cookie that I also paid extra for – it too wasn’t necessary because there were a total of 4 fortune cookies in the package. I wish that had been made clear when I placed my order, but not only did it not say that the soups came with them, it did not even list the ingredients of the soups and/or BBQ pork.
The first fortune cookie that I opened had the following message; “you will be recognized and honored as a community leader.” With that as a fortune I didn’t think it was necessary to open the others quite yet!
All in all, the order I received from the Little Chef was good. The only complaint that I have is the confusion over the two soups – were they, or were they not, the same soup just with added wontons. Would I go back? Yes I would. Would I have the order delivered again? Probably not. I think I would pick the order up and save a few dollars.
At this time I am pretty “souped” out – and there are some Thai restaurants I will be trying shortly. Happy Holidays to you. Wear your mask and be safe.
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I wish restaurants would stop using cardboard boxes for hot foods. I think I would have enjoyed the BBQ pork more if it didn’t taste like cardboard. There must be something better than that that will not harm the environment.
There hardly is; manufacturers have been producing cheaper plastic during the pandemic which is worse than cardboard.
More competent restaurants plop a square of cheap foil in the box before filling it, then fold the foil over to keep from soaking the top.
There is a learning curve.
Please order from the restaurants directly – not through Grub Hub or other services. Why you ask? 1) You pay more money for it, and 2) the restaurant gets less money.
Love Little Chef. Call them and order over the phone. Ask questions about preparation so you are not disappointed. Maryanne is back working on occasion. I am sure they will be happy to accommodate any request. We need to support our local restaurants who have been in OB for so long and provide reasonable prices.
When I was a kid, little chef was owned by Marco and Malpo. Straight up greek . They also owned and operated marco’s. How in the world did it become a Chinese joint? Don’t get me wrong, I love Chinese food. But it’s not little chef anymore. I wish they would change the name