We came here for brunch but was very disappointed. Nothing great or special about the food at this place. The menu was also very limited and still no great dishes. We only need to come try it once and won't be coming back.
Overall a good experience. Great service and nice ambience! The food was decent but nothing special. Definitely worth trying but would not say it's a MUST go. Not sure if I'd go again but maybe I'll try their other menu items!
ShielaD
Bigger than FV. We had reservations and we were seated within20 mins to the main dining room. It would have been sooner, but they were trying to seat us at the bar area and it was darker and louder, so I asked for the main dining area. The service overall was very pleasant. Rachel was assigned to our section, and she was wonderful. We ordered beef carpaccio and chicken salad. Both had good acidity. We also got the pork tomahawk which was very tender; nice charred edges, sweet and salty flavor. Salad came with it had citrusy flavor perfect with the fatty rich pork chop. Another one we tried was the shrimp with garlic noodles; the shrimp was juicy and the garlic flavor was not ove powering. Overall we were satisfied and full and happy with everything we ate.
Gloria C
I love Nep cafe when I went in fountain valley, but this location in Irvine is just different. The food doesn’t taste as good and the vibe wasn’t as good. We ordered the crab toast, and it seems like there’s no flavor at all. I can taste the slight hint of crab, but definitely can use more salt. I like the banh mi chao with the steak, the soft was soft and juicy, but also lacking a little bit of flavor. And the bread it comes with isn’t the same baguette as the one in fountain valley. Then we ordered the fish sauce chicken wings, which wasn’t bad and is flavorful, but how can anyone make chicken wings taste bad right? We were seated next to the bar at the high tables when there were plenty tables in the dining room. Felt like we were seated in the corner, altho the staff was attentive, I just didn’t feel like it was a good brunch vibe. We wanted to eat and get out, which is what we did. Think I’ll go back to the fountain valley location next time.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Banh MI
Dennis L.
I came here to check out the new menu items yesterday late lunch. As an often diner at their Fountain Valley location, I had better expectations when it comes to their customer service. Unfortunately, my experience felt short as our server was not attentive at all. Most of the food runners or employees also didn't give us the welcoming feelings that I am used to with Fountain Valley staff. I found a piece of hair in my salad and alerted to the our female server- there was no apology at all - rather just bewildered at our complaint. My cocktail also came not look as appealed as the displayed photo on their menu. The ambiance was quiet and relaxing so that was good. I wish we were taken care of better when it came to checking on us, refilled water, giving our togo containers. I am very disappointed with our visit.
Jonathan Wang
Fries were good. The green sauce in the beef tongue fried rice was good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Victoria N.
Our first time here and the food was great as we devoured the entire course of orders. We loved the ambiance as well so that just made it a plus.
Matthew C.
Pretty well made modern Vietnamese. Nothing too exciting but everything was well made. Very good service.
Chris L.
NEP 1st timers, we'll have to come back soon :) Fast service, great ambience, delicious viet breakfast food
Katie P.
Came on a Tuesday at 10:00AM - right when they opened so it was easy to get a seat. I tried their Xio Man and Salted Egg Yolk Coffee. Both tasted great, the xio man is reminiscent of my childhood.
Food: 4.5 Service: 4 Ambiance: 4 Solid 4 stars! I've been to the one in Fountain Valley and decided to come here since we were in the area. It did not disappoint! We started out with the salted egg coffee and coffee ube coffee. So tasty and a nice pick-me-up for sure. We ordered the pate (sooo good), Banh Mi Chao - Filet Mignon (tasty and I loved dipping the bread in the sauce and eggs) and the Banh Mi Chao - Bo Kho (so tender). The food came out quite quickly and was piping hot.. just how we like it! Our server was ok but the others who helped us were excellent. Ambiance is relaxed, efficient and lively. We enjoyed our time here and look forward to returning.
Rhea C.
Came on a Monday night and saw that this was the place to be! Awesome energy in there the minute we walked in. Been dying to try one of their concept restaurants! So glad we came! We got seated at the bar immediately. Drinks were well crafted, food was amazing and service was on point. Highly recommend the Lychee Milk punch cocktail, mango sticky rice and the Rib Eye!! Now we really need to try their sister restaurants!! This place was amazing! Big thanks to Dean for the great service!
Neil A.
Came on a Monday night @ 8pm for our 9 year anniversary, place was packed. Sat in the bar section, 5 min wait which was nice considering how many people were there. Ordered the fried chicken and 'the dao' to start. Fried chicken was legit amazing. Think chicken from a boba shop but elevated. Good balance of flavors, spicy mayo dip was perfect. 'The Dao' looks to be inspired by Eggslut's 'eggslut.' Small jar with a sous vide egg at the bottom layered with smooth, super viscous potato and truffle oil. Perfect way to prime the stomach for the main dish(es). As the main, we shared the rib eye. Such a creative take on a traditional ribeye. Medium rare, topped with Thai basil leaves, cilantro, and fried garlic with pickled cucumbers on the side. Familiar yet very unique. Fun aesthetic, food came fast, cocktails were amazing, Dean our server was friendly and efficient. Great experience, definitely coming back for the fried chicken.
Daniel B.
Excellent food and service The Tom Kha soup was fantastic!! Try the chicken wings for sure!
Devyn N.
sooo good, i love nep so much. always so consistently yummy and the service is always amazing. my favorite restaurant of all time!!
We came here for brunch but was very disappointed. Nothing great or special about the food at this place. The menu was also very limited and still no great dishes. We only need to come try it once and won't be coming back.
Overall a good experience. Great service and nice ambience! The food was decent but nothing special. Definitely worth trying but would not say it's a MUST go. Not sure if I'd go again but maybe I'll try their other menu items!
Bigger than FV. We had reservations and we were seated within20 mins to the main dining room. It would have been sooner, but they were trying to seat us at the bar area and it was darker and louder, so I asked for the main dining area. The service overall was very pleasant. Rachel was assigned to our section, and she was wonderful. We ordered beef carpaccio and chicken salad. Both had good acidity. We also got the pork tomahawk which was very tender; nice charred edges, sweet and salty flavor. Salad came with it had citrusy flavor perfect with the fatty rich pork chop. Another one we tried was the shrimp with garlic noodles; the shrimp was juicy and the garlic flavor was not ove powering. Overall we were satisfied and full and happy with everything we ate.
I love Nep cafe when I went in fountain valley, but this location in Irvine is just different. The food doesn’t taste as good and the vibe wasn’t as good. We ordered the crab toast, and it seems like there’s no flavor at all. I can taste the slight hint of crab, but definitely can use more salt. I like the banh mi chao with the steak, the soft was soft and juicy, but also lacking a little bit of flavor. And the bread it comes with isn’t the same baguette as the one in fountain valley. Then we ordered the fish sauce chicken wings, which wasn’t bad and is flavorful, but how can anyone make chicken wings taste bad right? We were seated next to the bar at the high tables when there were plenty tables in the dining room. Felt like we were seated in the corner, altho the staff was attentive, I just didn’t feel like it was a good brunch vibe. We wanted to eat and get out, which is what we did. Think I’ll go back to the fountain valley location next time.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Banh MI
I came here to check out the new menu items yesterday late lunch. As an often diner at their Fountain Valley location, I had better expectations when it comes to their customer service. Unfortunately, my experience felt short as our server was not attentive at all. Most of the food runners or employees also didn't give us the welcoming feelings that I am used to with Fountain Valley staff. I found a piece of hair in my salad and alerted to the our female server- there was no apology at all - rather just bewildered at our complaint. My cocktail also came not look as appealed as the displayed photo on their menu. The ambiance was quiet and relaxing so that was good. I wish we were taken care of better when it came to checking on us, refilled water, giving our togo containers. I am very disappointed with our visit.
Fries were good. The green sauce in the beef tongue fried rice was good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Our first time here and the food was great as we devoured the entire course of orders. We loved the ambiance as well so that just made it a plus.
Pretty well made modern Vietnamese. Nothing too exciting but everything was well made. Very good service.
NEP 1st timers, we'll have to come back soon :) Fast service, great ambience, delicious viet breakfast food
Came on a Tuesday at 10:00AM - right when they opened so it was easy to get a seat. I tried their Xio Man and Salted Egg Yolk Coffee. Both tasted great, the xio man is reminiscent of my childhood.
Restaurantji Recommends
Food: 4.5 Service: 4 Ambiance: 4 Solid 4 stars! I've been to the one in Fountain Valley and decided to come here since we were in the area. It did not disappoint! We started out with the salted egg coffee and coffee ube coffee. So tasty and a nice pick-me-up for sure. We ordered the pate (sooo good), Banh Mi Chao - Filet Mignon (tasty and I loved dipping the bread in the sauce and eggs) and the Banh Mi Chao - Bo Kho (so tender). The food came out quite quickly and was piping hot.. just how we like it! Our server was ok but the others who helped us were excellent. Ambiance is relaxed, efficient and lively. We enjoyed our time here and look forward to returning.
Came on a Monday night and saw that this was the place to be! Awesome energy in there the minute we walked in. Been dying to try one of their concept restaurants! So glad we came! We got seated at the bar immediately. Drinks were well crafted, food was amazing and service was on point. Highly recommend the Lychee Milk punch cocktail, mango sticky rice and the Rib Eye!! Now we really need to try their sister restaurants!! This place was amazing! Big thanks to Dean for the great service!
Came on a Monday night @ 8pm for our 9 year anniversary, place was packed. Sat in the bar section, 5 min wait which was nice considering how many people were there. Ordered the fried chicken and 'the dao' to start. Fried chicken was legit amazing. Think chicken from a boba shop but elevated. Good balance of flavors, spicy mayo dip was perfect. 'The Dao' looks to be inspired by Eggslut's 'eggslut.' Small jar with a sous vide egg at the bottom layered with smooth, super viscous potato and truffle oil. Perfect way to prime the stomach for the main dish(es). As the main, we shared the rib eye. Such a creative take on a traditional ribeye. Medium rare, topped with Thai basil leaves, cilantro, and fried garlic with pickled cucumbers on the side. Familiar yet very unique. Fun aesthetic, food came fast, cocktails were amazing, Dean our server was friendly and efficient. Great experience, definitely coming back for the fried chicken.
Excellent food and service The Tom Kha soup was fantastic!! Try the chicken wings for sure!
sooo good, i love nep so much. always so consistently yummy and the service is always amazing. my favorite restaurant of all time!!