NEP Cafe - Irvine
14346 Culver Dr, Irvine, CA 92604, United States · United States
★ 4.5 on Google · 550 reviews · View on Google Maps
Manipulation score
CleanCompleted Jul 25, 2026 · 59 reviews flagged
How this score works
The score estimates how strongly this place's review record matches known manipulation patterns, from 0 (no signs) to 100. Verdicts: Clean below 40, Suspicious from 40, Likely Manipulated from 70. It rises with the share of reviews flagged and how suspicious each one is.
- Burst
- — an abnormal spike of five-star reviews in a single day compared to the place's usual pace.
- Low activity account
- — the reviewer has almost no other reviews, photos, or Local Guide history; throwaway accounts look like this.
- Duplicate text
- — the wording is nearly identical to another review of the same place.
Verdicts are statistical estimates based on public review patterns, not accusations.
Review anatomy
Reviews examined
550
Flagged
59
11% of examined
Flagged avg rating
4.7★
place average 4.5★
Reviews per month
| Month | Reviews | Flagged |
|---|---|---|
| Aug ’23 | 4 | 0 |
| Sep ’23 | 8 | 2 |
| Oct ’23 | 11 | 0 |
| Nov ’23 | 13 | 3 |
| Dec ’23 | 12 | 0 |
| Jan ’24 | 12 | 1 |
| Feb ’24 | 12 | 0 |
| Mar ’24 | 18 | 1 |
| Apr ’24 | 15 | 0 |
| May ’24 | 17 | 0 |
| Jun ’24 | 9 | 0 |
| Jul ’24 | 15 | 2 |
| Aug ’24 | 18 | 4 |
| Sep ’24 | 12 | 0 |
| Oct ’24 | 19 | 1 |
| Nov ’24 | 10 | 0 |
| Dec ’24 | 13 | 0 |
| Jan ’25 | 17 | 0 |
| Feb ’25 | 9 | 3 |
| Mar ’25 | 19 | 0 |
| Apr ’25 | 17 | 2 |
| May ’25 | 17 | 3 |
| Jun ’25 | 20 | 4 |
| Jul ’25 | 28 | 1 |
| Aug ’25 | 22 | 6 |
| Sep ’25 | 17 | 1 |
| Oct ’25 | 14 | 0 |
| Nov ’25 | 16 | 2 |
| Dec ’25 | 16 | 1 |
| Jan ’26 | 15 | 2 |
| Feb ’26 | 12 | 3 |
| Mar ’26 | 26 | 2 |
| Apr ’26 | 18 | 3 |
| May ’26 | 14 | 0 |
| Jun ’26 | 11 | 3 |
| Jul ’26 | 24 | 9 |
Rating distribution
Evidence
-
burst
7 occurrences — worst: 4 five-star reviews on 2024-08-10 vs avg 0.4/day
weight 1
Show all 7
- 3 five-star reviews on 2023-11-25 vs avg 0.5/day
- 4 five-star reviews on 2024-08-10 vs avg 0.4/day
- 3 five-star reviews on 2025-06-28 vs avg 0.6/day
- 4 five-star reviews on 2025-08-18 vs avg 0.8/day
- 3 five-star reviews on 2026-02-23 vs avg 0.4/day
- 3 five-star reviews on 2026-07-04 vs avg 0.4/day
- 4 five-star reviews on 2026-07-11 vs avg 0.5/day
- low activity account 33 reviews flagged weight 0.8
- duplicate text 5 reviews flagged weight 0.9
Flagged reviews
Exhibit — 3 reviews, near-identical wording
The food looks good and there service is amazing
- Maya Orantes ★★★★★ 2023-09-02 suspicion 79
- PlayItByEar ★★★★★ 2024-07-30 suspicion 80
- Angelina Rocchio ★★★★★ 2026-06-22 suspicion 95
Exhibit — 2 reviews, near-identical wording
Good food, good service and good price!
- James Nguyễn ★★★★★ 2023-09-03 suspicion 55
- Bingqing Wei ★★★★★ 2025-05-26 suspicion 55
Showing the 10 most suspicious of 54 remaining flagged reviews.
James Nguyen
1 review
★★★★★
2025-06-28
cait
14 reviews · Local Guide
★★★★★
2026-07-11
this is my first kei concepts restaurant and i’m very pleased with the meal!! there were good peanut-free options, we got the filet mignon bánh mì, garlic noodles with salmon, and the beef belly bowl. they were all sooo delicious!! i strongly recommend these dishes, but my favorite was the beef bell...
天下布武赤鬼井伊
20 reviews · Local Guide
★★★★★
2026-07-11
Good rice!!
Ithan Hubner
111 reviews · Local Guide
★★★★★
2026-07-11
i wasnt expecting much from a cafe attached to a nail salon but this place totally suprised me. the the bergamot iced latte woke me up better than my alarm and the strawberry matcha was such a nice balance not too sweet. i ended up sitting outside for way longer than i planned becuase the vibe was j...
Elaine Hernandez
8 reviews · Local Guide
★★★★★
2026-07-11
Cody Wine
170 reviews · Local Guide
★★★★★
2026-07-04
Dylan was the greatest server in the history of time thank you, super accommodating and friendly. Food was great
Jacob
48 reviews · Local Guide
★★★★★
2026-07-04
I love NEP. It’s one of my favorite places to eat in Irvine
Long Pham
30 reviews · Local Guide
★★★★★
2026-07-04
Good food, service and atmosphere
Pham Le Phu
732 reviews · Local Guide
★★★★★
2026-02-23
Probably the best Vietnamese food I’ve had outside of home-cooked meals - and that’s saying a lot. Everything here is consistently so good, and you can really taste the care put into each dish. I’ve tried almost everything on the menu, and there honestly isn’t a miss. The staff is incredibly kind a...
Cheryl Stoldt
335 reviews · Local Guide
★★★★★
2026-02-23
From the chardonnay to the dumplings, to the chicken fried rice and the shrimp and noodles it was divine!! Thank you!
Report generated Jul 25, 2026. Reviews change — you can request a fresh investigation.
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