Visited OC for the first time and this was my favorite restaurant. I'm usually not a fan of brunch food but coming here for an early lunch was delightful. Food (5/5): Highly recommend the banh mi chao and xoi man. Both had the perfect variety of flavor and texture. I love how many ingredients they use and how well they all work together. The chicken wings were excellent as well - crispy, sweet, and spicy with some acidity from the fish sauce to balance it out. The Dao appetizer was decent, lots of truffle flavor but I wouldn't get it again. Tried the egg coffee with a salted egg yolk on top and it was terrific though on the richer and sweeter side as far as coffee goes. Service (5/5): Our waiter did a great job with recommendations and checking in on our table. Was very friendly and offered to go boxes for both the food and drinks. They seemed in a bit of a rush waiting so many tables together but that wasn't much of an issue. Host staff was kind and friendly as well. Ambiance (5/5): Modern design interior with a nice amount of room between tables. The restaurant is large and divides up the space well so as to avoid too much noise in any one area. There's lots of natural light and pleasant decorations. All the food came out with perfect timing - first the appetizer then the mains which were enjoyed together, all at just the right temperature. Came around 11:15am on a weekday - not too busy and no wait for a table, but a lot of people came in within the next hour and it filled up. Plenty of parking

We got the beef tongue fried rice (so yummy - the egg was delicious, the beef was tender, and the green sauce it came with was sooo good; I honestly did not expect a basic fried rice to be this good so when I had this, I knew Nep was something else) and the pork tomahawk (this was so good and fatty and tender with good flavor). I feel like I can trust that the rest of the menu is also good just based on these two dishes. The portions were decent - for two people, we were satisfied but by no means stuffed. Perfect for if you want to get a drink or dessert afterwards :) The ambiance of the restaurant also strikes a good balance between casual and classy. I can see it being a good spot for a date or a more casual hangout with friends (although I wouldn't recommend it if you know your group is gonna be loud lol). We had no complaints about the service as well - our waiter was helpful, and the food came in a reasonable amount of time. I can definitely say that I get the hype now - even though I came in with high expectations, they were still exceeded. I would highly recommend Nep to anyone that wants good food and is willing to spend a little more. I will be back!

Nice, spacious, posh-looking restaurant in a rather large outdoor shopping center over in Irvine. I don't usually come out this far (sometimes I'll stop to charge up on my way to San Diego), but I had a work convention in Costa Mesa. OC has a fine reputation for excellent Vietnamese food, and so Yelp sent me here for a Viet-fusion experience. Parking is everywhere since it shares a lot with multiple businesses. I came on a Monday night so finding a spot was easy. Inside, it's dimly lit with non-offensive, top 40 pop hits playing on surround speakers. Definitely a great place for a date or a night out. I sat near their large circular bar, which is pretty impressive for a restaurant like this. Lots of offerings. Menu is a download through a qr code. Ordered the following: Garlic Noodle with Crab - 8.7/10: yo, this dish slaps. Seriously. Noodles were perfectly chewy and not mushy, the way they should be in this type of dish. Flecks of red pepper flakes gave it a hint of spice, but the flavor profile was mostly infused, soy-based garlic that wasn't too overpowering. Crab was real, of course, and there was plenty of it. Bits of broiled garlic cloves were a nice touch. Well-balanced and well-crafted. Superb! Shrimp Toast - 8.5/10: Nice complement to the noodles. Basically, it's milk toast that's been baked and crisped with a layer of shrimp paste. Very tasty, and went well with the accompanying honey mayo. Banana Bread Pudding - 7/10: had room for dessert and this was recommended by the waiter. Solid dessert. Bread was dense and the corn flakes added texture that it probably needed. Too much syrup though, in my opinion. So yeah, as the kids say, this place slaps. Not an enormous menu to choose from, but what they do offer is quality over quantity for sure. Check it out!

I was blown away by this place. My GF took me and I had not looked at the menu before hand. Seeing the items listed, I did get excited but was not expecting to have such delicious food and food presentation. I HIGHLY recommend going. The staff were great, very accommodating and gave good recommendations when we asked. We went on a Friday around 3:30pm when there were only a few other patrons, we didn't have to wait at all. We sat in the bar area where it was kinda quiet. Most of the people were sitting at the bar while we sat at a hightop table. I recommend getting: -The "DAO" -Seafood Ceviche -Bananas Foster Sticky Rice

I am so glad this place opened a new location! We came in for brunch and I would highly recommend making reservations as they get crowded quickly. The place is clean with a relaxing ambiance. The staff was friendly and did an excellent job answering our questions. We got their famous Egg Coffee, Ube Latte, Calamansi Paloma, Thai Princess, and Coffeetini to drink. For appetizers, we started off with The Dao and Crab Toast. Finally, we opted for the Banh Mi Chao and Salted Egg Yolk Pasta for our entrees. Thai Princess- This was sweet and refreshing. I love lychee and this is the base flavor. The alcohol content was pretty generous which is always appreciated. Calamansi Paloma- Growing up drinking calamansi juice, this was a nostalgic cocktail to have as an adult. The distinct citrus flavor of the calamansi pushes through, and it has a refreshing finish. Egg Coffee- This woke me up! The coffee base was nice and strong. The highlight of the drink was the egg custard that was whipped to have a frothy texture. It was rich and sweet and blended with the coffee beautifully. A must try! Ube Latte- Ube is one of my favorite nostalgic flavors and this drink does not disappoint. The flavor is quite pronounced and it mixes with the coffee deliciously. Coffeetini- If you can't decide on coffee or cocktail, why not have both? This drink was the perfect blend of a pick me up in the morning, with a twist. They are once more, very generous with the booze. The Dao- This was a nice, light dish. It starts off with a soft poached egg drizzled with truffle oil. The latter adds a hint of flavor that elevates the palate. It is finished off with a potato mousse that adds texture. It was interesting to try. Crab Toast- This was delicious! The crab mixture was well-seasoned and it had a custardy texture that complemented the crunchy toast. You get plenty of the crab base so you can spread it generously and not have to worry about running out. Banh Mi Chao- This was a filling dish that has a little bit of everything. You start off with a meat base (I picked beef belly), two eggs, pate, and green onions and tomatoes to give it a hint of freshness. The meat was tender and perfectly seasoned. It complemented the rest of the elements well. You get a whole baguette to go with the dish which is nice and soft with a light crust on the outside. Try to get a little bit of everything with the first bite. Salted Egg Yolk Pasta- This is my first time trying salted egg yolk pasta and it was a lovely experience. The noodles were the perfect texture, the egg yolk sauce was rich and flavorful. You can pick a protein to go with it and I chose crab. The sweetness of the crab meat melded well with the sauce and it was a delicious dish overall. Thanks for this wonderful dining experience!

Their Egg Coffee is smooth, rich, and perfectly balanced. I also had the Banh Mi Chao - Filet Mignon, the only complaint is the bread was a little too hard?? Not stale but not soft on the inside at all, maybe just the day I went. Someone at my table also ordered the lemon grass tofu and that was good but we wouldn't order again. Service was quick despite how busy it was. The portions are generous, and the presentation is top-notch. Highly recommend making a reservation if you're coming during peak hours, as this place is popular for a reason! It's has a nice layout and feels spacious.

Came here for brunch on a Saturday. We had a reservation and got seated right away after both of us had arrived. We had the crab toast, Dao, beef tongue fried rice, and sticky rice. All of the food was delicious and I'd order them again, but my absolute favorite was the Dao. The coconut ube coffee was delightful with the ideal balance between coffee, ube, and coconut flavors, without any one of them overpowering the others. All the staff, including hostesses and servers, were friendly and helpful. An incredibly pleasant brunch experience!

New location in Irvine, and there was no wait even though I made a reservation. Ambience was so cute and my server was so nice. I've been to the Fountain Valley location and I wanted to try Nep Cafe again when I was back in SoCal. The filet mignon was so tender and the flavors were amazing. The garlic noodles were great and not too salty. The drinks were delicious, I definitely recommend the ube coconut viet coffee, it's such a unique combo of flavors.

LOVED JAMES, literally made our experience so memorable! such a kind soul 10/10 recommend!!