NEP!

NEP! is a quirky little hole-in-the-wall wine bar located near Chulia St in George Town that also serves amazing food as a great accompaniment to their wine collection. It's helmed by a super friendly couple; Chia Ye, in particular, was very attentive to our needs and recommended a wide array of wines and let us sample some of them before we decided on a bottle. The food was also amazing - carefully curated to pair with the fantastic wine selection and tantalise the tastebuds. We ordered the braised radish coated in sour plum, the grilled octopus with daun petai siam an whitebait anchovies, the hot skillet prawns served with green coriander sambal, pork & mantis shrimp satay, and lamb tartare served with papadum crackers. Every dish was tasty but I'd have to single out the hot coriander sambal prawns as the ultimate star of the tasting menu. A must-visit in Penang! It's a tiny establishment (which adds to the charm of the place) so reservations are required

Michelin, if NEP! isn't yet on your radar, you're missing the next best thing in Penang. Serious culinary chops and commitment. The menu and food is true artistry in action - creative, honors local ingredients and heritage, while bringing out beautiful flavors and textures, but also keeping it simple and not fussy. Already betting that this little restaurant-wine bar will become Michelin star big ⭐️ Visit, leave it to the talented chef-owners to plan your evening with the tasting menu and ask for wine recommendations - we had a fantastic evening with incredible food and wine, not needing to make any (big) decisions, only eagerly anticipating the next dish. Everything was spectacular, including dishes we would likely never have ordered on our own, such as deep fried radish and octopus. Lamb tartare is out of this world, and pork mantis satay is crazy good. Unique and very enjoyable wine selection, a truly exciting dining experience so different from anywhere we've had in South East Asia in a long while. I was here twice in the same week (stumbled on this hidden gem by chance the first time) and the food+wine was consistently mind blowing. Looking forward to returning soon ❤️! P.s. very limited seating so definitely make reservations to not miss out on a uniquely one-of-a-kind dining experience

(April – June 2025 Menu) – Honest Review I genuinely don’t know where to begin. I left feeling extremely disappointed. This was, unfortunately, one of the worst meals I’ve ever had. It was my first meal of the day, and I was hungry, so by all means, anything should have tasted decent but this just didn’t. We opted for the Tasting Menu at RM128 per person, and it was a complete letdown. The dish combinations felt random, almost as if they were put together just to seem unique, without any real consideration for flavor. The first few courses were vegetables, served with odd gravies that didn’t pair well. The papadam was overly salty, and the raw lamb was simply unappetizing. Why serve it raw? A simple medium-cooked version would have appealed to a wider audience. The onigiri yam rice was another miss! Frankly, convenience store’s onigiri or your neighborhood kopitiam’s yam rice would’ve been miles better. We also tried the Ayam Goreng Percik from the à la carte menu. RM38 for a small, unimpressive portion. It just wasn’t good. By the time dessert came around, I was just hoping for something decent. Thankfully, the NEP! Cendol was quite nice! The only highlight of the meal. We spent nearly RM500, and sadly, it felt like a complete waste. The food was bland, unbalanced, and overpriced. I honestly don’t understand the high ratings. This was my first and definitely last visit. My suggestion? Stick to a consistent menu and focus on delivering better flavors, instead of changing it every three months just for the novelty. Two star, mainly because the service was fine, friendly and attentive. The woman attending to us (possibly the owner?) initially seemed intimidating but turned out to be quite pleasant. We ended the night with instant noodles at home to cleanse our palates. What a day. Sorry! 🙏🏼

Stumbled upon NEP! by accident while hunting for a dinner spot with some decent protein. 😅 The owner recommended the Ssambly Burger—and wow, what a surprise! The fusion of a juicy burger wrapped in crisp Korean lettuce, paired with kimchi and their homemade sauce, was a total flavor explosion.

Georgetown is beautiful. And full of good food. However, it is still quite traditional. It feels like modern food venues are rare. NEP! is one of the exceptions. And it’s a great one. They are tiny (only 10 seats) but put a lot of love and attention to every detail. The bar is run by a Malaysian couple that has been working abroad for many years. You can feel and taste their experience from the Mediterranean and Japanese cuisine. But also Indian spices find their way into their dishes. We went for the tasting menu. I highly recommend doing so. It gives you a full picture of their talents. You can choose between meat or fish menu. And they have a great selection of natural wines for pairing. Wonderful experience! Make sure you book a table in advance.

Cozy space with natural wine and small plates, prefect date night spot. They do offer tasting menu (just trust them, they know what they're doing and you sit back, enjoy the food coming your way) Had the tasting menu, by the time I reach the first dessert. I'm stuffed. Their menu changes from time to time and they may even have specials, gotta follow them on their Instagram @nep.pg for their latest updates.

Wonderful creative fusion food and great natural wines. I especially recommend the Cesar salad and mantis pork skewer. Owners/chefs were super nice and explained their concept as well as their dishes. We had to run out for a one hour theater show and they graciously let us have our dessert after we returned. Comfortable chairs! ;)

Had a wonderful dinner here at the end of October 2024. No regrets in selecting the 'I Don't Give @ "FAK" tasting menu as the first time dining experience here. My top five favourites from the tasting menu are the Grilled Octopus (daun petai siam, whitebait), the Coriander Sambal Tiger Prawn, the Grilled Onigiri (dried scallop, clam soup), the Ondeh-Ondeh Cake (served warm as preferred), and the Crispy Sweet Corn (soysauce caramel). Kudos to the chefs for including their Pork Mantis Satay as part of my tasting menu dining experience, and for recommending the superb Italian Sunawi Ancora Vino Bianco natural orange wine. Thanks for the warm and friendly service along with the good conversations. Will definitely be back when I am in Georgetown again. 🙏😘