New Sydney cafe targeted with fake online reviews

Exclusive: The owners of a new Vietnamese cafe in Sydney’s eastern suburbs have opened up about the unsettling experience of being targeted with fake online reviews, less than two weeks after opening its doors.

Cindy Mai and Ed Loveday officially launched their 30-seat cafe and wine bar, Ca Phe Mai, on June 15 in Double Bay, to rave reviews, while also earning a raft of positive write-ups in the food press.

The pair is well seasoned in the industry, with Loveday previously co-running the now-closed Sydney venues ACME and Bar Brose. Mai owned and operated Strathfield restaurant VN City for the past six years. 

Loveday told nine.com.au that everything appeared to be going smoothly with the new venue until about two days ago, when the pair noticed a few negative reviews of their café online that “seemed a little odd”.

“Normally, when somebody’s had a negative experience, you can pinpoint when it was, but we couldn’t really pinpoint it,” he said.

The two shrugged it off, but the next morning, there were more one-star reviews. 

A few of the reviews mentioned that they had never been to the café, but they were posting the negative feedback because someone from Ca Phe Mai had been writing nasty reviews about other local businesses. 

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Alarmed, Mai investigated the claim and soon uncovered a fake Google account had been created in her name, with a stock image of her found online.

It was this account that had posted dozens of one-star reviews, she said.

“I feel physically sick thinking that someone has created a fake Google account impersonating me, using a stolen photo, and has now written over 35 fake 1-star reviews across our community in my name,” Mai wrote in an Instagram post last night.

“This is not me. This will never be me.

“This is not something I would normally do, going public like this. But I can’t hold it in anymore.

“I am feeling broken and I refuse to let my staff, my neighbours and my community think this is who I am.”

Loveday said he and his partner were at a loss to explain why they were being attacked in this way.

“We were very lucky to get some great press the week before,” he said, adding that Mai’s profile had been put out there as the “face of the restaurant” due to her family’s heritage being a key part of the business’s concept.

“But we don’t really know why she is being targeted like that,” he said.

The owners have reported the fake reviews to Google and say they will not stop until they are taken down.

At this stage, it is unclear who is behind the reviews, or why they are being posted.

Loveday said he was no stranger to navigating the world of online Google reviews, a challenge that came with the industry.

Sometimes, even a bad review could lead to a good result in terms of adjusting their service, but the whole area of online reviews was like the wild west, he added.

“It’s a bit of a zoo out there in terms of what people can do, because there’s no ID verification, you can create profiles and multiple profiles, and I know there’s a whole world of buying good reviews and removing bad reviews,” Loveday said.

While still deeply shaken, Loveday said he had Mai had been buoyed by the support shown from their local community after sharing their experience online.

“There’s definitely been a lot of support online on the (Instagram) post, and even just this morning a lot of the locals that live in the area that have been coming in and just kind of showing their support,” he said.