Alex Tewfik's Mediterranean restaurant Mish Mish in South Philadelphia's East Passyunk neighborhood was hit one day after Provenance — part of the same coordinated attack on eight Philadelphia restaurants in late October 2025. The rating dropped from 4.5 to 3.8 stars overnight, buried under 39 fake one-star reviews.
The wrong menu entirely
The fake reviews mentioned "burnt taco shells," curry, noodles, burgers, and pasta — none of which appear on Mish Mish's Mediterranean menu. The reviews were clearly copy-pasted across multiple restaurants with no regard for what each one actually serves.
The final fake review included the same WhatsApp number and extortion pitch: pay $250 to "Alexander" and the reviews disappear.
"Nobody clicks and reads each review. They just see a number, and once that tanks, they just skim by."
— Alex Tewfik
Community response
Google initially removed only 4 of the flagged reviews. Tewfik posted about the situation on Instagram, and 85+ customers responded with genuine five-star reviews, pushing the rating back up to 4.3. The remaining fraudulent reviews were removed after media coverage in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
What this case reveals
Tewfik's observation cuts to the heart of the problem: diners don't read individual reviews — they see a number. A 3.8 means "skip it." The number is all that matters, and it can be manipulated by anyone, anywhere in the world, in minutes.