Unsure where Boston's insiders are eating and drinking? It's easy to spot lines out the door, but some underlying trends are harder to see.
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to analyze which eateries have been getting outsized attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Boston businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on number of reviews alone, we calculated a percentage increase in reviews over the past month.
Read on to see which spots are extra cool this autumn.
Fat Baby
Open since December 2017, this sushi and cocktail bar is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "cocktail bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, cocktail bars saw review counts increase by a median of 2.8 percent over the past month, but Fat Baby saw a 14.9 percent increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 118 Dorchester St. (between Greenbaum and Second streets) in South Boston, Fat Baby offers sushi and pan-Asian food, plus tropical-leaning cocktails, sake, and beer and wine.
BenCotto
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about North End's BenCotto, the Italian spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While restaurants categorized as "Italian" on Yelp increased their review counts by a median of 2.1 percent over the past month, BenCotto bagged an 8.2 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a solid four-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Boston's Italian scene: Terra has seen a 6.6 percent increase in reviews.
Open at 361 Hanover St. (between Tileston and Clark streets) since June 2017, BenCotto offers brick-oven pizzas, pasta dishes and seafood, as well as wine and classic and contemporary cocktails.
Scorpion Bar Boston
Finally, South Boston's Scorpion Bar Boston is also making waves. The bar and Mexican eatery debuted last fall at 58 Seaport Blvd., Suite 200, and has seen a 9.6 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.1 percent for all businesses tagged "bars" on Yelp.
Scorpion Bar Boston offers both classic and modern Mexican fare, margaritas and other cocktails, and over 100 types of tequila.
