Want the inside word on Washington's buzziest local spots?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to deduce which restaurants have been getting outsized notice this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Washington 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, and tracked businesses that consistently increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are extra cool, right now.
Magnolia Kitchen & Bar
Open since April, this bar and New American spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp.
Citywide, New American spots saw review counts increase by a median of 2.2 percent over the past month, but Magnolia Kitchen & Bar saw a 52.1 percent increase, maintaining a sound four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 170 percent.
It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: Declaration Nats Park has seen a 13.7 percent increase in reviews, and Fancy Radish has seen a 12.6 percent bump.
Located at 1601 Connecticut Ave. NW (between North Q Street and North Hillyer Place) in Dupont Circle, Magnolia Kitchen & Bar offers small plates like pigs in a blanket and ratatouille plus main dishes like lamb Bolognese, shrimp and grits, and a mushroom ravioli in a pesto sauce.
Momo's Cafe
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about the Palisades' Momo's Cafe, the pan-Asian spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp increased their review counts by a median of 2.8 percent over the past month, Momo's Cafe bagged a 32.3 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a superior 4.5-star rating.
Open at 4828 MacArthur Blvd. NW since September, Momo's Cafe offers fruit tea, tiramisu tea with milk foam, and milk tea like Assam and Hokkaido, plus an eclectic food menu of Taiwanese and Japanese fare.
The Caged Bird
Dupont Circle's The Caged Bird is also making waves. Open since July at 1723 Connecticut Ave. NW (between North R St. and North South Street), the bar and restaurant has seen a 40.7 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.2 percent for all businesses tagged "Bars" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 220 percent.
The Caged Bird offers handcrafted cocktails, wine and craft beer, as well as Southern and Caribbean cuisine. Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating tick down from four stars to 3.5 stars.
Lupo Marino
Southwest's Lupo Marino is the city's buzziest Italian spot by the numbers. It offers wood-fired pizzas and other Southern Italian street food.
Open since May at 40 Pearl St. SW, it increased its review count by 16.4 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 2.2 percent for the Yelp category "Italian."
Pennsylvania 6 DC
Finally, downtown Washington's well-established Pennsylvania 6 DC is currently on the upswing in the seafood category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" increased review counts by a median of 2.7 percent over the past month, this cocktail bar and traditional American spot increased its count by 15.1 percent — with its Yelp rating improving from four stars to 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 240 percent on a month-to-month basis.
Established in 2015 at 1350 I St. NW (between North 13th and North 14th streets), Pennsylvania 6 has a raw bar and offers handcrafted cocktails to go with its seafood dishes, including oysters, miso-glazed salmon and seafood cioppino.
There's more abuzz in the world of Washington seafood: Hot N Juicy Crawfish has seen an 8.1 percent increase in reviews.
