Want the dirt on Seattle's buzziest local spots? We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to uncover which restaurants have been on the tips of diners' tongues this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Seattle 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 increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are getting plenty of attention, right now.
Redwing Cafe
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Rainier Beach's Redwing Cafe, the vegetarian breakfast spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 1.7 percent over the past month, Redwing Cafe bagged a 6.6 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining five times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 9272 57th Ave. South (between South Waters and South Rainier avenues) since 2014, Redwing Cafe offers vegetarian breakfast fare — with some vegan and gluten-free options — like daily-changing quiche, biscuits and gravy, and seasonal fruit salads. For lunch, expect a variety of soups, salads and sandwiches. Thirsty? Grab an espresso, macchiato or americano to put a little pep in your step.
Check out the website for the full menu.
Ba Bar
The Cascade's Ba Bar is the city's buzziest bakery by the numbers.
The well-established cocktail bar, bakery and Vietnamese street food spot, which opened its flagship location at 500 Terry Ave. N (between Republican and Mercer streets) in 2011 and now has two other locations in University Village and First Hill, increased its review count by 6.9 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 1.9 percent for the Yelp category "Bakeries." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.8 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Ba Bar offers Vietnamese fare like banh mi sandwiches, vermicelli noodle entrees, dishes featuring rotisserie-grilled proteins, pho, an assortment of pastries and cocktails. View the full menu here.
Qin Xi'an noodles
Open since February 2015 in Redmond, this Chinese spot, which offers noodles and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Noodles" on Yelp.
Citywide, businesses tagged "Noodles" saw review counts increase by a median of 3.8 percent over the past month, but Qin Xi'an noodles saw a 10.7 percent increase, with a slight upward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to four stars today. It gained 5 times more reviews than expected based on past performance, significantly outperforming the previous month.
Located at 1203 Pine St. (between Melrose and Minor avenues) in Broadway, Qin Xi'an noodles offers a variety of authentic options — such as dumplings, Chinese pancakes, biang biang noodles, a minced pork stew sandwich, cold rice noodles, hot and sour soup, and a ribeye steak salad. You can see the full menu here.
