Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending at this very moment?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to analyze which local businesses have been most discussed 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 increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are extra cool, right now.
Open since July, this traditional American and Italian spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp.
Citywide, Italian spots saw review counts increase by a median of 1.7 percent over the past month, but The Meatball Shop saw a 45.2 percent increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 1720 14th St. NW (between North R Street and North Riggs Place) in Logan Circle, The Meatball Shop offers a menu centered around meatballs. The signature section of the menu is where customers can build their own dinner by first picking their kind of meatball from a selection that includes classic, chicken, pork, veggie, salmon and lobster meatballs, then pairing them with one of seven different sauces and finally adding one or two of 11 sides like spaghetti, rigatoni or mushrooms. (To view the entire menu, click here.)
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about downtown Washington's Yard House, the bar and New American and vegetarian spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 2.3 percent over the past month, Yard House bagged a 17.2 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a strong four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.6 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
There's more that's trending on Washington's New American scene: Bresca has seen a 15.8 percent increase in reviews, and CIRCA at Chinatown has seen a 12 percent bump.
Open at 812 Seventh St. NW (between North H and North I streets) since April, Yard House offers an expansive menu, which can be viewed here, with more than 100 options on the menu and up to 110 beers on tap. It offers house favorites, from southern fried chicken and spicy jambalya to steak, seafood, street tacos, pizza, burgers, sandwiches and vegan options. Finally, don't forget about desserts like the s'mores brownie and peach apple cobbler.
South West's Kirwan's Irish Pub is also making waves. Open since 2017 at 749 Wharf St. SW, the Irish pub and breakfast and brunch spot has seen a 6.6 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.9 percent for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Kirwan's Irish Pub offers a bevy of selections of wine, cocktails, whiskey and beer from the bar, while the food menu includes Irish fare like Shepherd's pie, fish and chips, bacon and cabbage and Dover sole on the bone. (Click here for the full dinner menu.) It also serves lunch and a brunch on Sunday. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed three-star rating among Yelpers.
Downtown Washington's Claudia's is the city's buzziest seafood spot by the numbers.
The popular steakhouse and Latin American spot, which offers seafood and more and opened at 1020 15th St. NW (between North K and North L streets) in 2013, increased its review count by 4.3 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 2.3 percent for the Yelp category "Seafood." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.3 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Claudia's offers Latin American flavors with inspirations from Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Peru and also Spain. Diners can opt for the Negra Modelo drunken ribeye or the 32 oz dry-aged porterhouse for two from the steak section of the menu, or the seafood Veracruz pasta with either fish, mussels or shrimp, or the lobster paella for two off the seafood section. (Want to look at the full menu? If so, click here.)
Foggy Bottom's Stoney's on L is currently on the upswing in the traditional American category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp increased review counts by a median of 1.6 percent over the past month, this lounge and traditional American spot increased its by 4 percent—and kept its rating consistent at four stars. Review counts increased by more than 200 percent on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 2101 L St. NW, Suite 103 (between North 21st Street and North New Hampshire Avenue), since 2013, the business hosts popular trivia night every Wednesday and serves all the food expected from a pub. The bar will meet nearly any request, and, on the food menu, there are its signature grilled cheese sandwiches, wings, nachos, pizza, burgers and sandwiches. (Click here to see the entire version.)
