Wondering where Seattle's in-the-know crowd is 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 uncover which local businesses 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 this winter.
Le Coin
Open since July 2018, this French 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 1.4 percent over the past month, but Le Coin saw an 18.5 percent increase, maintaining a strong 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 200 percent.
Located at 4201 Fremont Ave. North (between 42nd Street and Motor Place) in Fremont, Le Coin offers brunch and dinner options. For brunch, look out for chicken and waffles, beet salad, pancakes and eggs Benedict. For dinner, expect scallops, pasta, burger and striploin. Here's the menu.
Sugar Bakery & Coffeehouse
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Lower Queen Anne's Sugar Bakery & Coffeehouse, the bakery-café is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 1.5 percent over the past month, Sugar Bakery & Coffeehouse bagged a 7.9 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a strong 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 5.0 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 110 Republican St. (between North Warren and North First avenues) since January 2018, Sugar offers handcrafted lunch fare like soups and sandwiches and a variety of caffeinated beverages.
Thackeray
Wallingford's Thackeray is also making waves. Open since March 2017 at 3400 Stone Way North (between 35th and 34th streets), the well-established traditional American bar and restaurant, which offers a weekend brunch, has seen a 3.1 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.3 percent for all businesses tagged "American (Traditional)" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 330 percent.
Thackeray offers classic breakfast platters, lunch combinations and dinner entrees. Over the past month, it's maintained a superior four-star rating among Yelpers.
