Curious where New York City'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 seeing especially high review volumes this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at New York City 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 worth exploring, right now.
Claw Daddy's
Boerum Hill's Claw Daddy's is also making waves. Open since November at 31 Third Ave. (between Atlantic Avenue and State Street), the Cajun/Creole spot, which offers seafood and more, has seen a 45.3 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.5 percent for all businesses tagged "Seafood" on Yelp.
There's more than one hotspot trending in New York City's seafood category: Zauo has seen a 43.1 percent increase in reviews.
Claw Daddy's offers seafood and small plates. Try The Louisiana Boil, where you choose your seafood, sauce, level of spice and add in's like corn or sausage. Over the past month, it's maintained a convincing four-star rating among Yelpers.
The Hive
Williamsburg's The Hive is the city's buzziest gastropub by the numbers.
The gastropub, which opened at 119 Kent Ave. in December, increased its review count by 30.6 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 3.3 percent for the Yelp category "Gastropubs."
The Hive offers comfort food and upscale bar fare like the grilled merguez sausage sandwich with spicy Moroccan harissa, bell peppers, onions, whole grain mustard and mayonnaise on a baguette.
Don Tequila Urban Cantina
Glendale's well-established Don Tequila Urban Cantina is currently on the upswing in the Mexican category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp increased review counts by a median of 2.6 percent over the past month, this cocktail bar and Mexican spot increased its by 21.2 percent—and kept its rating consistent at four stars. Review counts increased by more than 340 percent on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 83-38 Woodhaven Blvd. since June, the business offers a large selection of Mexican dishes, including fajitas, tacos, enchiladas and more. Try the tacos al pastor with pineapple marinated shredded pork topped with red onions, cilantro, roasted pineapple chunks and salsa.
Mama's Too!
Open since December 2017, this Italian spot, which offers pizza and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp.
Citywide, businesses tagged "Italian" saw review counts increase by a median of 2.1 percent over the past month, but MAMA'S TOO! saw a 32.7 percent increase, with a slight downward trend from a four-star rating a month ago to 3.5 stars today. It gained 7.0 times more reviews than expected based on past performance, significantly outperforming the previous month.
Located at 2750 Broadway (between 105th and 106th streets) in the Upper West Side, Mama's Too! offers specialty pizzas like the Shroom and Sausage pizza with aged mozzarella, sautéed crimini mushrooms, fennel sausage braised in red wine and roasted garlic oil.
Bistro Eloise
Is East Elmhurst's Bistro Eloise on your radar? According to Yelp review data, the French and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers beer, wine and spirits and more, is getting plenty of attention.
While businesses categorized as "French" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 1.8 percent over the past month, Bistro Eloise nabbed a 32.5 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a strong 4.5-star rating.
Located at 75-57 31st Ave., Bistro Eloise offers French classics like coq au vin and boeuf bourguignon with slowly braised angus beef stew with carrots, pearl onions, mushrooms, bacon and mashed potatoes.
