Want the inside scoop on Washington's most talked-about local spots?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to uncover which local businesses have been seeing especially high review volumes 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 sizzling hot this winter.
Union District Oyster Bar & Lounge
Open since September last year, this lounge, which is owned by former NFL and CFL player Tobias Dorzon, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp.
Citywide, seafood spots saw review counts increase by a median of 2.1 percent over the past month, but Union District Oyster Bar & Lounge saw a 32.1 percent increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the seafood category: Luke's Lobster Farragut has seen a 16 percent increase in reviews.
Located at 501 Morse St. NE (between North Sixth and North Fifth streets) at Union Market, Union District Oyster Bar & Lounge offers sophisticated seafood main dishes, like deep-fried buttermilk lobster tail and a shrimp and lobster jerk pasta, plus a raw bar and hundreds of whiskeys.
St. Anselm
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Eckington's St. Anselm, the steakhouse is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp increased their review counts by a median of 1.7 percent over the past month, St. Anselm bagged a 42.6 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a strong 4.5-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Washington's New American scene: America Eats Tavern has seen a 15 percent increase in reviews, and Fancy Radish and City Winery - Washington have seen 16.9 and 21.8 percent increases, respectively.
Also open since September, St. Anselm (1250 Fifth St. NE) offers a creative approach to steakhouse fare, like a pork porterhouse with apricot chutney, oyster with smoked herb butter, and radishes with foie butter and sea salt.
Poca Madre
Mount Vernon Square's Poca Madre is also making waves. Open since last June at 777 I St. NW (between North Seventh and North Eighth streets), the Mexican spot has seen a 15.7 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.8 percent for all businesses tagged "Mexican" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 260 percent.
Poca Madre offers modern Mexican with a seafood bent, plus signature cocktails, some made from one of the many mezcals in the bar's collection. Over the past month, it's maintained a sound 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Léziz Cafe & Restaurant
Finally, Dupont Circle's Léziz Cafe & Restaurant is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.
The Turkish and Mediterranean restaurant, which opened at 2016 P St. NW (between North 21st and North Hopkins streets) in August, increased its review count by 17.9 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 2 percent for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.4 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Léziz Cafe & Restaurant offers a traditional Turkish breakfast platter, which includes sigara borek, cheeses, olives and charcuterie, plus egg dishes, grilled meat or vegetable sandwiches and pastries.
