As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right this minute?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which restaurants have been in the limelight 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 have the momentum heading into springtime.
Old Stove Brewing
Open since September, this brew pub, which offers seafood, burgers and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp.
Citywide, seafood spots saw new reviews increase by a median of 1.2 percent over the past month, but Old Stove Brewing saw an 11 percent increase, maintaining a solid four-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the seafood category: CÔBA has seen a 6.2 percent increase in reviews, and Shuckers Oyster Bar has seen a 2.2 percent bump.
Located at 1901 Western Ave., Suite A (between Pike Place and Virginia Street) in Pike Market, Old Stove Brewing offers a variety of locally-made craft brews, snackable fare like its fire-roasted pretzel bites and caramelized brussels sprouts and larger meals like its wood-fired wild mushroom pizza. (Here's the menu.)
G.H. Pasta Co.
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Belltown's G.H. Pasta Co., the Italian spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 1.9 percent over the past month, G.H. Pasta Co. bagged a 27.3 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating.
Open at 2305 Sixth Ave. (between Battery and State Route 99 streets) since October of last year, G.H. Pasta Co. offers an upscale alternative to fast-casual Italian fare with items like the fusilli pasta with walnut pesto, root vegetable and pecorino and the sea salt chocolate mousse. (View the full menu here.)
Morfire
Broadway's Morfire is also making waves. Open since June 2017 at 1806 12th Ave., Suite 100 (between Howell Street and Denny Way), the bar and Thai spot, which offers hot pot and more, has seen a 9.1 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.1 percent for all businesses tagged "Bars" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 330 percent.
Morfire offers a broad selection of appetizers, from teriyaki wings to gyoza, but the main draw is its Thai-style hot pot, which is served with fresh vegetables, house-made meatballs and an array of sauces. Over the past month, it's maintained a convincing 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Pam's Kitchen
Wallingford's Pam's Kitchen is the city's buzziest cocktail bar by the numbers.
The well-established cocktail bar and Trinidadian spot, which opened at 1715 N. 45th St. (between North Wallingford and North Densmore avenues) in January 2015, increased its review count by 4.6 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 2.1 percent for the Yelp category "Cocktail Bars." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.6 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
It's not the only trending outlier in the cocktail bar category: Jerk Shack has seen a 7.8 percent increase in reviews.
Pam's Kitchen offers Caribbean fare with options like its spicy jerk chicken and a variety of meat and vegetable curries, smothered in curry spice, cilantro, garlic, onions and habanero peppers. Its specialty sorrel rum punch, made with dried red blossoms, is also up for grabs. (Check out the full menu.)
This story was created automatically using local business data, then reviewed and augmented by an editor. Click here for more about what we're doing. Got thoughts? Go here to share your feedback.
