Want the inside word on Seattle's most happening local spots?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to deduce which restaurants have been in the spotlight 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.
Meet The Moon
Open since February 2016, this well-established bar and restaurant is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Citywide, breakfast and brunch spots saw review counts increase by a median of 1.2 percent over the past month, but Meet the Moon saw a 3.1 percent increase, maintaining a sound four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 370 percent.
Located at 120 Lakeside Ave. (between Superior Street and Lake Washington Boulevard) in Leschi, Meet the Moon serves dishes like biscuits and gravy for breakfast, a tuna melt with Havarti cheese for lunch and lamb skewers for dinner. (View the full menu here.)
Eureka!
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about University District's Eureka!, the New American bar and restaurant, which offers burgers, beer and more, 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 1.2 percent over the past month, the national chain Eureka! bagged a 4.1 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.8 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 2614 N.E. 46th St. since February 2015, Eureka! offers creative takes on American favorites, including appetizers like cheese balls, deviled eggs and wings along with burgers, signature sandwiches and desserts.
HardWok Cafe
The International District's HardWok Cafe is also making waves. Open since June 2018 at 1207 S. Jackson St., Suite 111B (between South 12th and South 14th avenues), the Taiwanese and Chinese restaurant, known for its photo-worthy desserts, has seen a 4.2 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.8 percent for all businesses tagged "Desserts" on Yelp. However, on a month-to-month basis, review counts increased by more than 850 percent.
HardWok Cafe offers a variety of Asian fusion dishes alongside with towering desserts and boba teas. A popular treat here is the honey toast, which can be topped with ice cream, fruit and sweet sauces. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.
