Curious 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 analyze which eateries have been most discussed 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 increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are on a hot streak this spring.
Mr Saigon
Established in 2018, this Vietnamese spot, which offers bubble tea, sandwiches and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp.
Citywide, sandwich spots saw a median 2 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Mr Saigon saw a 57.1 percent increase, maintaining a convincing 4.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 215 Pike St. (between Third and Second avenues) in the Central Business District, Mr Saigon offers banh mi on house-made baguettes, spring rolls and noodle bowls.
Nana’s Green Tea
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Belltown's Nana’s Green Tea, the well-established cafe and Japanese spot, which offers desserts and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Desserts" on Yelp saw a median 2.7 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Nana’s Green Tea bagged a 29.3 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a healthy four-star rating.
Open at 1007 Stewart St., Suite 103 (between Boren and Terry avenues), since November 2018, Nana’s Green Tea offers matcha mochi, parfaits, green teas, brown sugar lattes and more.
Redhook Brewlab
Broadway's Redhook Brewlab is also making waves. Open since 2017 at 714 E. Pike St. (between Harvard and Boylston avenues), the brewery, gastropub and New American spot has seen an 8.3 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.4 percent for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Redhook Brewlab's review count increased by more than 190 percent.
Redhook Brewlab offers small-batch brews, chicken schnitzel, wild boar chili and more. Over the past month, it's maintained a solid four-star rating among Yelpers.
Ba Bar
Ravenna's Ba Bar is the city's buzziest bar by the numbers.
The bakery, bar and Vietnamese spot, which opened at 2685 N.E. 46th St. in August 2017, increased its new review count by 4.9 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.9 percent for the Yelp category "Bars." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.5 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Ba Bar offers pho, vermicelli noodles, bun bowls and more.
Shaker and Spear
Belltown's popular Shaker and Spear is currently on the upswing in the seafood category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 1.3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, this New American and breakfast and brunch spot increased its count by 3.2 percent — and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars.
Open for business since 2015 at 2000 Second Ave. (between Lenora and Virginia streets) in the Kimpton Palladian Hotel, the business offers dill-fried smickles, salt cod beignets with salsa verde and grilled prawns.
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.
