Unsure 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 deduce 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 increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are extra cool this spring.
Sawyer
Open since August of last year, this New American spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp.
Citywide, New American spots saw a median 1.3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Sawyer saw a 17.1 percent increase, with a slight downward trend from a 4.5-star rating a month ago to four stars today. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Sawyer's review count increased by more than 230 percent.
It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: Redhook Brewlab has seen an 8.3 percent increase in reviews.
Located at 5309 22nd Ave. NW (between North Ballard Avenue and Market Street) in Ballard, Sawyer offers everything from cheesy bread, bone marrow matzo balls and wood-grilled artichoke to plates of oxtail nachos, Dungeness crab rolls and wood-grilled black cod.
Noren
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Broadway's Noren, the sushi bar, lounge and Japanese spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Japanese" on Yelp saw a median 3.6 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Noren bagged a 26.2 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, with a slight upward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to its current four stars. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.2 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
There's more that's trending on Seattle's Japanese scene: Nana’s Green Tea has seen a 27.7 percent increase in reviews.
Open at 320 E. Pike St. (between Bellevue and Minor avenues) since October, Noren offers appetizers like grilled asparagus, salmon kama and shrimp shumai alongside an assortment of sushi rolls, poke bowls and noodle dishes like the beef yakisoba. For dessert, dig into the tempura ice cream or mochi.
Breezy Town Pizza
Beacon Hill's Breezy Town Pizza is also making waves. Open since February of last year, at 4864 Beacon Ave. South, Clock-Out Lounge, the pizza spot has seen a 15.6 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.3 percent for all businesses tagged "Pizza" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Breezy Town Pizza's review count increased by more than 200 percent.
There's more than one hotspot trending in Seattle's pizza category: Miss Cafe has seen a 11.5 percent increase in reviews.
Breezy Town Pizza offers a variety of pizza selections including the JJ, which comes topped with Wisconsin brick and mozzarella blend, red sauce, spinach, red onion, sweet-hot pepper and chèvre. Customers may also build their own pizza or choose from a selection of salads.
Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
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.
