Wondering where Boston's insiders are 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 uncover which local businesses have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Boston 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.
Fox And The Knife
Open early this year, this Italian wine bar and restaurant is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Wine Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, wine bars saw a median 1.8 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Fox And The Knife saw a whopping 100 percent increase, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 28 W. Broadway (between A Street and Dorchester Avenue) in South Boston, Fox And The Knife offers appetizers like house-made potato chips, house-made ricotta and chili-fired chickpeas.
Pasta dishes include tagliatelle bolognese, with wild boar, thyme and parmigiano; spaghetti with clams in a saffron, fennel and tomato butter sauce; and seafood, chicken and lamb plates. At the bar, try a Rosemary Paloma, made with blanco tequila, rosemary and grapefruit.
Del Frisco's
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Back Bay's Del Frisco's, the Boylston St. outlet of the upscale chain steakhouse is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Steakhouses" on Yelp saw a median 1.8 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Del Frisco's bagged a 35 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, with a slight downward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to its current three stars. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.8 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 888 Boylston St., Suite 053 (between Gloucester and Fairfield streets) since July of 2018, Del Frisco's has several other locations nationwide. The menu offers starters like a shareable shellfish platter, a shrimp tasting, caviar and charred octopus.
Chicken, seafood, lamb and pork entrees are on offer, but the star of the show is the steak. Try a 45-day dry-aged prime strip with a side of creamed spinach and mashed potatoes.
Fat Baby
South Boston's Fat Baby is the city's buzziest cocktail bar by the numbers. The well-established bar-and-brunch-spot combo, which opened at 118 Dorchester St. (between Greenbaum and Second streets) in December of 2017, increased its new review count by 11.2 percent over the past month.
It represents an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.2 percent for the Yelp category "Cocktail Bars." The bar outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.3 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
On its brunch menu, Fat Baby offers Tater Tot Poutine (pictured above), with a sunny-side egg, brisket, mozzarella and Panang curry. On the dinner side, try the edamame or Thai peanut salad to start, followed by the specialty rolls or a noodle or rice dish. Complement your meal with a handcrafted cocktail, like a Fancy Huh, with vodka, raspberries and lemon.
Hopsters Brewing Company
South Boston's well-established Hopsters Brewing Company is currently on the upswing in the New American category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 2.2 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, this beer bar, brewery and New American spot increased its by 7.9 percent—and kept its rating consistent at 3.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 250 percent on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 51 Sleeper St. (between Northern Avenue and Congress Street) since January 2018, the business has another location in Newton. Novice and professional brewers can enjoy a brewing experience, which includes your own concierge brewer to guide you through the process, all ingredients, bottles and labels and three cases of your own handcrafted beer.
The food menu offers starters like Korean sticky wings, chips and guacamole or salsa, a soft pretzel with beer mustard or cheese and tuna sashimi. Burgers, flatbreads, lobster rolls and more are offered as heartier fare.
Tatte Bakery & Cafe
This breakfast and brunch spot, which offers sandwiches and coffee and tea, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp. It has three other locations in Boston.
Citywide, breakfast and brunch places saw a median 1.9 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Tatte Bakery & Cafe saw a 9.5 percent increase, maintaining a convincing four-star rating throughout.
Located at 399 Boylston St. (between Arlington and Berkeley streets) in Back Bay, Tatte Bakery & Cafe offers breakfast all day. Try the Egg in a Hole, which includes two fried eggs nestled in a Jerusalem sesame bagel, served with a chopped salad. On the lunch side, try the B.L.A.T. sandwich, which is applewood-smoked bacon, baby gem lettuce, avocado, sriracha mayonnaise and tomato-onion relish, served on housemade challah.
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.
