Unsure where San Jose'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 uncover which eateries have been getting extra attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at San Jose 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 on a hot streak this spring.
Bobaholics
Open since November, this spot to score bubble tea, coffee, juice and smoothies is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp.
Citywide, coffee and tea spots saw a median 3.4 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Bobaholics saw a 34.8 percent increase, maintaining a superior four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Bobaholics's review count increased by more than 260 percent.
It's not the only trending outlier in the coffee and tea category: 7 Leaves Cafe has seen a 31.9 percent increase in reviews, and Music Tunnel KTV Cafe and Sinceretea have seen 7.3 and 8.6 percent increases, respectively.
Located at 1055 E. Brokaw Road, Suite 40 in North Valley, Bobaholics offers appetizers, specialty foods, tea, coffee, smoothies and ice cream.
The food menu ranges from snacks like fries and chicken wings to heartier fare like beef pho and egg rolls. Stopping in for a drink? Look for the premium milk tea and smoothies, or create your own blend with as many flavor combinations as you want.
Find the full menu here.
Jackie's Place
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about San Jose - Northside's Jackie's Place, the popular soul food spot, which offers barbecue and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Barbecue" on Yelp saw a median 3.9 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Jackie's Place bagged a 19.6 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a strong 4.5-star rating.
Open at 655 N. Sixth St. since November, Jackie's Place offers traditional Southern soul food like barbecue chicken, mac and cheese and sweet tea.
Menu standouts include the oxtails with candied yams and collard greens, pulled pork, fried catfish and cornbread.
Take a look at the entire menu here.
Sushi Kan
North San Jose's Sushi Kan is also making waves. Under new management since 2018 at 1305 N. First St., the popular sushi bar and Japanese spot has seen a 7.8 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.5 percent for all businesses tagged "Sushi Bars" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Sushi Kan's review count increased by more than 200 percent.
There's more than one hotspot trending in San Jose's sushi bar category: Ginza Sushi has seen a 15.2 percent increase in reviews.
Sushi Kan offers salad, stew, noodles and, of course, sushi. Yelpers recommend ordering the Nigri Deluxe, which has 10 pieces of sushi, or the volcano island roll, which includes cream cheese, avocado, crab meat, tuna, salmon, yellowtail, albacore, tai, jalapeno and kaiware, with tobiko in spicy sauce. Over the past month, Sushi Kan has maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Explore the menu here.
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.
