Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending today?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to analyze which restaurants have been getting outsized attention 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 getting plenty of attention this spring.
Old Stove Brewing
Open since 2016, this brewpub, which offers seafood, burgers and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp.
Citywide, seafood spots saw a median 1.3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Old Stove Brewing saw a 13.5 percent increase, maintaining a strong four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis its review count increased by more than 180 percent.
It's not the only trending outlier in the seafood category: Sansei Seafood Restaurant & Sushi Bar has seen a 3.4 percent increase in reviews.
Located at 1901 Western Ave., Suite A (between Pike Place and Virginia Street) in Pike Market, Old Stove Brewing offers fish and chips, wood oven pizzas, small plates and more.
85°C Bakery Cafe
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about the International District's 85°C Bakery Cafe, the bakery and patisserie, which offers coffee and tea and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Bakeries" on Yelp saw a median 2.2 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, 85°C Bakery Cafe bagged a 41.4 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, with a slight downward trend from a four-star rating a month ago to its current 3.5 stars.
Open at 501 S. Jackson St. (between South Sixth and South Fifth avenues) since January 2019, 85°C Bakery Cafe offers milk teas, cakes, cheese tarts and more.
Teinei
The Cascade's Teinei is also making waves. Open since 2017 at 1256 Republican St., South Lake Union (between North Pontius and North Yale avenues), the popular sushi bar and izakaya, which offers ramen and more, has seen an 8.9 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 3.4 percent for all businesses tagged "Sushi Bars" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Teinei's review count increased by more than 1,100 percent.
There's more than one hotspot trending in Seattle's sushi bar category: Junkichi Robata Izakaya has seen a 7.8 percent increase in reviews.
Teinei offers ramen, hand rolls, udon and curry. Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy four-star rating among Yelpers.
Swel Restaurant
Fremont's Swel Restaurant is the city's buzziest New American spot by the numbers.
The New American spot, open at 3417 Evanston Ave. North, Suite 104 (between 35th and 34th streets), increased its new review count by 5.2 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.5 percent for the Yelp category "American (New)."
It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: Von's 1000 Spirits has seen a 3.2 percent increase in reviews.
Swel offers salads, sweets, pizzas and cocktails.
Side Hustle Doughnuts
Georgetown's Side Hustle Doughnuts is currently on the upswing in the coffee and tea category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp saw a median 2.6 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, this pop-up shop, which offers doughnuts, coffee and tea and more, increased its by 14.3 percent—and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 500 percent on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 6235 Airport Way South, Lowercase Brewing (between South 13th Avenue and Albro Place) since 2017, the business offers cream-filled, frosted and plain donuts.
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.
