Curious where Houston'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 discover which restaurants have been in the limelight this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Houston 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 have the momentum heading into summer.
Captain Crawfish
Open since February, this Cajun/Creole spot, which offers seafood and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Cajun/Creole" on Yelp.
Citywide, Cajun/Creole spots saw a median 3.9 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Captain Crawfish saw a 45.2 percent increase, maintaining a healthy four-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the Cajun/Creole category: Crawfish & Beignets has seen a 40 percent increase in reviews.
Located at 1114 Silber Road, Suite A, in Spring Branch East, Captain Crawfish offers boiled crabs, crawfish, lobster, mussels, clams and shrimp, along with soups, sandwiches and pasta. Order crawfish by the pound, add in some potatoes and corn and customize your sauce and spice level, from mild to "fire spicy." (Check out the entire menu here.)
Chicago's Famous Fried Chicken & Fish
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Eldridge / West Oaks's Chicago's Famous Fried Chicken & Fish, the chicken shop and traditional American spot, which offers seafood and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp saw a median 3.4 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Chicago's Famous Fried Chicken & Fish bagged a 21.2 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.8 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 12303 Westheimer Road since September, Chicago's Famous Fried Chicken & Fish offers made-to-order fried chicken and seafood platters. Try ordering a chicken wing bucket or a combo dinner, which comes with one piece of white or dark chicken along with a piece of fried fish. All meals are served with the restaurant's "famous mild sauce," hot sauce or lemon pepper. (Find the rest of the menu here.)
La Griglia
Neartown - Montrose's La Griglia is also making waves. Open since 2007 at 2002 W. Gray St., the popular Italian spot, which offers pizza and seafood, has seen a 9.6 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.6 percent for all businesses tagged "Seafood" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis La Griglia's review count increased by more than 830 percent.
La Griglia offers authentic Italian cuisine, from salads to pasta, seafood and wood-fired pizza. Menu standouts include the forest mushroom lasagna (Barolo wine, sherry-morel mushroom sauce) and the veal chop ‘zingara’ (red wine and stewed sweet peppers, goat cheese and sage sauce.)
Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating improve from 3.5 stars to four stars.
First Watch
Spring Branch West's First Watch is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.
The breakfast and brunch spot, which opened at 9778 Katy Freeway, Suite 600 in October, increased its new review count by 15.9 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 3 percent for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.4 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: Indianola has seen a 15.4 percent increase in reviews, and Snooze, an A.M. Eatery has seen a 14.3 percent bump.
First Watch is a franchise with locations across the country. The menu features brunch favorites like eggs, bacon, omelets, pancakes, waffles and French toast. It also offers salads, sandwiches and power bowls with quinoa, Italian sausage, Crimini mushrooms, tomatoes, kale and Parmesan.
Bisou
Afton Oaks / River Oaks Area's Bisou is currently on the upswing in the New American category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 2.5 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, this cocktail bar and New American spot increased its by 11 percent—and kept its rating consistent at three stars. Review counts increased by more than 160 percent on a month-to-month basis.
There's more abuzz in the world of Houston New American: Bloom & Bee has seen an 8.3 percent increase in reviews.
Open for business at 4444 Westheimer Road, Suite A-120, since October, the upscale business offers continental cuisine with a menu ranging from dumplings and charcuterie boards to sushi, seafood, duck, pork and steak. The bar features classic cocktails and an extensive wine list. (Check out the rest of 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.
