Curious where Los Angeles'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 restaurants have been most discussed this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Los Angeles 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 poised to start summer off strong.
Tocaya
Open since April, this Mexican spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp.
Citywide, Mexican spots saw a median 2.2 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Tocaya saw a remarkable 129 percent increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 801 S. Olive St., Suite B in downtown Los Angeles, Tocaya offers modern Mexican dishes like coconut churro bites and Cali tacos with avocado onion salsa. (You can check out the full menu here.)
The 8th Notch
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Koreatown's The 8th Notch, the traditional American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp saw a median 1.6 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, The 8th Notch bagged a 65.7 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a stellar five-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Los Angeles's traditional American scene: Ivanhoe Restaurant & Bar has seen a 28.2 percent increase in reviews.
Open at 3500 Wilshire Blvd. since March, The 8th Notch offers comfort food favorites like house-smoked pulled pork and spicy fried chicken with Fresno chile pimento cheese. (See the full menu here.)
Openaire
Koreatown's Openaire is the city's buzziest New American spot by the numbers.
The New American eatery, which opened at 3515 Wilshire Blvd. last October, increased its new review count by 38.5 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.8 percent for the Yelp category "American (New)." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.1 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Openaire features elevated offerings such as avocado toast and suckling pig with strawberry rhubarb and citrus slaw. (You can view the breakfast, lunch and dinner menus here.)
Kopan Sushi & Ramen Bar
Open since January, this sushi spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sushi Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, businesses tagged "Sushi Bars" saw a median 1.6 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Kopan Sushi & Ramen Bar saw a 28.6 percent increase, maintaining a strong 4.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 8562 W. Third St. in Beverly Grove, Kopan Sushi & Ramen Bar serves up an array of sushi and sashimi offerings, from octopus and fatty yellowtail to fresh water eel and sweet shrimp. (You can check out the full selection here.)
Winzza
Is Sylmar's Winzza on your radar? According to Yelp review data, the pizza spot is on a hot streak.
While businesses categorized as "Pizza" on Yelp increased their media new review count by 1.7 percent over the past month, Winzza nabbed a 20 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, with a modest upward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to its current four stars.
Located at 13796 Foothill Blvd., Winzza offers specialty pizzas like the Flamin' Cheetos with homemade spicy sauce, cheese and cruncy Flamin' Hot Cheetos. (You can check out the full 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.
