Want the intel on San Diego's most talked-about local spots?

We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to deduce which local businesses have been most discussed this month.

To find out who made the list, we looked at San Diego 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.

The Owl Drug Co. Social Eating House

East Village's The Owl Drug Co. Social Eating House is also making waves. Open since January at 602 Broadway (between 7th Ave and India Street), the bar, brewpub and traditional American spot has seen a 39.4 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.2 percent for all businesses tagged "Bars" on Yelp.

The Owl Drug Co. Social Eating House offers owl-themed cocktails, such as Owl Take it Dirty with vodka and blue cheese-stuffed olives and Owl by Myself with sparkling rosé and blueberry syrup lime juice, garnished with a strawberry. It also serves house and guest beers on draft, as well as bottled beer and wine. Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy four-star rating among Yelpers.

NoW Cafe

Mission Beach's NoW Cafe is the city's buzziest cafe by the numbers.

The cafe, which opened at 844 W. Mission Bay Drive (between Ventura Place and Mission Boulevard) in 2018, increased its new review count by 24.4 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.3 percent for the Yelp category "Cafes."

NoW Cafe offers açai bowls, smoothies, toasts, paninis and sides like trail mix, chia pudding and salad. On the menu, look for the smashed avocado on rosemary sage bread and the almond butter and strawberry lavender jam panini with sliced bananas. 

Pitchers

Rancho Penasquitos' Pitchers is currently on the upswing in the sports bar category on Yelp.

While businesses categorized as "Sports Bars" on Yelp saw a median 1.8 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, this sports bar and traditional American spot increased its by 14.3 percent—with its Yelp rating improving from four stars to 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 160 percent on a month-to-month basis.

Open for business at 9920 Carmel Mountain Road (at Paseo Cardiel) since 2018, the business offers an extensive list of beers on tap and a food menu that features Irish nachos, a smoked meatball sub, a barbecue burger, pizza and wings.

Salt & Straw

Open since March, this ice cream spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt" on Yelp.

Citywide, businesses tagged "Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt" saw a median 2.3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Salt & Straw saw a 76.5 percent increase, maintaining a strong 4.5-star rating throughout.

Located at 3705 Caminito Court, Suite 0580 in Carmel Valley, Salt & Straw offers an array of flavors including cinnamon snickerdoodle, pear and blue cheese, sea salt with caramel ribbons and dandelion chocolate hazelnut cookies and cream.

Tahona Bar

Is Old Town's Tahona Bar on your radar? According to Yelp review data, the cocktail bar and Mexican spot, which offers food and more, is seeing plenty of action.

While businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp increased their media new review count by 1.9 percent over the past month, Tahona Bar nabbed a 21.9 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating.

Located at 2414 San Diego Ave. (between Linwood and Arista streets.), Tahona Bar offers tacos, Mexican ceviche, Mexican street food and desserts. On the menu, look for guacamole, octopus ceviche, carne asada tacos, stuffed squash blossom tacos and churro s'mores.

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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.