Tequila bars and more: What's trending on Phoenix's food scene?

Tequila bars and more: What's trending on Phoenix's food scene?Tacos Tequila Whiskey. | Photo: Merichelle V./Yelp
Hoodline
Published on May 31, 2019

Curious where Phoenix's insiders are 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 analyze which restaurants have been most discussed this month.

To find out who made the list, we looked at Phoenix 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 increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.

Read on to see which spots are poised to start summer off strong.

Lou's Bar & Grill

Photo: lou's bar & grill/Yelp

Open since November of 2018, this New American spot, which offers pizza, wings and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp.

Citywide, New American spots saw a median 1.8 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Lou's Bar & Grill saw a 50 percent increase, with a slight upward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to four stars today. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Lou's Bar & Grill's review count increased by more than 550 percent.

It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: Ocotillo has seen a 4.3 percent increase in reviews.

Located at 5595 E. Karsten Way in Camelback East, Lou's Bar & Grill offers cheese curds, a chicken cobb salad, pizzas, burgers and more. It also serves beer on tap, red and white wine and both classic and custom cocktails. 

La Stalla Cucina Rustica

Photo: lolita b./Yelp

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Ahwatukee Foothills' La Stalla Cucina Rustica, the well-established Italian spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "Pizza" on Yelp saw a median 2 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, La Stalla Cucina Rustica bagged a 4 percent increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.7 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.

Open at 4855 E. Warner Road, since August of 2018, La Stalla Cucina Rustica offers a variety of specialty pizzas, including the Margherita with mozzarella and tomato, the chicken pesto pie and the four seasons pizza with artichokes, prosciutto, mushrooms and sausage. 

Tacos Tequila Whiskey

Photo: asha p./Yelp

Camelback East's Tacos Tequila Whiskey is also making waves. Open since May of 2017 at 3950 E. Indian School Road, the popular bar, which also offers Mexican fare, has seen a 7.7 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.7 percent for all businesses tagged "Bars" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Tacos Tequila Whiskey's review count increased by more than 1,900 percent.

Tacos Tequila Whiskey offers margaritas, beer, wine and signature cocktails. It also has a taco bar. Over the past month, it's maintained a convincing four-star rating among Yelpers.

Centrico

Photo: jessica h./Yelp

Central City's Centrico is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.

The bar and Mexican brunch spot, which opened at 202 N. Central Ave. in February of 2018, increased its new review count by 6.1 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.9 percent for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch."

Centrico offers a chili verde omelet with braised pork, salsa, beans and queso; pico de gallo scrambled eggs with tortilla chips and avocado; and a breakfast burrito with eggs, bacon, cheddar and pico de gallo. 


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.