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 getting a notable increase in attention 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 increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are on a hot streak this summer.
Squable
Open since April, this modern European and New American spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp.
Citywide, New American spots saw a median 3.1 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Squable saw a significant 183.3 percent increase, maintaining a superior 4.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 632 W. 19th St. in the Heights, Squable offers pork, pasta, seafood, beef and chicken. Try ordering the Dutch baby pancake to start, followed by the pork neck schnitzel as the entree and, if you have room, the doughnuts with holes for dessert. (Check out the full menu here.)
Trendy Dumpling
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Greenway / Upper Kirby Area's Trendy Dumpling, the Szechuan and Asian fusion spot, which offers noodles and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Asian Fusion" on Yelp saw a median 2.4 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Trendy Dumpling bagged a formidable 131.8 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, with a slight upward trend from a three-star rating a month ago to its current 3.5 stars.
Open at 3285 Southwest Freeway since May, Trendy Dumpling offers Sichuan seafood, pork, lamb, chicken, soup, noodles and dumplings. Menu standouts include the truffle steam soup bao, the steam pork dumplings and the chicken & taro jelly. (Explore the menu here.)
Tropicales
University Place's Tropicales is also making waves. Open since April at 2132 Bissonnet St., Suite 100, the cafe, cocktail bar and breakfast and brunch spot has seen a staggering 140 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 4.3 percent for all businesses tagged "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp.
Tropicales offers Cuban-inspired cuisine. On the menu look for breakfast items served all day, like the cinnamon and panela oatmeal, the big bend rice bowl and breakfast tacos. Going for lunch? Try the Cubano sandwich or the skirt steak fajita.
Over the past month, Tropicales has seen its Yelp rating tick down from 4.5 stars to four stars.
Mamasan Sushi
Addicks Park Ten's Mamasan Sushi is the city's buzziest Japanese spot by the numbers.
The sushi bar and Japanese spot, which opened at 14838 Park Row Drive, Suite A in April, increased its new review count by 78.6 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.7 percent for the Yelp category "Japanese."
Mamasan Sushi offers soups, salads, poke, fried rice and, of course, sushi. Look for the Spider hand roll, the Mardi Gras roll (crawfish, shrimp, crab, avocado, spicy tuna, special mayo, hot sauce), the salmon tartar and the lobster roll (deep fried lobster, crab meat, cream cheese, avocado, pineapple sauce, eel sauce, crunch). (Find the rest of the menu here.)
Tamashi Ramen Sushi
Central Northwest's Tamashi Ramen Sushi is currently on the upswing in the sushi bar category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Sushi Bars" on Yelp saw a median 2.4 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, this sushi bar, which offers ramen and more, increased its new reviews by 84.6 percent — and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars.
This local franchise has three locations in Houston. Open for business at 1214 W. 43rd St., Suite 500, since April, the business offers ramen and sushi. Try the Tamashi's Menn in a shrimp-based broth served with a shrimp skewer & bean sprout, chashu, soft boiled-egg, fried onion and scallion; the Houston roll (tempura-style) with kani, cream cheese, peppered tuna, mayo and sweet soy; or the New Moon roll, made with peppered tuna, avocado, spicy salmon and sweet chili sauce. (Explore 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.
