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 deduce which eateries have been in the spotlight 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 extra cool this summer.
Mastrantos
Open since December, this wine bar and breakfast and brunch and modern European spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Citywide, breakfast and brunch spots saw a median 3.5 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Mastrantos saw a 21.1 percent increase, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Mastrantos's review count increased by more than 300 percent.
It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: Common Bond Cafe & Bakery has seen a 46.2 percent increase in reviews.
Located at 927 Studewood St., Suite 100, in the Heights, Mastrantos offers salad, pasta, lamb, steak and eggs. Brunch favorites at this spot include dishes like Ohh my Arepas with grilled corn patties, house scramble, avocado and Mari's cilantro salsa; the Wake-Up in Tijuana Salad with grilled salmon, charred radicchio, butter lettuce, sugar peas, corn tostada and Caesar dressing; and Nutella salted toast. (Check out the full menu here.)
Viet Nom Noms
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Viet Nom Noms, the Vietnamese spot, which offers sandwiches and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp saw a median 2.3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Viet Nom Noms bagged a 9.5 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a strong four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.5 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 5221 Bellaire Blvd. since 2017, Viet Nom Noms offers bowls and sandwiches that guests may build as they move through the line. On the menu, look for the banh mi sandwich with pork, chicken, steak, tofu or veggies, and rice bowls with rice, carrots, daikons, cucumbers, green onions, fried onion and Viet sauce. (Explore the menu here.)
La Lucha
The Heights's La Lucha is also making waves. Open since September at 1801 N. Shepherd Drive, the bar and traditional American spot, which offers seafood and more, has seen a 14.8 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.9 percent for all businesses tagged "Bars" on Yelp.
On La Lucha's menu, look for Peel N Eat boiled shrimp, wood-roasted gulf oysters, blackened catfish and shrimp tacos. Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy 4.5-star rating among Yelpers. (See the rest of the menu here.)
Hopdoddy Burger Bar
The Heights's Hopdoddy Burger Bar is the city's buzziest burger spot by the numbers.
Hopdaddy Burger Bar has locations in seven states across the South and West. The popular burger spot, which opened at 449 W. 19th St., Suite D-100, in January, increased its new review count by 23.8 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 5.5 percent for the Yelp category "Burgers." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 4.0 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Hopdoddy Burger Bar offers burgers, sides, shareables and shakes. Try the green chile queso fries and the Llano Poblano burger with Angus beef, hickory-smoked bacon, Tillamook pepper jack, seared poblanos, chipotle aioli, lettuce, tomato and onion. Save room for the Nutella chocolate pretzel shake. (Here's the rest of the menu.)
Ishin Udon
Sharpstown's Ishin Udon is currently on the upswing in the Japanese category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Japanese" on Yelp saw a median 1.9 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, this Japanese spot, which offers noodles and soup, increased its new reviews by 10.9 percent — and kept its rating consistent at four stars. Review counts increased by more than 170 percent on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 9630 Clarewood Drive, Suite A15-B, since December, the business offers udon, pasta and curry dishes. On the menu, look for the ginger pork udon with sliced pork belly with ginger sauce, onion, mizuna, scallion and mayo; the curry ebi tempura with shrimp tempura, seasonal vegetables, sweet radish, mizuna and scallions; and Italian-inspired udon entrees like the seafood puttanesca udon with spicy anchovy tomato sauce udon, shrimp, squid, scallop, olive, caper and mizuna. (Find the entire 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.
