Wondering where San Diego'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 uncover which restaurants have been seeing especially high review volumes 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 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, right now.
The Florence
Open since March, this New American spot is trending compared to other businesses in that category on Yelp.
Citywide, New American spots saw a median 1.3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but The Florence saw a considerable 126.5 percent increase, maintaining a healthy four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, The Florence's review count increased by more than 310 percent.
It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: Del's Hideout has seen a 106.5 percent increase in reviews.
Located at 13480 Evening Creek Drive North, Suite 150 in Sabre Springs, The Florence is named after famed local swimmer Florence Chadwick and offers an eclectic choice of entrees, including chicken healing soup, double cheeseburgers and cedar paper salmon.
Mr. Moto Pizza House
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about the La Jolla's Mr. Moto Pizza House, this spot is a hot topic, according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Pizza" on Yelp saw a median 1.9 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Mr. Moto Pizza House bagged a 50 percent increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a strong four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 23.0 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open since last November at 617 Pearl St. (between Cuvier Street and Draper Avenue), this restaurant features custom white and red-sauce pies for purchase, as well as garlic knots, chicken wings, chicken pesto penne and a house salad.
Butcher's Cut
The Gaslamp's Butcher's Cut is also making waves. Open since May at 644 Fifth Ave. (between G and Market streets), the steakhouse and grill has seen a 57.1 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.8 percent for all businesses tagged "Steakhouses" on Yelp.
Butcher's Cut's steak offerings include prime ribeye bone-in, Angus filet mignon and an IPA sirloin steak. Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating tick down from 4.5 stars to four stars.
Baba'z Grill Mediterranean
Teralta East's Baba'z Grill Mediterranean is the city's buzziest burger spot by the numbers.
The eatery, which also features Mediterranean fare and pizza, opened at 4672 University Ave., Suite D (between 47th Street and Menlo Avenue) in September 2018. The restaurant increased its new review count by 25 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.6 percent for the Yelp category "Burgers." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.9 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
In addition to its custom burgers, Baba'z Grill Mediterranean also offers deep-dish pizzas, steak quesadillas, veggie wraps and more.
Parakeet Cafe
Carmel Valley's Parakeet Cafe is currently on the upswing in the cafe category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Cafes" on Yelp saw a median 1.5 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, customers have been flocking to this cafe and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers coffee and tea and more, increasing its new reviews by 53.1 percent — and keeping its rating consistent at four stars.
Open for business at 3745 Paseo Place, Suite 820 since April, this health-oriented eatery's signature entree is the parakeet bowl, which includes brown rice, enoki mushroom salad, sesame collard greens, marinated cucumbers and almond butter miso mayo.
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.
