Wondering where Seattle'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 restaurants have been getting a significant uptick in attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Seattle 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.
Matcha Café Maiko
Open since May, this spot to score ice cream, coffee, matcha and more is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp.
Citywide, coffee and tea spots saw a median 2.7% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Matcha Café Maiko saw a massive 207.4% increase, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 400 Pine St., Suite 324 (between 4th Ave and Westlake Avenue) in Central Business District, Matcha Café Maiko offers matcha tea, matcha lattes, soft served ice cream, shaved ice and more. Its specialty item is the Golden Shogun matcha soft serve, topped with an edible golden sheet.
Ben Paris
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Pike Market's Ben Paris, the cocktail bar and New American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, Ben Paris bagged a 46.3% increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Seattle's New American scene: Mbar has seen a 5.9% increase in reviews.
Open at 130 Pike St. (between News Lane and First Avenue) since March, Ben Paris offers buttermilk hushpuppies, English pea risotto, pan-roasted salmon and more.
Thomas Street Warehouse
The Cascade's Thomas Street Warehouse is also making waves. Open since February at 915 Thomas St. (between North Westlake and North Ninth avenues), the bar and traditional American spot, which offers comfort food and more, has seen a 29.4% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.1% for all businesses tagged "American (Traditional)" on Yelp.
Thomas Street Warehouse offers poutine, fish tacos, mac and cheese, burgers and more. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed three-star rating among Yelpers.
Old Stove Brewing
Pike Market's Old Stove Brewing is the city's buzziest seafood spot by the numbers.
The brewpub, which offers seafood, burgers and more, opened at 1901 Western Ave., Suite A (between Pike Place and Virginia Street) in January, increased its new review count by 13.1% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.4% for the Yelp category "Seafood." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.8 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Old Stove Brewing offers oysters, fish and chips, wood-oven pizzas, stove-cooked paella and more.
Cafe Opla
Belltown's Cafe Opla is currently on the upswing in the breakfast and brunch category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, Cafe Opla increased its new reviews by 8.8%—and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 280% on a month-to-month basis.
There's more abuzz in the world of Seattle breakfast and brunch: Magnuson Cafe & Brewery has seen a 11.5% increase in reviews, and Retreat has seen a 9.8% bump.
Open for business at 2200 Alaskan Way, Suite 120 since 2017, the Vietnamese-inspired restaurant offers a variety of banh mi sandwiches and egg dishes like the Opla Vietnam with sunny-side-up eggs, grilled pork, meatballs, pickled vegetables and a toasted baguette. This spot also serves Stumptown Coffee, including both cold brew nitro and kombucha on tap
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.
