Unsure where Philadelphia'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 seeing especially high review volumes this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Philadelphia 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, right now.
Winkel
Open since Memorial Day 2019, this breakfast and brunch spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Citywide, breakfast and brunch spots saw a median 1.8 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Winkel saw a substantial 192.3 percent increase, maintaining an outstanding five-star rating throughout.
Located at 1119 Locust St. in Washington Square, the eatery offers breakfast bites, like buttermilk pancakes, eggs Benedict and Belgian waffles. The lunch menu includes The Winkel Tosti, with roasted ham, melted Gouda, grilled pineapple, sweet butter and a side of mustard on toasted white bread.
Somo
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Stadium District's Somo, the 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 1.8 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Somo bagged a 42.3 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, with a slight downward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to its current three stars. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.8 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
There's more that's trending on Philadelphia's New American scene: Sandler's On 9th has seen an 11.9 percent increase in reviews, and Friday Saturday Sunday and Luna Café have seen 6.7 and 6.3 percent increases, respectively.
Open at 3101 S. 13th St. since October 2018, Somo also has a Manayunk location. The menu offers shareable plates like meatballs and calamari. There are also crabcake sandwiches and main dishes, like buttermilk fried chicken.
James Restaurant & Bar
Logan Square's James Restaurant & Bar is currently on the upswing in the bar category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp saw a median 2.1 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, this bar and traditional American and breakfast and brunch spot increased its new reviews by 7.9 percent — and kept its rating consistent at 3.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 240 percent on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 1835 Arch St. since 2018, the business offers main dishes like braised halibut and lobster ravioli. Order a pitcher of Painkiller Punch for the table. It's made with rum, coconut cream, pineapple, orange juice, fresh lime and nutmeg.
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.
