Want the inside word on Long Beach's buzziest local spots?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to analyze which eateries have been most discussed this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Long Beach 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 riding a trend, right now.
Meant To Be Cafe
Open since October 2018, this cafe is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Citywide, breakfast and brunch spots saw a median 1.9 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Meant To Be Cafe saw a 22.5 percent increase, maintaining a strong 4.5-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: The Hangar has seen a 22.2 percent increase in reviews, and Lou & Mike’s and Vibes Beach Cafe have seen 18.4 and 13.6 percent increases, respectively.
Located at 969 E. Broadway in Long Beach, the Meant To Be Cafe offers breakfast burrito, avocado toast, fruit salsa and cinnamon chips and banana and caramel waffle.
Steel Cup Café
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Long Beach's Steel Cup Café, the coffee and tea spot, which offers coffee, juices and smoothies, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp saw a median 2.9 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Steel Cup Café bagged an 80.8 percent increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a sterling five-star rating.
Open at 2201 Lakewood Blvd., Suite E since May 2019, Steel Cup Café serves up organic drip coffee, organic black silk espresso drinks and hot and iced tea.
Cali Shrimp And Wingz House
Long Beach's Cali Shrimp And Wingz House is also making waves. Open since March 2015 at 1169 E. 10th St., the popular seafood spot, which offers seafood and chicken wings, has seen a 7.6 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.6 percent for all businesses tagged "Seafood" on Yelp.
Cali Shrimp And Wingz House serves up half-pound and one-pound shrimp boils with choice of house-made sauces such as garlic butter or lemon pepper. Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy four-star rating among Yelpers.
R Bar
Long Beach's R Bar is the city's buzziest New American spot by the numbers.
The bar and New American spot, which opened at 106 W. Third St. on May 2018, increased its new review count by 9.8 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.6 percent for the Yelp category "American (New)." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.5 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: Table 301 has seen a 5.2 percent increase in reviews.
R Bar's menu features buffalo cauliflower, barbecue chicken flatbread and mac and cheese with diced bacon, Manchego cheese and topped with roasted jalapeño peppers. See what else is on 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.
