Want the scoop on San Francisco's most talked-about dining destinations?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to analyze which local eateries have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at San Francisco 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.
Mango Crazy
Open since late 2018, this mango-centric spot for fruit cups and frozen treats is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt" on Yelp.
Citywide, ice cream and frozen yogurt spots saw a median 2 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Mango Crazy saw a striking 109.4 percent increase, maintaining a superior 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Mango Crazy's review count increased by more than 880 percent.
Located at 51 Jefferson St. (between Powell and Mason streets) in Fisherman's Wharf, Mango Crazy specializes in Latin-inspired tropical treats like the mangonada, a cup of mango sorbet with mango chunks, mango nectar, lime, chamoy, hot sauce and chili powder.
Other options include fruit cups with lime juice and spicy tajín seasoning, and a "piña loca" with spiced, salted fruit chunks stuffed into a half-pineapple. There are also some savory snacks like tostilocos, chips topped with cucumber, jicama, pork rinds, crunchy peanuts and tamarind.
Palette Tea House
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Ghirardelli Square's Palette Tea House, the Cantonese restaurant specializing in dim sum and seafood is a hot topic, according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 1.1 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Palette Tea House bagged a 30.2 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a sound four-star rating.
Open at 900 N. Point St., Suite B-201A, since March, Palette offers a variety of seafood-centric dim sum items, like lobster har gow dumplings, soft-shell crab rice crepes and scallop siu mai. Carnivores can also enjoy treats like pork soup dumplings and black-bean ribs with taro.
Larger seafood plates include ginger-scallion Dungeness crab, golden garlic-steamed spot prawns and fish stew with mustard greens. There are also seafood noodle dishes, including a Dungeness crab glass noodle.
Plain Jane
The Mission's Plain Jane is also making waves. Open since April at 1000 Guerrero St. (between Alvarado and 22nd streets), the breakfast and brunch spot has seen a 75 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.6 percent for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
While its name might suggest a simple menu, Plain Jane offers some truly unusual breakfast items, including cannoli French toast and a lobster scramble with chives. Those who prefer to keep it simple can order a basic two-egg scramble with crispy potatoes and bacon or chicken-apple sausage.
Over the past month, Plain Jane has maintained a convincing 4.5-star rating among Yelpers, who are particularly fond of the "pancake sampler" of red velvet pancakes, cottage cheese pancakes and custardy French toast.
Niku Steakhouse
SoMa's Niku Steakhouse is the city's buzziest steakhouse by the numbers.
The Japanese-inspired steakhouse, which specializes in high-end Wagyu beef, opened at 61 Division St. in February. Over the past month, increased its new review count by 13.3 percent, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 0.7 percent for the Yelp category "Steakhouses."
Niku's small plates include Japanese wagyu jerky and dry-aged beef tartare with caviar. Those with money to burn can indulge in the 40-day dry-aged New York strip steak, the imperial wagyu filet mignon, or the imperial wagyu tomahawk for two.
Breadbelly
The Inner Richmond's Breadbelly is currently on the upswing in the bakery category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Bakeries" on Yelp saw a median 1.4 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, this Asian-inspired bakery and brunch spot increased its new reviews by 17.4 percent—and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 270 percent on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 1408 Clement St. (between 15th and 16th avenues) since December, Breadbelly offers Asian pastries such as a gyeran-ang, a Korean-style egg-filled cornbread; chocolate miso cake; and a "not ube" tart with salted egg yolk shavings.
It also offers savory sandwiches, salads and soups, including a char siu sandwich with bok choy and a cucumber-avocado salad with Thai chili-lime vinaigrette.
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.
