Want the scoop on Portland's buzziest local spots?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to uncover which local businesses have been on the tips of diners' tongues this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Portland 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 this summer.
Lulu
Open since March 2019, this cocktail bar is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, cocktail bars saw a median 1.9 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Lulu saw a 35.7 percent increase, maintaining a superior 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Lulu's review count increased by more than 200 percent.
It's not the only trending outlier in the cocktail bar category: Eem has seen a 22.5 percent increase in reviews.
Located at 726 S.E. Grand Ave. in Buckman, Lulu offers draft beers, naked burrito bowls, Cheetos tortas and cocktails like the "Fake News," made of tequila, strawberry, agave, grapefruit bitters and lime.
Break Bread
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Pearl District's Break Bread, the deli and New American spot, which offers sandwiches and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.7 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Break Bread bagged a 23.5 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, with a slight upward trend from a 4.5-star rating a month ago to its current five stars.
Open at 1106 N.W. Hoyt St. since April, Break Bread offers turkey, chicken, beef, pork, vegetarian and vegan sandwiches, as well as side salads and chips.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store
Hayden Island's Cracker Barrel Old Country Store is also making waves. Open since May 2018 at 12050 N. Center Ave., the Southern, breakfast and brunch and traditional American spot has seen an 11.2 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.1 percent for all businesses tagged "American (Traditional)" on Yelp.
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store offers Southern fried chicken, French dip and breakfast plates with eggs and bacon. Over the past month, it's maintained a 2.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Batter Griddle and Drinkery
Beaumont-Wilshire's Batter Griddle and Drinkery is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.
The well-established bar and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers waffles and more and opened at 4425 N.E. Fremont St. in March 2015, increased its new review count by 11.9 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.1 percent for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 6.8 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: TILT has seen a 16.9 percent increase in reviews, and La Luna Cafe has seen a 10.8 percent bump.
Batter Griddle and Drinkery offers sweet and savory pancakes and crepes.
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.
