Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending at this very moment?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to deduce which local businesses have been getting outsized notice 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 this summer.
Cook Shoppe
Open since May, this wine bar, brasserie and New American spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Wine Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, wine bars saw a median 1% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Cook Shoppe saw an imposing 175% increase, with a slight upward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to four stars today.
Located at 215 Church St. (between 15th and Market streets) in the Castro, Cook Shoppe offers pasta, burgers, salad, seafood and beef. Main course selections include sole piccata (lemon, chardonnay, butter sauce, capers, artichoke, wilted tomatoes, quinoa and jasmine pilaf), grilled Angus skirt steak ( black beans, plantains, mojo de ajo, chimichurri) and the summer risotto (tomato, saffron, arborio rice, onion garlic, pea tendrils).
Check out the entire menu here.
Troje Restaurant
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about the Mission's Troje Restaurant, the Mediterranean and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers tapas and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Tapas/Small Plates" on Yelp saw a median 1.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, Troje Restaurant bagged a 35.5% increase in new reviews within that timeframe, with a slight downward trend from a five-star rating a month ago to its current 4.5 stars. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.6 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 1500 S. Van Ness Ave., Suite 100 (between 26th and Cesar Chavez streets) since January, Troje Restaurant offers Mediterranean tapas-style cuisine. Stop by during happy hour for the hummus platter (pita bread, spicy beet, carrot, curry hummus), chicken and waffles (Sriracha maple syrup) or the cheese board (coppa, salami, prosciutto, smoked gouda, grana padano, manchego, pickled veggies and crostini). Here's the entire menu.
Pizzeria Delfina
SoMa's Pizzeria Delfina is also making waves. Open since December at 688 Mission St. (between Annie and Third streets), the new expansion of the Mission District's popular pizza spot has seen a 20.4% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.2% for all businesses tagged "Italian" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Pizzeria Delfina's review count increased by more than 330%.
There's more than one hot spot trending in San Francisco's Italian category: Barbara Pinseria & Cocktail Bar has seen an 11.8% increase in reviews.
Pizzeria Delfina now has five Bay Area locations, including outposts in Palo Alto and Burlingame. Yelpers recommend ordering the carbonara pizza (guanciale, two farm eggs, pecorino, scallions, black pepper), the Margherita pizza (tomato, mozzarella, basil) or the ricotta stuffed shells (anchovy, tomato sauce, escarole). Over the past month, Pizzeria Delfina maintained a sound four-star rating among Yelpers.
Golden Saba Seafood
Chinatown's Golden Saba Seafood is the city's buzziest seafood spot by the numbers.
The dim sum and seafood spot, which opened at 646 Washington St. (between Kearny Street and Columbus Avenue) in January, increased its new review count by 19.6% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.1% for the Yelp category "Seafood." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.6 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Golden Saba Seafood offers lobster and crab dishes along with dim sum. On the menu, look for the six-piece pork xiao long bao (steamed dumplings), the chicken potstickers and the lobster fried with hot pepper and garlic. (Explore the menu here.)
Hell's Ramen
The Mission's Hell's Ramen is currently on the upswing in the noodle category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Noodles" on Yelp saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, this spot to score ramen and noodles increased its new reviews by 27.8% — and kept its rating consistent at four stars.
Open since February at 2193 Mission St. (between Sycamore and 18th streets), the ramen joint by the team behind Iza Ramen and Blowfish Sushi specializes in spicy, reimagined versions of the Japanese comfort food classic, along with salads, rice dishes and sake.
Menu standouts include the peri peri chicken karaage (crispy house marinated garlic chicken rubbed with African peri peri chili powder), the ashura ramen (chicken broth with flower pepper and spiced tahini paste, served with sweet and spicy miso ground pork, bbq pork, cilantro, marinated egg) and the Japanese keema curry (caramelized yellow onion, blended spices & herbs of ground chicken curry over rice). The restaurant also offers several vegetarian and vegan-friendly menu options. (Here's the entire menu.)
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.
