Want the scoop on Seattle's most happening local spots?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which eateries have been most discussed this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Seattle 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 hot, right now.
Retreat
Open since November 2017, this cafe is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Citywide, breakfast and brunch spots saw a median 1.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Retreat saw a 10.4% increase, maintaining a sound four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Retreat's review count increased by more than 140%.
It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: Magnuson Cafe & Brewery has seen an 8.4% increase in reviews, and Mr. West Cafe Bar has seen a 4% bump.
Located at 6900 E. Green Lake Way North (between North Fourth Avenue and Ravenna Boulevard), Retreat offers egg and goat cheese toast, a black bean breakfast bowl, bacon and spinach omelet, mimosas and more.
Kamonegi
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Fremont's Kamonegi, the well-established Japanese spot, which offers noodles and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Noodles" on Yelp saw a median 3.2% increase in new reviews over the past month, Kamonegi bagged a 6.5% increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a convincing four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining two times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
There's more that's trending on Seattle's noodle scene: Dough Zone Dumpling House has seen an 8.9% increase in reviews.
Open at 1054 N. 39th St. (between North Woodland Park Avenue) since October 2017, Kamonegi specializes in noodle dishes, like zaru noodles served with cold broth and wasabi, and kake noodles in hot broth and mitsuba.
Jerk Shack
Belltown's Jerk Shack is also making waves. Open since fall 2017 at 2510 First Ave. (between Wall and Vine streets), the popular cocktail bar and Caribbean spot has seen a 5.4% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.4% for all businesses tagged "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Jerk Shack's review count increased by more than 200%.
Jerk Shack offers tropical cocktails like desert island Paloma and raspberry mojito paired alongside food dishes like seafood gumbo, Cuban-spiced salmon and jerk fried chicken. Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy four-star rating among Yelpers.
Tai Tung Chinese Restaurant
The International District's Tai Tung Chinese Restaurant is the city's buzziest seafood spot by the numbers.
In business since 1935, the Chinese and seafood spot offers soups and more at 659 S. King St. It increased its new review count by 4.1% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.4% for the Yelp category "Seafood."
Tai Tung Chinese Restaurant serves up seafood entrees like shrimp with curry sauce, steamed crab, deepfried oysters, scallops with broccoli and more.
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.
