Wondering where Seattle's insiders are eating and drinking? It's easy to spot lines out the door, but some underlying trends are harder to see.
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which local businesses have been seeing especially high review volumes 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.
Magnuson Cafe & Brewery
Open since July 2018, this brew pub and brunch spot 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 Magnuson Cafe & Brewery saw an 8.3% increase, maintaining a mixed three-star rating throughout.
Located at 7801 62nd Ave. NE, Magnuson Cafe & Brewery offers brunch options like croque madame, corned beef hash, chicken and biscuits, avocado toast and more.
Noren
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Capitol Hill's Noren, the sushi bar, lounge and Japanese spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Japanese" on Yelp saw a median 3.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, Noren bagged a 15.4% increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a healthy four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.5 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 320 E. Pike St. (between Bellevue and Minor avenues) since October 2018, the eatery offers shrimp tempura, speciality sushi rolls, ramen, poke bowls, mochi and more.
Brunello Ristorante
Roosevelt's Brunello Ristorante is also making waves. Open since 2016 at 7115 Roosevelt Way NE (between 72nd and 71st streets), the Italian spot has seen a 7.2% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.8% for all businesses tagged "Italian" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, the restaurant's review count increased by more than 200%.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Seattle's Italian category: Aglio e Olio has seen a 5.9% increase in reviews, and Due' Cucina Italiana has seen a 3.8% bump.
Brunello Ristorante offers authentic Italian cuisine like spaghetti Bolognese, lasagna, handmade gnocchi, minestrone soup and more. Over the past month, it's maintained a convincing 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
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.
