Curious where Washington's insiders are eating and drinking? It's easy to spot lines out the door, but some trends are harder to see.
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which eateries have been on the tips of diners' tongues this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Washington 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 riding a trend, right now.
Grazie Grazie
Open since May, this spot to score salads and sandwiches is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp.
Citywide, sandwich spots saw a median 2.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Grazie Grazie saw an impressive 142.9% increase, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Grazie Grazie's review count increased by more than 1,500%.
It's not the only trending outlier in the sandwich category: Büna Coffeehouse has seen a 28.6% increase in reviews, and Roy Boys has seen a 15.8% bump.
Located at 85 District Square SW at The Wharf, Grazie Grazie offers a variety of cheesesteaks and sandwiches that include fresh mozzarella, prosciutto and basil pesto, and hand-breaded grilled chicken with provolone cheese. It also offers meatball and sausage grinders.
Duke's Grocery
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Foggy Bottom's Duke's Grocery, the bar and gastropub, which offers burgers and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp saw a median 1.9% increase in new reviews over the past month, Duke's Grocery bagged an 85.7% increase in new reviews within that time frame, with a slight upward trend from a three-star rating a month ago to its current 3.5 stars.
The English-style pub, which has two other locations in the District, opened at 2000 Pennsylvania Ave. NW (between North I and North 21st streets) in May. The menu changes daily, but typical offerings include truffle mac and cheese and jerk chicken thighs. A variety of British and other imported beers are on offer.
Nicoletta Italian Kitchen
Mount Vernon Square's Nicoletta Italian Kitchen is also making waves. Open since April at 901 Fourth St. NW (between North I and North K streets), the Italian restaurant, which offers pizza and salads, has seen a 39.3% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.5% for all businesses tagged "Pizza" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Washington's pizza category: Stellina Pizzeria has seen a 26.8% increase in reviews.
Nicoletta Italian Kitchen offers pizzas with fried eggplant, breaded chicken or thick-cut pepperoni, among other options. It also serves pasta, lamb and fish entrees and salads. Over the past month, it's maintained a sound 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Olive Bistro Cafe
Olive Bistro Cafe in Tenleytown is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.
The Mediterranean breakfast and brunch spot, which has been open at 4619 41st St. NW (between North Chesapeake Street and North Wisconsin Avenue) since 2018, increased its new review count by 15.2% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.2% for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch." It outperformed the previous month by gaining five times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Olive Bistro Cafe features Turkish dishes, including menemen — scrambled eggs with feta cheese, tomatoes, green peppers and herbs — and a traditional breakfast platter with feta cheese, eggs, kashkaval cheese, olives, cucumbers, honey butter and homemade bread.
Circa
Circa at the Navy Yard is currently on the upswing in the traditional American category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp saw a median 2% increase in new reviews over the past month, this traditional American and New American spot increased its new reviews by 23.6% —and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 170% on a month-to-month basis.
Circa, which has three other locations in the area, opened at 99 M St. SE, Suite 100 in February. It offers lobster ravioli, blackened Atlantic salmon and braised short ribs, among other dinner options.
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.
