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 discover which eateries have been in the spotlight this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Boston 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 getting plenty of attention, right now.
Vino Volo
Open since 2012, this wine bar is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Wine Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, wine bars saw a median 1.6 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Vino Volo saw a 28.3 percent increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Vino Volo's review count increased by more than 750 percent.
Located at 1 Harborside Drive, Terminal E in East Boston, Vino Volo offers small bites and plates including meat and cheese boards, salads, clam chowder and more.
Legal Sea Foods
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about East Boston's Legal Sea Foods, the well-established seafood spot, which offers salads and sandwiches, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 1.3 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Legal Sea Foods bagged an 8.2 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 5.3 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
There's more that's trending on Boston's seafood scene: Eventide - Fenway has seen a 7 percent increase in reviews.
Open at 1 Harborside Drive since 2008, Legal Sea Foods offers New England fried clams, a blackened salmon Reuben, crab cakes and more.
Tatte Bakery & Cafe
Back Bay's Tatte Bakery & Cafe is the city's buzziest sandwich spot by the numbers.
The breakfast and brunch and coffee and tea spot, which offers sandwiches and more and opened at 399 Boylston St. (between Arlington and Berkeley streets) on 2018, increased its new review count by 6.4 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.7 percent for the Yelp category "Sandwiches."
Tatte Bakery & Cafe offers brunch, fresh bread, pastries, dessert and sandwiches.
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.
