Wondering where San Jose'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 restaurants have been on the tips of diners' tongues this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at San Jose 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.
Tostadas
Open since June, this Mexican and breakfast and brunch spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Citywide, breakfast and brunch spots saw a median 1.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Tostadas saw a dramatic 154.1% increase, maintaining a strong four-star rating throughout.
Located at 304 E. Santa Clara St., Suite A in downtown San Jose, Tostadas offers stuffed poblano chilis, red and green enchiladas, steak fajitas and more. Sides include handmade tortillas, tamales and beans.
7 Leaves Cafe
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about West San Jose's 7 Leaves Cafe, the spot to score bubble tea, coffee and more is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp saw a median 2.2% increase in new reviews over the past month, 7 Leaves Cafe bagged an 80.6% increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a superior four-star rating.
There's more that's trending on San Jose's coffee and tea scene: Oh My Boba has seen a 21.7% increase in reviews.
Open at 375 Saratoga Ave. since May, 7 Leaves Cafe offers milk tea, Vietnamese iced coffee, matcha tea, housemaid macarons and more. Complement beverages with add-ons like honey boba, aloe vera, grass jelly and sea cream.
Mesquite and Oak
Downtown San Jose's Mesquite and Oak is also making waves. Open since January 2018, at 856 N. 13th St., the traditional American spot, which offers barbecue and sandwiches, has seen a 5.4% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.2% for all businesses tagged "American (Traditional)" on Yelp.
Mesquite and Oak offers brisket, ribs, hot links, pulled chicken and pork, as well as baked beans, coleslaw and mac and cheese. Over the past month, it's maintained a solid 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Lucy's Mexican Grill
Branham/Pearl's Lucy's Mexican Grill is the city's buzziest Mexican spot by the numbers.
The Mexican spot, which opened at 615 Blossom Hill Road in 2017, increased its new review count by 6.7% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.2% for the Yelp category "Mexican." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.4 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
It's not the only trending outlier in the Mexican category: El Camaron De Sinaloa has seen a 4.4% increase in reviews.
Lucy's Mexican Grill offers tacos, tortas, burritos, quesadillas, flautas 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.
