Want the intel on Phoenix's buzziest local spots?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to analyze which restaurants have been getting extra notice this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Phoenix 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 have the momentum heading into back-to-school season.
Hash Kitchen
Open since June, this breakfast and brunch spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Citywide, breakfast and brunch spots saw a median 2 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Hash Kitchen saw a staggering 130.6 percent increase, with a four-star rating.
Located at 4315 E. Indian School Road in Camelback East, Hash Kitchen serves six signature hash plates, including the Poutine corned beef with crispy fries, cheese curds, poached eggs, crispy onions and gravy, and the Carnitas with braised pork, fried eggs, cotija, roasted corn, avocado, green chili sauce, crema, fried onions, cilantro and corn tortillas, plus French toast, waffles, frittatas and burgers and salads. (Click here to see the full menu.)
Lola Coffee
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Camelback East's Lola Coffee, the coffee and tea spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp saw a median 3.1 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Lola Coffee bagged a noteworthy 109.1 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, with a slight downward trend from a five-star rating a month ago to its current 4.5 stars.
Open at 3950 E. Indian School Road, Suite 120, since May, Lola Coffee offers a full breakfast menu, coffee, espresso and a bakery stocked with muffins, cookies, pies, shortbread, protein bites and more.
The Covenant
Paradise Valley's The Covenant is also making waves. Open since the summer of 2017 at 4740 E. Shea Blvd., Suite 104, the popular wine bar and New American spot, which offers coffee and tea and more, has seen a 3.5 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.3 percent for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis The Covenant's review count increased by more than 320 percent.
The Covenant serves wine from Napa, France and Argentina, cocktails and local craft beer. When it comes to the food menu, you can expect short ribs, pan seared scallops and burgers and sandwiches. Over the past month, it's maintained a superior four-star rating among Yelpers.
Arriba Mexican Grill
Camelback East's Arriba Mexican Grill is the city's buzziest Mexican spot by the numbers.
The popular cocktail bar and Mexican and breakfast and brunch spot, which opened at 1812 E. Camelback Road in 2007, increased its new review count by 3.3 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.3 percent for the Yelp category "Mexican."
Try the Arriba breakfast skillet with potatoes, chorizo, eggs, onions, bell peppers and chopped chicken breast topped with queso fundido sauce, and the Texas French toast with scrambled eggs, bacon and Texas bread dipped in egg batter. For lunch and dinner, consider the Arriba pollo con queso, a chicken burrito topped with three kinds of melted cheese and served with rice and beans, or the Moneterey Hatch shrimp. (View the full menu here.)
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.
