Want the scoop on Houston's most talked-about local spots?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to uncover which eateries have been most discussed this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Houston 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 this summer.
IWA YA Teppanyaki & Sushi
Open since December, this sushi bar and teppanyaki spot, which offers soups and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sushi Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, sushi bars saw a median 2.7% increase in new reviews over the past month, but IWA YA Teppanyaki & Sushi saw a 36.7% increase, maintaining a solid four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis IWA YA Teppanyaki & Sushi's review count increased by more than 260%.
Located at 9600 Bellaire Blvd., Suite 101A, in Sharpstown, IWA YA Teppanyaki & Sushi offers rice, noodles, salad, chicken, steak, seafood and sushi. Your meal can start with a complimentary soup — miso, corn or red bean — from the self-serve area in the dining room. For the entree, try the Shaggy Dog roll with shredded kanikama, spicy mayo, temoura shrimp and cucumber, the Hawaii Volcano roll with avocado, spicy tuna, spicy mayo, tempura flakes, shichimi, tempura shrimp and cream cheese and the teppanyaki steak, a grilled rib-eye steak with vegetables and select sauce. (Check out the full menu here.)
Beard Papa's
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Sharpstown's Beard Papa's, the bakery, which offers desserts and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Desserts" on Yelp saw a median 8.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, Beard Papa's bagged a notable 154.5% increase in new reviews within that timeframe, with a slight upward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to its current four stars.
Beard Papa's is a Japanese-based franchise with 400 stores across 19 countries. Open at 9393 Bellaire Blvd., Suite G, since June, Beard Papa's offers cream puffs, fondant and custard drinks. The signature cream puffs come in a variety of flavors, including chocolate, green tea, honey butter and creme brulee, with rotating monthly specials. (Here's the entire menu.)
Uncle Bean's Coffee
The Heights's Uncle Bean's Coffee is also making waves. Open since May at 3024 Houston Ave., the coffee and tea spot has seen a 66.7% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 4.1% for all businesses tagged "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp.
Uncle Bean's Coffee offers coffee, tea and pastries, such as muffins, cookies and cinnamon rolls. Enjoy your mocha latte, drip coffee or Jasmine tea on the covered patio. Over the past month, Uncle Bean's Coffee has seen its Yelp rating tick down from five stars to 4.5 stars. (Check out the full menu here.)
Dish Society
The Heights's Dish Society is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.
The popular New American, breakfast and brunch and Southern spot, which opened at 1050 Yale St. in January, increased its new review count by 31.1% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 3% for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.6 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: Tropicales has seen a 52.3% increase in reviews.
Dish Society dishes out traditional comfort food with a Southern twist. The chain has five Houston-area locations and uses ingredients sourced locally. On the brunch menu, look for the Southern Breakfast skillet with pork sausage, skillet potatoes, jalapeños, onions,peppers, scallions, gruyere, gravy and sunny side eggs, and the House Favorite Chicken and Biscuits with two house buttermilk biscuits with fried cage-free chicken and house gravy. Looking for something sweet? Try the Nutella French toast with three pieces of whole-grain toast with Nutella, toppedwith fruit and powdered sugar. (Explore the full menu here.)
1751 Sea and Bar
Washington Avenue Coalition / Memorial Park's 1751 Sea and Bar is currently on the upswing in the seafood category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 3.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, this cocktail bar, which offers seafood and more, increased its new reviews by 40.7% — and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 150% on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 191 Heights Blvd. since March, the business offers seafood, chicken, pasta and steak. Menu standouts include the scallop chawanmushi with maitake mushrooms, green onion and soy, and the crab souffle with blue crab, Thai green curry, tomato and herbs. (Here's the entire menu.)
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.
