Wondering where Washington's in-the-know crowd is 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 eateries have been most discussed 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 have the momentum heading into back-to-school season.
North Italia
Open since February, this Italian restaurant and bar, which also offers breakfast and brunch, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp.
Citywide, Italian spots saw a median 2.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, but North Italia saw a 23.1% increase, maintaining a strong four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis North Italia's review count increased by more than 200%.
It's not the only trending outlier in the Italian category: Stellina Pizzeria has seen a 26.5% in reviews.
Located at 2112 Pennsylvania Ave., Suite 102 (between North I and North 21st streets) in Foggy Bottom, North Italia offers handmade pasta served in such dishes as the house specialty of tagliatelle noodles with traditional meat sauce and Grana Padano cheese from northern Italy. Other entrees include grilled wild striped bass, diver scallops and Wagyu skirt steak.
Punjab Grill
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about downtown Washington's Punjab Grill, the cocktail bar and Indian restaurant is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp saw a median 3.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, Punjab Grill bagged a 25.2% increase in new reviews within that time frame, with a slight downward trend from a 4.5-star rating a month ago to its current four stars. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.6 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 427 11th St. NW in Penn Quarter since March, Punjab Grill offers craft cocktails, including one with gin, green chartreuse, vermouth cumin cordial, pepper and orange bitters. On the dinner menu, you'll find traditional palak paneer and tawa scallops with saffron tandoori cauliflower puree and Petrossian caviar.
Sharetea
Chinatown's Sharetea at 519 H St. NW (between North Fifth and North Sixth streets), the popular spot to score tea, including bubble tea, coffee, juices and smoothies, has seen a 13.4% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.2% for all businesses tagged "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Sharetea's review count increased by more than 220%.
Established in 1992 in Taipei, Sharetea's drinks are made from tea leaves and ingredients shipped directly from Taiwan, according to its website. Menu options include apple cinnamon tea latte, citrus Early Grey tea and kiwi peach tea. Over the past month, it's maintained a superior 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Poca Madre
Poca Madre, also in Chinatown, is the city's buzziest Mexican spot by the numbers.
The fine dining Mexican restaurant, which opened at 777 I St. NW (between North Seventh and North Eighth streets) on June 19, increased its new review count by 7% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.8% 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 Sol Restaurant & Tequileria has seen a 3.4% increase in reviews.
The menu features mango ceviche, sablefish, crispy soft shell crab and taco omakase. "At Poca Madre, we begin by cooking and grinding our own corn, and creating masa or dough for each dish," the website states.
Unconventional Diner
Downtown's Unconventional Diner is currently on the upswing in the breakfast and brunch category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp saw a median 1.9% increase in new reviews over the past month, this New American breakfast and brunch spot increased its new reviews by 8.5% — and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars.
Open for business at 1207 Ninth St. NW (between North North Street) since 2017, the restaurant offers brunch selections such as Brussels sprouts and fried eggs, Caribbean shrimp and grits and red pork pozole, a traditional Mexican soup made with hominy.
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.
