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 and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to discover which eateries have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.
To find out who made the list, we first 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. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.
Read on to see which spots are sizzling hot this autumn.
Fox and the Knife
First up, this wine bar and Italian spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp.
Citywide, Italian spots saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Fox and the Knife saw a 25.6% increase, maintaining a sound four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Fox and the Knife's review count increased by more than 180%.
Located at 28 W. Broadway (between A Street and Dorchester Avenue) in South Boston, Fox and the Knife offers housemade ricotta with grilled bread, wild boar bolognese, saffron spaghetti and more.
Fox And The Knife is open from 4 p.m.–10 p.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m.–11 p.m. on weekends.
Bootleg Special
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about South End's Bootleg Special, the popular tapas bar and Cajun/Creole spot, which offers seafood and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 1.2% increase in new reviews over the past month, Bootleg Special bagged a 6.9% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a strong four-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Boston's seafood scene: Eventide has seen a 4.3% increase in reviews.
Open at 400 Tremont St. (between Arlington and Appleton streets) since 2018, Bootleg Special offers crawfish macaroni and cheese, blackened ribeye tips and a Cajun fried rice.
Bootleg Special is open from 4 p.m.–11 p.m. on Monday-Wednesday, 1 p.m.–midnight on Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m.–midnight on Saturday and 10 a.m.–11 p.m. on Sunday.
Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar
Back Bay's Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar is also making waves. Open since 2010 at 271 Dartmouth St. (between Boylston and Newbury streets), the popular lounge, cocktail bar and Mexican spot has seen a 1.7% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses tagged "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp — but the number of visitors to Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar doubled over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Boston's cocktail bar category: Trade has seen a 0.4% increase in reviews, and Temazcal Tequila Cantina has seen a 0.4% bump.
Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar offers a kiwi margarita with strawberry and an orange liqueur, or the blackberry sangria with red wine, rum, blackberry and citrus. The spot also offers blackened mahi-mahi tacos, pork carnitas nachos and grilled street corn. Over the past month, it's maintained a solid four-star rating among Yelpers.
Lolita Cocina & Tequila Bar is open from 4 p.m.–2 a.m. on Monday-Saturday and noon–2 a.m. on Sunday. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 6 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., and on Saturdays and Fridays, so go on Sundays if you want to avoid the rush.
Scholars American Bistro and Cocktail Lounge
Finally, Scholars American Bistro and Cocktail Lounge is the city's buzziest New American spot by the numbers.
The well-established pool hall, cocktail bar and New American spot, which opened at 25 School St. (between Province Street and Spring Lane) in 2011, saw a 1.5% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses for the Yelp business category "American (New)" — but saw visits almost double over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: Dorset Hall has seen a 1% increase in reviews.
Try the spot's grilled chicken sandwich or the spicy turkey burger. Add french fries, roasted vegetables or jasmine rice to your order.
Scholars American Bistro and Cocktail Lounge is open from 11 a.m.–2 a.m. daily. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy on Fridays and Wednesdays, and it attracts a quarter of its total visitors over those two days. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Tuesdays.
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.
