As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right now?
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 uncover which eateries have been getting outsized attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we first 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. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.
Read on to see which spots have the momentum heading into back-to-school season.
The Blind Goat
Open since July, this Vietnamese spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Vietnamese" on Yelp.
Citywide, Vietnamese spots saw a median 1.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, but The Blind Goat saw a substantial 814.3% increase, with a slight downward trend from a five-star rating a month ago to 4.5 stars today. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis The Blind Goat's review count increased by more than 630%.
Located at 409 Travis St., Suite 367, in downtown Houston, The Blind Goat is part of five restaurants concepts in Bravery Chef Hall. The spot serves up shareables like crispy shrimp and garlic greens, as well as entrees like Braised Beef Stew with Black Hill Farms beef short rib & shank, lemongrass and five-spice jasmine rice, and the G.O.A.T. Curry bowl with coconut, lemongrass, cilantro, pickled mustard greens and jasmine rice.
The Blind Goat is open from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and Sunday and 11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Olive & Twist
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Greenway / Upper Kirby Area's Olive & Twist, the cocktail bar and New American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, Olive & Twist bagged a staggering 187.5% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Houston's New American scene: Bisou has seen a 16.4% increase in reviews, and Maison Pucha Bistro has seen a 11.6% bump.
Open at 2712 Richmond Ave. since July, Olive & Twist offers pizza, pasta, seafood, soup, salad and steak. Try ordering the chocolate martini and bellini from the bar. From the dinner menu, look for seared scallops served with potato latke cakes, roasted starburst squash and lemon buerre blanc, as well as the Mykonos Salmon topped off with lemon butter and tossed with capers, tomatoes, kalamata olives, sweet basil and feta. (Check out the full menu here.)
Olive & Twist is open from 4–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and 4 p.m.–midnight on Friday and Saturday. (It's closed on Sunday.)
Meet Fresh
Sharpstown's Meet Fresh is also making waves. Open since July at 9393 Bellaire Blvd., Unit I, the spot to score desserts, bubble tea and shaved ice has seen a substantial 200% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 3.2% for all businesses tagged "Desserts" on Yelp.
Meet Fresh is a franchise with locations across five continents. The spot serves up traditional Taiwanese desserts. Menu favorites include shaved ice bowls with toppings like taro, red beans, grass jelly and sweet potato. The eatery also offers tofu pudding, mochi and a variety of milk and herbal teas.
Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy four-star rating among Yelpers.
Meet Fresh is open from 11 a.m.–11 p.m. daily.
Bae
Sharpstown's Bae is the city's buzziest ice cream and frozen yogurt spot by the numbers.
The popular ice cream and frozen yogurt spot, which opened at 9798 Bellaire Blvd., Suite A, in July, increased its new review count by a considerable 112.5% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 4.6% for the Yelp category "Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt."
Bae offers soft-serve yogurt and ice cream in cups, cones or waffle bowls. Customers can add unique toppings like 24K gold leaf, matcha powder, cereal, cookies, crushed candy bars or strawberry pocky.
Bae is open from noon–11 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and Sunday and noon–midnight on Friday and Saturday.
Your Cup of Tea
Mid West's Your Cup of Tea is currently on the upswing in the sandwich category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp saw a median 2.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, this tea room, which offers sandwiches and more, increased its new reviews by 20% — with its Yelp rating improving from four stars to 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 200% on a month-to-month basis, and visits to Your Cup of Tea increased by more than 50% over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
Open for business at 2620 Fondren Road since 2012, Your Cup of Tea offers lunch and afternoon tea. The lunch menu includes a choice of four sandwiches, such as pesto & Parmesan crusted ham with baby Swiss cheese, served with salad, chips and the house specialty iced tea. Want to come for afternoon tea? Make advanced reservations and bring seven friends.
Your Cup of Tea is open from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m.–2 p.m. on Saturday. (It's closed on Sunday.) According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 12 p.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., and on Saturdays and Thursdays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Mondays.
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.
