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 analyze which restaurants have been most discussed 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 extra cool, right now.
Eddie V's Prime Seafood
Open since 2019, this steakhouse and lounge, which offers seafood and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp.
Citywide, seafood spots saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Eddie V's Prime Seafood saw a 64.7% increase, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Eddie V's Prime Seafood's review count increased by more than 180%.
It's not the only trending outlier in the seafood category: Lobstah On A Roll has seen an 8.6% increase in reviews.
Located at 122 Belvidere St. in Back Bay, Eddie V's Prime Seafood offers oysters, caviar, jumbo lump crab cakes, Chilean seabass and more.
The business is open from 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday.
Zuma
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Back Bay's Zuma, the sushi bar, cocktail bar and Japanese spot is a hot topic, according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp saw a median 1.7% increase in new reviews over the past month, Zuma bagged a 30.3% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a solid four-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Boston's cocktail bar scene: Pastoral - Artisan Pizza, Kitchen & Bar has seen a 1.7% increase in reviews, and Scholars American Bistro and Cocktail Lounge and Trade have seen 0.5 and 0.7% increases, respectively.
Open at 1 Dalton St., Floor 2 (between Clearway and St. Germain streets) since 2019, Zuma offers spicy fried tofu with avocado, salmon with teriyaki sauce, Wagyu beef sushi and more.
75 Chestnut
Beacon Hill's 75 Chestnut is also making waves. Open since 2005 at 75 Chestnut St. (between Charles and River streets), the well-established diner, steakhouse and New American spot has seen a 1.5% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.3% for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp. According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, 75 Chestnut saw visits more than double over the past month.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Boston's New American category: Dorset Hall has seen a 1.5% increase in reviews.
75 Chestnut offers classic cocktails, clam chowder, marinated tenderloin tips, Meyer lemon chicken breast and more. Over the past month, it's maintained a sound four-star rating among Yelpers.
The business is open from 5 p.m.–11 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5 p.m.–midnight on Friday; 10:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5 p.m.–midnight on Saturday; and 10:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.–11 p.m. on Sunday. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy on Saturdays and Sundays, 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 Thursdays.
Italian Pizza and Subs
Jamaica Plain's Italian Pizza and Subs is the city's buzziest Italian spot by the numbers.
The Italian spot, which offers pizza and more and opened at 172 South St. (between Rosemary and St. Rose streets) since 2017, increased its new review count by 8% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.5% for the Yelp category "Italian." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.0 times more reviews than expected based on past performance. As for foot traffic, visits to Italian Pizza and Subs increased by more than 50% over the past month, according to SafeGraph data.
The restaurant offers Caprese salad, Pomodoro penne pasta, ricotta calzones, primavera pizza and more.
It's open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday, and 11 a.m.–10:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. According to SafeGraph, foot traffic is heaviest on Saturdays and Wednesdays, and it attracts a quarter of its total visitors over those two days, so go on Mondays if you want to avoid the rush.
Scorpion Bar Boston
South Boston's well-established Scorpion Bar Boston is currently on the upswing in the bar category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, this bar and Mexican spot increased its new reviews by 6.5% — and kept its rating consistent at 2.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 220% on a month-to-month basis.
There's more abuzz in the world of Boston bars: Bastille Kitchen has seen a 1.1% increase in reviews.
Open for business at 58 Seaport Blvd., Suite 200 (between Northern Avenue) since 2017, Scorpion Bar Boston offers chicken taquitos, carne asada flautas, street corn, margaritas and more.
The restaurant is open from 2 p.m.–midnight Monday-Wednesday; 2 p.m.–2 a.m. Thursday-Saturday; and 2 p.m.–11 p.m. on Sunday.
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.
