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 to uncover which restaurants have been most discussed this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at San Diego 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 sizzling hot, right now.
Siamo Napoli
Open since early September, this Italian spot, which offers pizza and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp.
Citywide, Italian spots saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Siamo Napoli saw a dramatic 972.7% increase, with a slight upward trend from a 4.5-star rating a month ago to five stars today.
Located at 3959 30th St. (between University and Lincoln avenues) in North Park, Siamo Napoli offers such pasta entrees as calamarata, ravioli con melanzana and risotto alla pescatore.
Siamo Napoli is open from 4 p.m.–9:30 p.m. on Monday; 11:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m. on Tuesday- Thursday and Sunday; and 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Better Buzz Coffee
Whether or not you've been hearing about Better Buzz Coffee - La Jolla, the breakfast and brunch spot, which offers coffee, tea and sandwiches, is a hot topic, according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, Better Buzz Coffee - La Jolla bagged an impressive 328.6% increase in new reviews within that time frame, with a downward trend from a 4.5-star rating a month ago to its current 3.5 stars.
Open at 909 Prospect St., Suite 100 A since late August, Better Buzz Coffee - La Jolla is the brand's 10th location. Its sandwich offerings include fried egg/bacon, grilled cheese, Caprese and grilled turkey.
Better Buzz Coffee - La Jolla is open from 6 a.m.–8 p.m. daily.
El Jardin Cantina
Midway District's El Jardin Cantina is also making waves. Open since late August at 2885 Perry Road (between Truxtun and Decatur roads), the Mexican spot has seen a notable 300% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.7% for all businesses tagged "Mexican" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in San Diego's Mexican category: Kotija Jr Taco Shop has seen a 144.4% increase in reviews.
El Jardin Cantina's entrees include carne asada, pollo en mole, lamb barbacoa, as well as tacos a la carte. Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating tick down from four stars to 3.5 stars.
El Jardin Cantina is open from 4 p.m.–9 p.m. on Tuesday-Friday and 10 a.m.–9 p.m. on Saturday-Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.)
Roberto's Taco Shop PB
Pacific Beach's Roberto's Taco Shop PB is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.
The breakfast and brunch spot, which offers breakfast burritos, tacos and more and opened at 1858 Garnet Ave. (between Kendall and Lamont streets) in late May, increased its new review count by 83.3% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.4% for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 10.0 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Roberto's Taco Shop PB is open from 7 a.m.–midnight on Sunday-Thursday and 7 a.m.–3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Nobel Pizzeria
University City's Nobel Pizzeria is currently on the upswing in the pizza category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Pizza" on Yelp saw a median 1.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, this spot increased its new reviews by a significant 120% — with its Yelp rating declining slightly from 4.5 stars to four stars.
Open for business at 8935 Towne Centre Drive, Suite 101 (at Excalibur Way) since mid August, its pies range from the meat lover to a vegetarian combo.
Nobel Pizzeria is open 11 a.m.–10 p.m. daily.
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.
