Curious where Seattle'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 and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to discover which eateries have been getting a noteworthy uptick in attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we first looked at Seattle 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 riding a trend, right now.
Tribeca Kitchen & Bar
Open since 2018, this popular cocktail bar and 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 Tribeca Kitchen & Bar saw an 8.2% increase, maintaining a convincing four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Tribeca Kitchen & Bar's review count increased by more than 280%.
Located at 809 Olive Way, Suite C (between Howell Street and Ninth Avenue) in Central Business District, Tribeca Kitchen & Bar offers starters like fried calamari and lemon zest brussels sprouts, as well as wood-fired pizza, housemade pasta and dishes like chicken parmesan.
Tribeca Kitchen & Bar is open from 11 a.m.–2 p.m. and 5 p.m.–9:30 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. and 5 p.m.–10 p.m. on Friday, 5 p.m.–10 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday.
Bar Melusine
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Capitol Hill's Bar Melusine, the cocktail bar, which offers seafood and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 0.9% increase in new reviews over the past month, Bar Melusine bagged a 5.8% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a convincing four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.3 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
There's more that's trending on Seattle's seafood scene: Old Stove Brewing has seen a 5.5% increase in reviews, and Rider has seen a 5.3% bump.
Open at 1060 E. Union St. (between 11th and 10th avenues) since 2015, Bar Melusine offers a brunch menu of buckwheat crepes, mushroom omelets and chicory salad. When it comes to dinner, look for clams, steak tartare and Coho salmon with cauliflower, currants, capers and citrus butter.
Bar Melusine is open from 5 p.m.–9 p.m. on Monday, 5 p.m.–10 p.m. on Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. and 5 p.m.–10 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.–2 p.m. and 5 p.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday.
Sawyer
Ballard's Sawyer is also making waves. Open since July 2018 at 5309 22nd Ave. NW (between North Ballard Avenue and Market Street), the popular New American spot has seen a 7.3% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.2% for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Seattle's New American category: SWeL Restaurant has seen a 4.8% increase in reviews.
Sawyer offers choco tacos, flat iron steaks, pork belly steam buns and more. Over the past month, it's maintained a sound 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Sawyer is open from 4 p.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 4 p.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.–2 p.m. and 4 p.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday.
North Star Diner & Shanghai Room
Greenwood's North Star Diner & Shanghai Room is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.
The well-established diner, dive bar and breakfast and brunch spot, which opened at 8580 Greenwood Ave. North (between 87th and 85th streets) in 2015, increased its new review count by 2.2% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.2% for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch." According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, North Star Diner & Shanghai Room saw visits double over the past month.
North Star Diner & Shanghai Room offers all-day breakfast dishes, including chicken-fried steak and eggs, cinnamon-cream French toast and green eggs — pesto scrambled eggs with tomatoes, hash browns and toast.
North Star Diner & Shanghai Room is open 24 hours a day. According to SafeGraph, foot traffic is heaviest at 12 a.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., and on Saturdays and Fridays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Tuesdays.
Reckless Noodle House
Central District's popular Reckless Noodle House is currently on the upswing in the bar category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, this bar and Asian fusion spot, which offers noodles and more, increased its new reviews by 6% — and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 170% on a month-to-month basis.
There's more abuzz in the world of Seattle bars: Eden Hill Restaurant has seen a 1% increase in reviews.
Open for business at 2519 S. Jackson St. (between South 26th and South 25th avenues) since 2018, Reckless Noodle House offers a variety of small bites, like steamed eggplant in coconut cream, crispy duck rolls and lemongrass larb with squid. Its noodle dishes include tamarind seafood udon, beef cheek wheat noodles and a five-spice duck and noodle soup.
Reckless Noodle House is open from 4 p.m.–midnight on Monday-Thursday, 4 p.m.–2 a.m. on Friday, 11:30 a.m.–2 a.m. on Saturday and 11:30 a.m.–10 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.
