Want the intel on Sacramento's most happening local spots?
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 restaurants have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.
To find out who made the list, we first looked at Sacramento 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.
Hoppy's Railyard Kitchen & Hopgarden
Open since 2018, this brewpub and New American spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp.
Citywide, New American spots saw a median 1.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Hoppy's Railyard Kitchen & Hopgarden saw a 16.5% increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Hoppy's Railyard Kitchen & Hopgarden's review count increased by more than 210%.
It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: Solomon's Delicatessen has seen a 13% increase in reviews, and SacTown Sports Bar & Grill and Yard House have seen 4.9 and 4.7% increases, respectively.
Located at 1022 Second St. in Old Sacramento, Hoppy's Railyard Kitchen & Hopgarden offers salads, sandwiches and entrees like herb-crusted salmon (Nordic blue salmon, roasted cherry tomatoes, cauliflower puree and broccolini) and the Pony Express Pasta (housemade fettuccine, Rocky’s organic chicken, patio basil, roasted garlic, heirloom tomatoes and Gorgonzola cheese).
The bar also serves up to 24 taps of locally brewed beer, according to the business's Yelp page.
Explore the full menu here.
Hoppy's Railyard Kitchen & Hopgarden is open from 11 a.m.–midnight on Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.–1 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m.–1 a.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.–midnight on Sunday.
THAI - The House Of Authentic Ingredients
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about East Sacramento's THAI - The House Of Authentic Ingredients, the bar and Thai spot, which offers noodles and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp saw a median 1.2% increase in new reviews over the past month, THAI - The House Of Authentic Ingredients bagged a 10.7% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a superior four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.9 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 4701 H St. since 2018, THAI - The House Of Authentic Ingredients offers traditional Thai noodle dishes like Pad Kee Mao (semi-spicy, stir-fried wide rice noodle with young green pepper, bell pepper, green bean, kaffir leaf, basil and Thai Chili) and rice plates like Kao pad (Thai fried rice with a choice of meat), along with a variety of curries and soups.
Find the full menu here.
THAI - The House Of Authentic Ingredients is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Tower Cafe
Land Park's Tower Cafe is also making waves. Open since 1990 at 1518 Broadway, the popular breakfast and brunch and New American spot has seen a 1.1% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp — but visits to Tower Cafe increased by more than 50% over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Sacramento's breakfast and brunch category: Echo & Rig has seen a 4.2% increase in reviews.
For breakfast, Tower Cafe offers morning staples like pancakes, eggs and breakfast burritos. On the menu, look for the Famous French Toast (custard-soaked french bread topped with in-house maple whipped butter) and the huevos rancheros (two over-medium eggs layered on two crispy corn tortillas with refried beans and then topped with ranchero sauce, green onions and both jack and cheddar cheese).
Explore the full menu here.
Over the past month, it's maintained a sound four-star rating among Yelpers.
Tower Cafe is open from 8 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 8 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 8 a.m., 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., and on Fridays and Sundays, so go on Tuesdays if you want to avoid the rush.
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.
