Unsure where Boston'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 to deduce which eateries have been getting a noteworthy increase in attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we 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.
Read on to see which spots are riding a trend, right now.
Stillwater
Open since August this cocktail bar, which offers comfort food and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, cocktail bars saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Stillwater saw a striking 200% increase, with a slight downward trend from a five-star rating a month ago to 4.5 stars today.
It's not the only trending outlier in the cocktail bar category: Tiki Rock has seen a 7.7% increase in reviews.
Located at 120 Kingston St. (between Avenue De Lafayette and Edinboro Street) in Chinatown, Stillwater offers appetizers (like biscuits and butter and vegan pork rinds), sandwiches (build-your-own burger, pulled pork sandwiches and more) and entrees (smoked mac and cheese, spaghetti pomodoro and others).
110 Grill
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about North Dorchester's 110 Grill, the New American, traditional American and gluten-free spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, 110 Grill bagged a dramatic 137.5% 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.
There's more that's trending on Boston's traditional American scene: Wahlburgers has seen a 10.8% increase in reviews.
Open at 1 District Ave. since August, 110 Grill offers a variety of appetizers, sandwiches and entrees over lunch and dinner menus.
110 Grill is open from 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Black Lamb
South End's Black Lamb is also making waves. Open since July at 571 Tremont St. (between Union Park and Upton Street), the cocktail bar and New American spot, which offers seafood and more, has seen a 51.9% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.1% for all businesses tagged "Seafood" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Boston's seafood category: Legal Sea Foods has seen a 2.5% increase in reviews.
Black Lamb offers everything from mixed greens and lamb tartare to a chicken club sandwich and cold lobster rolls. Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating improve from 3.5 stars to four stars.
Black Lamb 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.
Domenic's
North End's Domenic's is the city's buzziest Italian spot by the numbers.
The Italian spot, which opened at 54 Salem St. (between Hull and Stillman streets) in July, increased its new review count by 32% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.2% for the Yelp category "Italian."
It's not the only trending outlier in the Italian category: Bin 26 Enoteca has seen a 1.4% increase in reviews.
Domenic's offers a variety of noodle dishes, protein-centric Italian entrees, beverages and more.
Domenic's is open from 5–11 p.m. daily.
Popover King
West End's Popover King is currently on the upswing in the breakfast and brunch category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, this bakery and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers coffee and tea and more, increased its new reviews by 21.1% — and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 240% on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 74 Canal St. (between Traverse and Market streets) since March, Popover King offers hearty, specialty, savory and signature popovers with a variety of both caffeinated and decaffeinated beverage options.
Popover King is open from 7 a.m.–3 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.
