Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending today?
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 restaurants have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.
To find out who made the list, we first looked at Chicago 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 closing the year out strong.
Hummus Grill
Open since April 2019, this Mediterranean spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Mediterranean" on Yelp.
Citywide, Mediterranean spots saw a median 1.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Hummus Grill saw a 27.8% increase, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Hummus Grill's review count increased by more than 140%.
Located at 744 N. Damen Ave. (between Superior Street and Lee Place) in West Town, Hummus Grill offers wraps, salads, desserts and more.
Hummus Grill is open from 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday.
Flat & Point
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Logan Square's Flat & Point, the New American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, Flat & Point bagged a 17.9% increase in new reviews within that time frame, with a slight upward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to its current four stars. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.7 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
There's more that's trending on Chicago's New American scene: The Smith has seen a 10.7% increase in reviews, and The Hampton Social - Streeterville and Roanoke Restaurant have seen 7.6 and 4.6% increases, respectively.
Open at 3524 W. Fullerton Ave. (between St. Louis and Drake avenues) since March, Flat & Point offers a changing menu of items like brisket, pasta and potatoes.
Flat & Point is open from 5–9 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, 5–10 p.m. on Friday, noon–4 p.m. and 5–10 p.m. on Saturday and noon–4 p.m. and 5–8 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday and Tuesday.)
Tous Les Jours
Wicker Park's Tous Les Jours is also making waves. Open since June at 1726 W. Division St. (between Paulina Street and Hermitage Avenue), the popular bakery, which offers coffee and tea, desserts and more, has seen a 25.6% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 3.3% for all businesses tagged "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp.
Tous Les Jours offers croissants, sandwiches and macaroons. Over the past month, it's maintained a strong 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Tous Les Jours is open from 7 a.m.–8 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and Sunday and 7 a.m.–9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Gibsons Italia
Fulton River District's Gibsons Italia is the city's buzziest steakhouse by the numbers.
The well-established steakhouse and Italian spot, which offers seafood and more and opened at 233 N. Canal St. (between Jackson Boulevard and Adams Street) in October 2017, increased its new review count by 3.6% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 0.9% for the Yelp category "Steakhouses."
Gibsons Italia offers New York strip steak, sea scallops and meatballs.
Gibsons Italia is open from 11 a.m.–midnight on Monday-Saturday. (It's closed on Sunday.)
Reclaimed Bar and Restaurant
North Center's Reclaimed Bar and Restaurant is currently on the upswing in the breakfast and brunch category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, this gastropub and jazz and blues and breakfast and brunch spot increased its new reviews by 4% — and kept its rating consistent at four stars. Review counts increased by more than 300% on a month-to-month basis, and visits to Reclaimed Bar and Restaurant increased by more than 50% over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
Open for business at 3655 N. Western Ave. (between Waveland Avenue and Addison Street) since December 2016, Reclaimed Bar and Restaurant offers crab corn fritters, a lamb burger, scallops and more.
Reclaimed Bar and Restaurant is open from 5 p.m.–midnight on Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–midnight on Friday, noon–midnight on Saturday and 10 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5 p.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.) According to SafeGraph, it's usually busiest at noon, 1 p.m. and 8 p.m., and people visit Reclaimed Bar and Restaurant most on Fridays and Sundays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Wednesdays.
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.
