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 local businesses have been getting outsized attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we first looked at Houston 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 on a hot streak, right now.
Ike's Love & Sandwiches
Open since August, this popular sandwich spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp.
Citywide, sandwich spots saw a median 2.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Ike's Love & Sandwiches saw a 19% increase, maintaining a convincing four-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the sandwich category: Your Cup of Tea has seen a 14.3% increase in reviews.
This fast-casual franchise has more than 55 locations, with most of them on the west coast. Located at 1051 Heights Blvd., Suite 180, in the Heights, Ike's Love & Sandwiches offers meat and veggie sub sandwiches, with names like Prissy Pressley (veggie bacon), Natalie Wood (vegan chicken) and Tony Soprano (turkey, ham and salami).
Ike's Love & Sandwiches is open from 10 a.m.–8 p.m. daily.
Hu's Cooking
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about University Place's Hu's Cooking, the well-established Asian fusion and Chinese spot, which offers seafood and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 1.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, Hu's Cooking bagged an 11.9% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a superior 4.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.9 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 2502 W. Holcombe Blvd. since March, Hu's Cooking has a large menu featuring many beef, pork, lamb and chicken dishes. Look for Chinese staples like orange chicken, red chili oil wontons and shrimp fried rice, as well as hot pot and sweet skinned duck. (Take a look at the full menu here.)
Hu's Cooking is open from 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–9 p.m. daily.
Davis St at Hermann Park
Macgregor's Davis St at Hermann Park is also making waves. Open since 2014 at 5925 Almeda Road, Suite A, the popular cocktail bar and New American spot has seen an 8.6% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.5% for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Davis St at Hermann Park's review count increased by more than 220%.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Houston's New American category: Dish Society has seen an 8.4% increase in reviews.
Davis St at Hermann Park offers seafood, steak and poultry dishes. Anticipate the garlic shrimp, the grilled lamb chops and the buffalo chicken spring rolls. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers. (Check out the rest of the menu here.)
Davis St at Hermann Park is open from 4–10 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday, 4–11 p.m. on Friday, 5:30–11 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5–8 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.)
NettBar
Washington Avenue Coalition / Memorial Park's NettBar is the city's buzziest cocktail bar by the numbers.
The popular cocktail bar, which opened at 4504 Nett St. in 2017, increased its new review count by 11.2% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.4% for the Yelp category "Cocktail Bars." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.7 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
It's not the only trending outlier in the cocktail bar category: Revolver Houston has seen a 6.5% increase in reviews.
NettBar offers an indoor bar as well as a "backyard" area with bocce courts, ping pong, darts and other games. The bar offers specialty cocktails and a wine list. Various food trucks stop by weekly for "steak night" and crawfish on the weekends. (Check out all the drink options here.)
NettBar is open from 4 p.m.–midnight on Monday-Wednesday, 4 p.m.–2 a.m. on Thursday and Friday, noon–2 a.m. on Saturday and noon–10 p.m. on Sunday.
Sierra Madre
The well-established Sierra Madre is currently on the upswing in the Mexican category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp saw a median 2.2% increase in new reviews over the past month, this Mexican and breakfast and brunch spot increased its new reviews by 2.3% — and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars. Visits to Sierra Madre increased by more than 50% over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
There's more abuzz in the world of Houston Mexican: Cabo Baja Tacos & Burritos has seen a 1.4% increase in reviews, and Cielito Cafe has seen an 8.6% bump.
Open for business at 12617 Louetta Road, Suite 216, since 2011, Sierra Madre offers Monterrey-style Mexican favorites like enchiladas, sopes, tortas, tostadas and tacos. (Explore the entire menu here.)
Sierra Madre is open from 8:30 a.m.–9 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 8 a.m.–9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 8 a.m.–4 p.m. on Sunday. According to SafeGraph, foot traffic is heaviest at 12 p.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., and on Saturdays and Wednesdays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Sundays.
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.
