Want the inside word on Houston'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 analyze which local businesses have been most discussed 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 have the momentum heading into the end of the year.
Gen Korean BBQ House
Open since October, this Korean and Asian fusion spot, which offers barbecue and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Barbecue" on Yelp.
Citywide, barbecue spots saw a median 2.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Gen Korean BBQ House saw a massive 933.3% increase, maintaining a strong four-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the barbecue category: L&L Hawaiian Barbecue has seen a 162.5% increase in reviews.
Located in Midtown at 3201 Louisiana St., Suite 101, Gen Korean BBQ House offers a cook-your-own meat experience, with choices such as spicy pork, top sirloin steak, garlic chicken and spicy baby octopus. Asian fusion appetizers like gyoza (fried dumplings), japchae (mixed vegetables with glass noodle) and fried spice cakes are also available. (Check out the full menu here.)
Gen Korean BBQ House is open from 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and Sunday and 11 a.m.–1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Sixty Vines
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about University Place's Sixty Vines, the traditional American spot and wine bar is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp saw a median 2% increase in new reviews over the past month, Sixty Vines bagged a massive 520% increase in new reviews within that time frame, with a slight downward trend from a five-star rating a month ago to its current 4.5 stars.
Open at 2540 University Blvd. since October, and one of three Texas locations, Sixty Vines offers brunch, lunch, dinner, desserts and an extensive wine list, with menu highlights being pizzas, pastas, seafood, lamb chops and roasted chicken.
Sixty Vines is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m.–11 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday.
Grinder’s Coffee Bar
Grinder’s Coffee Bar is also making waves. Open since October at 5410 Kirby Drive, the breakfast, brunch and lunch spot, which specializes in small batch coffee, sandwiches and more, has seen a formidable 216.7% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.9% for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Aside from hot and iced coffee drinks, Grinder’s Coffee Bar offers teas, gourmet toasts, salads, sandwiches and fresh fruit juices. Over the past month, it's maintained an outstanding five-star rating among Yelpers.
Grinder’s Coffee Bar is open from 7 a.m.–9 p.m. daily.
Blue Onyx Bistro
Afton Oaks/River Oaks Area's Blue Onyx Bistro is the city's buzziest steakhouse by the numbers.
The well-established steakhouse and sushi bar, which opened at 4720 Richmond Ave. in 2018, increased its new review count by 7% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.2% for the Yelp category "Steakhouses." It outperformed the previous month by gaining three times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Blue Onyx Bistro offers a steak and seafood-centric menu that features Chilean Sea Bass, lobster tail, grouper with scallops, Gulf snapper, crab legs and Hawaiian flounder with crab meat.
Blue Onyx Bistro is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and Sunday and 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Bisou
Afton Oaks/River Oaks Area's well-established Bisou is currently on the upswing in the New American category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.7% increase in new reviews over the past month, this New American restaurant and cocktail bar increased its new reviews by 7.6% — and kept its rating consistent at three stars. Review counts increased by more than 220% on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 4444 Westheimer Road, Suite A-120, since 2018, Bisou offers brunch, lunch, dinner, desserts and cocktails. Menu highlights include raw oysters, pan roasted salmon, smoked Korean spiced short ribs, lamb chops and a smoked half duck.
Bisou is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Tuesday, 11 a.m.–midnight on Wednesday-Friday, 10 a.m.–midnight on Saturday and 10 a.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.)
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.
