Want the scoop on San Diego's most talked-about 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 restaurants have been in the spotlight this month.
To find out who made the list, we first looked at San Diego 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 getting plenty of attention right now.
Tired Eyes Coffee
Open since early September, this spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp.
Citywide, such shops saw a median 2.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Tired Eyes Coffee saw a substantial 183.3% increase, maintaining an impressive five-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Tired Eyes Coffee's review count increased by more than 220%.
Located at 803 F St. (between 8th Avenue and California Street) in Core-Columbia, Tired Eyes Coffee's owners describe the shop's two custom-ground java blends as "creative juice for your daily grind."
Tired Eyes Coffee is open from 8 a.m.–3 p.m. daily.
Side Bar Nightclub & Lounge
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about the Gaslamp's Side Bar Nightclub & Lounge, it is a hot topic, according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp saw a median 1.7% increase in new reviews over the past month, Side Bar Nightclub & Lounge bagged a 41% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a convincing four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.2 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 536 Market St. (between 5th and 6th avenues) and unveiling a major new look in Dec. 2018, Side Bar Nightclub & Lounge's craft cocktails include the ahi poke Martini, the Lola (Absolut Elyx and more) and the Talent Scout (Woodford Reserve and more).
Side Bar Nightclub & Lounge is open from 6 p.m.–2 a.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday; 5 p.m.–2 a.m. on Friday and 9 p.m.–2 a.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday and Tuesday.)
Siamo Napoli
North Park's Siamo Napoli is also making waves. Open since early September at 3959 30th St. (between University and Lincoln avenues), the Italian spot has seen a 38.6% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1% for all businesses tagged "Italian" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in San Diego's Italian category: RoVino The Foodery has seen a 29.9% increase in reviews.
Siamo Napoli offers a variety of Neapolitan dishes, including parpardelle con il ragu d'Agnello, insalata di mare and squid ink linguine. Over the past month, it's maintained an excellent five-star rating among Yelpers.
Siamo Napoli is open from 4 p.m.–9:30 p.m. on Monday, 11:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday and Sunday, and 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Bambino's Pizza & Deli 3
Encanto's Bambino's Pizza & Deli 3 is the city's buzziest pizza spot by the numbers.
The shop, which opened at 6230 Federal Blvd. (at Winnett Street) in September 2017, increased its new review count by 17.8% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.4% for the Yelp category "Pizza." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.2 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Bambino's Pizza & Deli 3 offers a variety of custom pies, such as shrimp scampi, veggie combo, barbecue chicken and more.
The spot is open from 10 a.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday-Thursday and 10 a.m.–10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Better Buzz Coffee
The La Jolla's Better Buzz Coffee 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 spot increased its new reviews by 35.5% — with its Yelp rating improving from 3.5 stars to four stars.
Open for business at 909 Prospect St., Suite 100A since late August, Better Buzz Coffee - La Jolla's breakfast and brunch items include a variety of toasts (avocado, almond butter with jam and more) as well as sandwiches (cage-free fried eggs, grilled cheese, turkey pesto and more).
Better Buzz Coffee - La Jolla is open from 6 a.m.–8 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.
