Curious where San Diego'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 local food-and-beverage businesses have been in the limelight this month.
To find out who made the list, we 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.
Read on to see which spots are sizzling hot right now.
Blue Ocean Sushi
Open since Nov. 1, this sushi bar and Asian fusion spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Japanese" on Yelp.
Citywide, Japanese spots saw a median 1% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Blue Ocean Sushi saw an imposing 120% increase, maintaining an outstanding five-star rating throughout.
Located at 1250 Prospect St. (between Ivanhoe Avenue and Roslyn Lane) in La Jolla, Blue Ocean Sushi's entrees include chicken teriyaki, salmon steak and miso-glazed black cod. Nigiri, sashimi and a list of specialty sushi rolls are also on offer.
Blue Ocean Sushi is open from 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.–10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
URBN PIZZA
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Carmel Valley's URBN PIZZA, its offerings are a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Pizza" on Yelp saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, URBN PIZZA bagged a significant 166.7% increase in new reviews within that time frame, with a slight downward trend from a four-star rating a month ago to its current 3.5 stars.
There's more that's trending on San Diego's pizza scene: Mr. Moto Pizza House has seen a 21.5% increase in reviews.
Open at 12895 Paseo Village Way, Suite 1200 since early October, URBN PIZZA offers such coal-fired pies as the polpette con provolone, as well as fresh clams, peppered salami and more.
URBN PIZZA is open from 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11:30 a.m.–midnight Friday and Saturday.
The PurpleMint Kitchen
Morena's The PurpleMint Kitchen is also making waves. Open since early October at 5299 Linda Vista Road (between Mollie and Metro streets), the vegan spot, which offers salads and soups, has seen a substantial 111.1% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.4% for all businesses tagged "Salad" on Yelp.
In addition to such green dishes as its kale "crispy chicken" salad, The PurpleMint Kitchen offers such dishes as veggie pho, avocado spring rolls and black rice noodles. Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating improve from four stars to 4.5 stars.
The PurpleMint Kitchen is open from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5 p.m.–9 p.m. weekdays and 11 a.m.–9 p.m. weekends.
Oculto 477
And Old Town's Oculto 477 is the city's buzziest cocktail bar by the numbers.
The cocktail bar and speakeasy, which opened at 2414 San Diego Ave. (between Linwood and Arista streets) in early October, increased its new review count by a considerable 171.4% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.5% for the Yelp category "Cocktail Bars."
It's not the only trending outlier in the cocktail bar category: Zinqué has seen a 38.9% increase in reviews.
On its website, Oculto 477 describes itself as a "neo-speakeasy bar adjacent to an iconic graveyard, giving reverence to the history of cocktails and the tales that surround them." Craft cocktails reflecting that ethos include the Zombie and the Pain Killer.
Oculto 477 is open from 5 p.m.–midnight Tuesday-Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.)
Mizukiyama Sushi
Finally, Carmel Valley's Mizukiyama Sushi is currently on the upswing in the seafood category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 1.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, this sushi bar and Japanese spot increased its new reviews by 31.5% — and kept its rating consistent at 3.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 140% on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 3705 Caminito Court, Suite 540 since mid February, Mizukiyama Sushi offers sushi rolls, seafood udon and combo plates including salmon teriyaki and fish katsu.
Mizukiyama Sushi is open from 11:30 a.m.–9:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
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.
