Unsure where Philadelphia's insiders are 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 and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to analyze which eateries have been in the limelight this month.
To find out who made the list, we first looked at Philadelphia 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 extra cool this winter.
Flannel
Open since 2019, this Southern breakfast and brunch spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Citywide, breakfast and brunch spots saw a median 1.5% increase in new reviews over the past month. Flannel only recently appeared on Yelp, but while many new businesses struggle to gain reviews, it has seen strong initial popularity.
What does this business focus on? "[This spot] is an all-day Southern BYOB cafe featuring an award-winning brunch and Southern comfort-style food," according to its page on Yelp.
It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: United By Blue has seen a 1.9% increase in reviews.
Located at 1819 E. Passyunk Ave. in East Passyunk, Flannel offers plates like sweet buttermilk pancakes, burgers and its specialty "country" poutine topped with short ribs and cheese on a bed of fries.
Flannel is open from 8 a.m.–9 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, 8 a.m.–10 p.m. on Friday, 9 a.m.–10 p.m. on Saturday and 9 a.m.–6 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Tuesday.)
Mad Rex
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Northern Liberties' Mad Rex, the cocktail bar and New American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, Mad Rex bagged a 2.3% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating. According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, Mad Rex saw visits more than triple in the past month.
What does this business focus on? "A post-apocalyptic-themed restaurant, [this spot offers an] in-house butcher, fresh seafood, garden vegetables and homemade desserts. There's also live music, entertainment and a full bar," according to its Yelp page.
There's more that's trending on Philadelphia's New American scene: Jean-Georges Philadelphia has seen a 29.1% increase in reviews, and JG SkyHigh has seen a 24.4% bump.
Open at 1000 Frankford Ave., Suite 1 since 2017, Mad Rex offers bites like crab cake sandwiches, pan-seared salmon and curry vegetables paired with rice. There are also specialty cocktails.
Mad Rex is open from 5 p.m.–midnight on Monday-Thursday, 5 p.m.–2 a.m. on Friday, 11 a.m.–2 a.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.–midnight on Sunday. According to SafeGraph, it's usually busiest at 8 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., and people visit Mad Rex most on Saturdays and Fridays, with a slowdown on Thursdays.
Kick Axe Throwing
And finally, Old City's Kick Axe Throwing is also making waves at 232 Market St. The bar and axe throwing and traditional American spot has seen a 35.9% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.2% for all businesses tagged "Bars" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Kick Axe Throwing's review count increased by more than 350%.
Who's behind this business? Look to Yelp: "Ginger is the founder and CEO of Kick Axe Throwing with locations in Brooklyn, Washington D.C. and Philadelphia."
"We specialize in parties and corporate events with a venue, catering menu, alcohol and axe-throwing," states its page on Yelp.
Kick Axe Throwing offers dishes like wings, flatbread pizzas and turkey sliders. Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Kick Axe Throwing is open from 4:30 p.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, noon–1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and noon–9 p.m. on Sunday.
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.
