As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending at this very moment?
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 deduce which restaurants 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 extra hot, right now.
Pepper Lunch
Open since August, this steakhouse and teppanyaki and Japanese curry spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Steakhouses" on Yelp.
Citywide, steakhouses saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Pepper Lunch saw a 15.1% increase, dropping to a mixed 3.0-star rating throughout.
This franchise has locations across Asia, with six outposts in the United States. This location, at 9393 Bellaire Blvd., Suite C, in Sharpstown, offers salad, curry, and teppan pasta, along with pepper rice dishes (chicken, salmon, beef) and steak platters.
Pepper Lunch 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.
Jonathan's The Rub at Memorial Green
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Memorial's Jonathan's The Rub at Memorial Green, the 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, Jonathan's The Rub at Memorial Green bagged a 16.4% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a superior four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.4 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
There's more that's trending on Houston's New American scene: Ember & Greens has seen a 16.4% increase in reviews, and Dish Society has seen a 7.2% bump.
Open at 12505 Memorial Drive, Suite 140, since 2018, Jonathan's The Rub at Memorial Green offers salad, pasta, steak, poultry and seafood. At brunch, look for the crab cake Benedict or the chicken and waffles. (Find the full menu here.)
Jonathan's The Rub at Memorial Green is open from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Thursday-Saturday and 10 a.m.–2 p.m. on Sunday.
Krab Queenz
Briarforest Area's Krab Queenz is also making waves. Open since November 2018 at 10852 Westheimer Road, the well-established drive-thru bar and Cajun/Creole spot, which offers seafood and more, has seen a 7.5% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.6% for all businesses tagged "Seafood" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Krab Queenz's review count increased by more than 850%.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Houston's seafood category: 1751 Sea and Bar has seen an 8.6% increase in reviews, and Tony's has seen a 0.6% bump.
Krab Queenz offers boiled snow crabs, shrimp and crawfish platters, along with sides like sausage, potatoes and rice. Diners can choose to top their seafood with one of eight garlic herb butters. (Explore the entire menu here.) Over the past month, Krab Queenz has maintained a mixed three-star rating among Yelpers.
Krab Queenz is open from noon–9 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Sunday and noon–10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. (It's closed on Wednesday and Thursday.)
Theo's Restaurant
Montrose's Theo's Restaurant is the city's buzziest sandwich spot by the numbers.
The popular Greek spot, which offers pizza and sandwiches and opened at 812 Westheimer Road in 1920, increased its new review count by 0.5% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.8% for the Yelp category "Sandwiches." According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, Theo's Restaurant saw visits almost double over the past month.
It's not the only trending outlier in the sandwich category: Kenny & Ziggy's New York Delicatessen has seen a 1.1% increase in reviews.
From the menu, try ordering the gyro platter or the mousaka, followed by some baklava for dessert.
Theo's Restaurant is open from 10 a.m.–4 a.m. daily. According to SafeGraph, foot traffic is heaviest at 8 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays, with a slowdown on Tuesdays.
Anonymous Cafe
Greenway's popular Anonymous Cafe is currently on the upswing in the coffee and tea category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp saw a median 2.9% increase in new reviews over the past month, this cafe and Greek spot, which offers coffee and tea and more, increased its new reviews by 23.2% — and kept its rating consistent at five stars.
There's more abuzz in the world of Houston coffee and tea: Minuti Coffee has seen a 1% increase in reviews, and CoCo Crepes, Waffles & Coffee has seen a 1.1% bump.
Open for business at 3701 Kirby Drive since August, Anonymous Cafe offers waffles, burgers and Greek favorites like souvlaki, the club sandwich and pastries like the signature Katina's Ekmeck Kaitaifi and spanikopita. (Check out the entire menu here.)
Anonymous Cafe is open from 8 a.m.–7 p.m. on Monday-Saturday. (It's closed 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.
