In the know: What's trending now on San Diego's food scene

In the know: What's trending now on San Diego's food sceneToscana Cafe & Wine Bar | Photo: Jennifer S./Yelp
Hoodline
Published on December 16, 2019

As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending today?

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 limelight 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 riding high right now.

Rare Society

photo: melanie m./yelp

Open since early November, steakhouse Rare Society is trending compared to other businesses in that category on Yelp.

Citywide, steakhouses saw a median 0.9% increase in new reviews over the past month. Rare Society only recently appeared on Yelp, but while many new businesses struggle to gain reviews, it has seen strong initial popularity, with 4.5 stars out of 30 reviews.

Located at 4130 Park Blvd. (between Polk and Howard avenues) in University Heights, Rare Society's centerpiece steak offerings include wood-fired filet mignon, ribeye, Australian wagyu, New York strip and more. Scottish salmon and Caesar salad are also on the menu.

Intrigued? The eatery's hours are 5-9 p.m. Sunday-Monday and Wednesday-Thursday, and 5-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. (It's closed Tuesday.)

Javier's La Jolla

Photo: javier's la jolla/Yelp

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about University City's Javier's La Jolla, the well-established Mexican spot and bar is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, Javier's La Jolla bagged a 3.9% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating. As for foot traffic, Javier's La Jolla saw visits more than triple in the past month, according to SafeGraph data.

"Javier's presents a rich heritage of elevated Mexican cuisine in a friendly, captivating ambiance. Enjoy hand-shaken margaritas, rare tequilas, craft cocktails and a vast selection of beer and fine wines" — that's courtesy of its page on Yelp.

There's more that's trending on San Diego's Mexican scene: Tacos Asadero has seen a 328.6% increase in reviews.

Open at 4301 La Jolla Village Drive, Suite 1000 (between Executive Way and Bus Access Road) Javier's La Jolla is open from 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday-Thursday and 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. According to SafeGraph, foot traffic is heaviest at 6-8 p.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays, with a slowdown on Thursdays.

Ichiro Japanese Restaurant

photo: norman b./yelp

Kearny Mesa's Ichiro Japanese Restaurant is also making waves. Located at 4344 Convoy St., Suite Q (between Armour Street and Othello Avenue), the popular sushi bar and Japanese spot has seen its foot traffic more than triple over the past month, according to SafeGraph data.

Here's more about the business from Yelp: "One of the oldest Japanese restaurants in San Diego and still going strong. Ichiro's is also a family run business."

What's the business known for? "For over 25 years Ichiro's has remained San Diego's premier Japanese restaurant, serving Japanese home cooking along with a large variety of Japanese appetizers to complement a frosty glass of beer," states its Yelp page.

The eatery also offers shabu-shabu and a variety of sushi rolls. 

Over the past month, the restaurant has maintained a healthy four-star rating among Yelpers.

Ichiro Japanese Restaurant is open from 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.–9:30 p.m. on weekdays, 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5 p.m.–9:30 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m.–9:30 p.m. on Sunday. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Sundays.

Zion Market

Photo: zion Market/Yelp

Kearny Mesa's Zion Market is the city's buzziest Korean spot by the numbers.

The popular international grocery store at 7655 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. more than tripled its foot-traffic visits over the past month, according to SafeGraph data.

"Our definitive goal is to cater to local neighborhoods with the freshest and safest products at a super-low price," states its Yelp page. 

The Korean market fills its shelves with fresh produce, meats and homemade Korean-style dishes.

Zion Market is open from 9 a.m.–9 p.m. daily. According to SafeGraph, it's usually busiest at 1-3 p.m., and most visited on Saturdays and Sundays, with a slowdown on Wednesdays.

Toscana Cafe & Wine Bar

photo: jennifer s./yelp

The Gaslamp's popular Toscana Cafe & Wine Bar is on the upswing in the breakfast and brunch category on Yelp.

This Italian spot, which offers beer, wine, spirits and more, increased its new reviews by 0.3% — and kept its rating consistent at three stars. The business saw visits more than triple over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.

Here's more about the business from its Yelp history section: "The owner was inspired by visiting Toscany and its beautiful countryside."

Open for business at 238 Fifth Ave. (between K and L streets) since October 2018, Toscana Cafe & Wine Bar offers a slew of breakfast items, including omelets, pancakes, stuffed French toast and more. For dinner, look for shrimp and sausage risotto, eggplant with fresh mozzarella and branzino.

The restaurant is open 6 a.m.–10 p.m. daily. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 7-9 p.m., and on Thursdays-Saturdays, with a slowdown on Mondays.


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.