Want the scoop on New York City'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 discover which local businesses have been most discussed this month.
To find out who made the list, we first looked at New York City 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 a trend this winter.
The Capital Grille
Open since 2009, this location of the well-known chain of steakhouses and wine bars has been getting a lot more foot traffic lately.
While The Capital Grille stayed on par with the median 1.3% increase in new reviews for wine bars on Yelp over the past month, maintaining a superior four-star rating, the number of visitors to The Capital Grille more than tripled over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
Interested so far? Here's more about the business from its Yelp history section: "African mahogany paneling and Art Deco chandeliers provide a warm, stately setting for our nationally renowned dry-aged steaks, fresh seafood and acclaimed world-class wines."
In terms of beverages, "The Capital Grille's wine list features more than 350 selections, and its floor-to-ceiling wine kiosk regularly houses 3,500-5,000 bottles," according to its page on Yelp.
Located at 120 Broadway in the Financial District, this is one of three NYC locations of The Capital Grille, which has restaurants across the country.
The Capital Grille is open from 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. on weekdays and 5–10 p.m. on Saturday. (It's closed on Sunday.) According to SafeGraph, foot traffic is heaviest at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. and on Tuesdays and Thursdays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Saturdays.
Portale
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Chelsea's Portale, the Italian restaurant is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp saw a median 1.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, Portale appeared on Yelp relatively recently. Many new businesses struggle to gain reviews, but it has seen a surge of interest.
Open at 126 W. 18th St. (between Avenue Of The Americas and Seventh Avenue) since November, Portale offers authentic Italian food like burrata with roasted beets, seafood spaghetti, white truffle risotto and rack of lamb with braised escarole. There's also a full selection of beer and cocktails, as well as French and Italian wines.
Portale is open for dinner seven nights a week, from 5:30–10:30 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 5–11 p.m. on Saturday and 5–10 p.m. on Sunday. The restaurant also plans to add lunch and brunch service.
Aoi Kitchen
The East Village's Aoi Kitchen is also making waves. Open since November at 320 E. Sixth St. (between First and Second avenues), the Japanese spot is relatively new to Yelp but has seen a surge of new reviews, while all businesses tagged "Japanese" on Yelp saw an increase of 1.5% for new reviews in the past month.
Aoi Kitchen serves up Japanese-style comfort food. Stop in for katsu sandwiches, Japanese curries and loco moco — a dish of white rice, hamburger and fried eggs, often found in Hawaii. Over the past month, the new spot has maintained a superior 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Anton's
And finally, the West Village's Anton's is the city's buzziest traditional American spot by the numbers.
The bar and restaurant, which took over the former space of Frankies 570 Spuntino (570 Hudson St.) in November, is still relatively new to Yelp but has seen a surge of new reviews. Meanwhile, the median new review count for the Yelp category "American (Traditional)" was up 1.3% over the past month.
Interested in knowing more about this business? We found this in its Yelp history section: "Anton's is a neighborhood cafe and wine bar in the heart of the West Village, celebrating the food, drink and spirit of old New York. The vision of Chef Nick Anderer and Sommelier Natalie Johnson, Anton's thoughtfully reimagines the storied cafés and bars that characterized the city's culinary landscape over the first half of the 20th century. The restaurant's name pays tribute to Chef Anderer's great, great grandfather, whose immigration to New York City in the late 1800s paved the way for a line of butchers, bakers and restaurateurs."
On the menu at Anton's, expect to find salads, oysters and clams, grilled pork chops, hanger steak and an assortment of pasta dishes. On the weekends, the restaurant offers brunch fare like eggs Benedict, pancakes, steak and eggs and smoked sturgeon with rye toast.
Anton's is open from 5–11 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, noon–midnight on Friday, 11 a.m.–midnight on Saturday and 11 a.m.–11 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.
