Curious where Tampa'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 analyze which local businesses have been on the tips of diners' tongues this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Tampa 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 extra cool this winter.
Olivia
Open since December 2019, this bar and Italian spot, which offers desserts and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, bars saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month. OLIVIA only recently appeared on Yelp, but while many new businesses struggle to gain reviews, it has seen strong initial popularity.
It's not the only trending outlier in the bar category: Anchor and Brine has seen a 62.5% increase in reviews, and Forbici Modern Italian and The Local have seen 7.6 and 7.5% increases, respectively.
Located at 3601 W. Swann Ave. in Bon Air, OLIVIA offers oysters with prosecco mignonette, lobster burrata and meatballs with fonduta foam, pomodoro sauce and basil. When it comes to libations, try The Indigo cocktail, made with Stoli, blueberry, St. Germain and cucumber. (Check out the menu here.)
OLIVIA is open from 5 p.m.–10 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 5 p.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
PSOMI
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about North Hyde Park's PSOMI, the bakery, brunch and Greek spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp saw a median 1.9% increase in new reviews over the past month, PSOMI bagged a 51.4% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a stellar five-star rating.
What's the business known for? "Rooted in a Greek foundation and influenced by world (cuisine), Psomi is focused on creating delicious food and drinks with the freshest ingredients, traditional values and friendly service." — that's from its its Yelp page.
There's more that's trending on Tampa's breakfast and brunch scene: La Segunda Bakery & Cafe has seen an 8.5% increase in reviews.
Open at 701 N. Howard Ave. since November 2019 PSOMI offers breakfast items like boughatasa French toast and sweets like Baklava coffee cake. Expect a new twist on the spanakopita with the spinach and cheese filling in the center of a sesame bagel and grilled octopus served with tomato, cucumber, red onion, peppercorn, crispy Za’atar chickpeas and latholemono.
PSOMI is open from 7 a.m.–3 p.m. on Tuesday-Friday and 8 a.m.–3 p.m. on weekends. (It's closed on Monday.)
Thee Tree House
Courier City's Thee Tree House is also making waves. Open since November 2018 at 1809 W. Platt St., the well-established New American and breakfast and brunch spot has seen a 6.5% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.3% for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Tampa's New American category: Oak and Ola has seen a 4.9% increase in reviews, and Steelbach has seen a 4.7% bump.
Thee Tree House offers brunch favorites like doughnut sushi and a drink dubbed the Borough Mary and mini bird, gluten-free buffalo wings and a fried chicken sandwich served with coleslaw and house-made pickles. Over the past month, it's maintained a superior four-star rating among Yelpers.
Thee Tree House is open from 4 p.m.–midnight on Tuesday and Wednesday, 4 p.m.–1 a.m. on Thursday, 4 p.m.–2 a.m. on Friday, 10 a.m.–2 a.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.–midnight on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.)
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.
