Curious where San Diego'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 discover which local businesses have been most discussed this month.
To find out who made the list, we 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.
Read on to see which spots are extra cool this winter.
San Diego Sliders
Open since late November, this traditional American spot, which offers burgers, sandwiches, milkshakes and more, is trending compared to other businesses in the same category on Yelp.
Citywide, such spots saw a median 1.1% increase in new reviews over the past month. San Diego Sliders only recently appeared on Yelp, but while many new businesses struggle to gain reviews, it has seen strong initial popularity.
If you're curious about specialties, the restaurant "offers more than 30 varieties of mini-sandwiches and burgers, including classic cheeseburger, sloppy Joe, chipotle salmon, spicy Philly steak, garlic bread meatball, Hawaiian pulled pork and more," according to its Yelp page.
Located at 909 Grand Ave. (between Bayard and Cass streets) San Diego Sliders is open from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.–8 p.m. on Sunday.
Chef Jun
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Bay Ho's Chef Jun, the sushi bar and Japanese spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Sushi Bars" on Yelp saw a median 1.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, Chef Jun appeared on Yelp relatively recently. Many new businesses struggle to gain reviews, but it has seen a surge of interest.
According to its Yelp page, "Myungchul Jun brings a mix of traditional and modern Japanese dishes and adds delicious creativity to fresh fish prepared daily." The menu features yellowtail crudo, seared scallop and tuna tataki.
There's more that's trending on San Diego's sushi bar scene: Blue Ocean Sushi has seen a 65.4% increase in reviews.
Open at 4033 Avati Drive (between Eichenlaub Street and Morena Boulevard) Chef Jun is open from 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.–9:30 p.m. on Tuesday-Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.)
California Fish Grill
Mira Mesa's California Fish Grill, an outpost of the well-known chain, is also making waves. Open since early October at 8285 Mira Mesa Blvd., Suite 2 (between Camino Ruiz and Target Driveway), the spot to score seafood has seen a 1% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses tagged "Seafood" on Yelp — but
There's more than one hot spot trending in San Diego's seafood category: Pacific Fresh Grill has seen a 20% increase in reviews.
California Fish Grill's dishes include Cajun rainbow trout, salmon, shrimp and fish and chips, as well as tacos, bowls and salads. Over the past month, it's maintained a strong four-star rating among Yelpers.
California Fish Grill is open from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday-Wednesday and 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m. on Thursday-Saturday.
Tamales Brenda's
Tamales Brenda's is the city's buzziest Mexican spot by the numbers.
The Mexican food stand, which offers tamales, elotes (grilled corn) and more, opened at 2815 Imperial Ave. (between 29th and 28th streets) in Logan Heights in summer 2017. It increased its new review count by 47.5% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.3% for the Yelp category "Mexican." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 6.3 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
It's not the only trending outlier in the Mexican category: Los Panchos Tacos & Cantina has seen a 36.4% increase in reviews.
Tamales Brenda's is open from 6:30 p.m.–midnight on Friday-Sunday. (It's closed on Monday-Thursday.)
The PurpleMint Kitchen
Morena's The PurpleMint Kitchen is currently on the upswing in the vegan category on Yelp.
While businesses of that type saw a median 0.9% increase in new reviews over the past month, this vegan spot, which offers salads and soups, increased its new reviews by 45.5% — and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars.
Open for business at 5299 Linda Vista Road (between Mollie and Metro streets) since early October, The PurpleMint Kitchen entrees include lemongrass "beef," "chicken" or tofu, as well as yam and sweet potato curry, fried rice and more.
The PurpleMint Kitchen is open from 11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5 p.m.–9 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on weekends.
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.
