Want the intel on Long Beach's most happening local spots?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which eateries have been in the spotlight this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Long Beach 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 riding a trend, right now.
Urban Plates
Open since December 2019, this New American spot, which offers salads, sandwiches and more, a member of the popular chain, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp.
Citywide, New American spots saw a median 1.2% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Urban Plates saw a 50% increase, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating throughout.
The restaurant, which opened its first location in Del Mar in September 2011, serves "fresh, high-quality, chef-inspired meals made from scratch, delivered in a warm and inviting environment," according to its Yelp page.
This franchise is not the only trending outlier in the New American category: The Ordinarie has seen a 4.5% increase in reviews, and The Carvery has seen an 8.7% bump.
Located at 6440 Pacific Coast Highway, Suite 175, Urban Plates features chimichurri grass fed steak, wild ahi tuna banh mi and chickpea and sweet potato bowl. Check out the full menu.
Urban Plates is open from 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Plant Power Fast Food
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Plant Power Fast Food, the well-established vegan and traditional American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, Plant Power Fast Food bagged an 8.9% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a superior four-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Long Beach's breakfast and brunch scene: Vibes Beach Cafe has seen a 6.6% increase in reviews.
Open at 5095 Pacific Coast Highway since June 2019, Plant Power Fast Food serves tofu scramble breakfast burrito, vegan egg muffin and vegan chicken and waffle sandwich. See what else is on the menu.
Plant Power Fast Food is open from 7 a.m.–10 p.m. daily.
Octopus Japanese Restaurant
Octopus Japanese Restaurant, an outpost of the well-known chain, is also making waves. Open since April 2010 at 200 Pine Ave., the popular sushi bar and Japanese spot has seen a 1.1% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses tagged "Sushi Bars" on Yelp.
"On the frontier of Japanese fusion restaurants, we are proud of our unique and wonderful cuisine which is created from the finest ingredients. We promise you only the freshest seafood, meat and produce," says its Yelp page.
Octopus Japanese Restaurant offers albacore carpaccio, Japanese scallop sushi and agedashi tofu. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Octopus Japanese Restaurant is open from 11:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m. on Monday-Wednesday, 11:30 a.m.–midnight on Thursday-Saturday and noon–10:30 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.
