Curious where San Francisco'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 and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to deduce which restaurants have been getting outsized attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we first looked at San Francisco 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 getting plenty of attention, right now.
Fishmandu Sushi
Formerly known as Global Cuisine, Lower Nob Hill's recently rebranded Fishmandu Sushi is making waves. Global Cuisine opened in the former Papi's space at 846 Geary St. back in October, before changing its name and refocusing its menu not too long after. Now, the sushi bar has seen a 52% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 0.6% for all businesses tagged "Seafood" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in San Francisco's seafood category: Violet's has seen a 6.6% increase in reviews.
Fishmandu Sushi offers nigiri, sashimi, sushi rolls and other sushi bar favorites, as well as wine, beer and sake (hot and chilled). Over the past month, it's maintained a convincing 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Fishmandu Sushi is closed on Tuesday.
Osteria Bella
The Inner Richmond's Osteria Bella is the city's buzziest Italian spot by the numbers.
The restaurant and vermouth bar, which opened at 3848 Geary Blvd. (at Third Avenue) in summer 2017, increased its new review count by 11.1% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 0.7% for the Yelp category "Italian." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.6 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
The kitchen at this "Italian gastropub," as Osteria Bella bills itself on Yelp, serves up traditional Italian antipasti, pasta dishes, entrees and more. Meanwhile, the bar pours more than a dozen different kinds of vermouth, in addition to wine and craft beers.
Osteria Bella is open from 4:45–9 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday, 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Wednesday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, noon–11 p.m. on Saturday and noon–9:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Toy Soldier
The Financial District's popular Toy Soldier is currently on the upswing in the New American category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1% increase in new reviews over the past month, Toy Soldier increased its new reviews by 8.7% — with its Yelp rating declining slightly from four stars to 3.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 650% on a month-to-month basis.
What's the business known for? "Whether you're looking to have a quick lunch, conduct a business meeting, host a banquet or go on a first date, Toy Soldier's blend of California and comfort cuisine is sure to deliver. We offer a casual and lively atmosphere sprawled across our main dining room, full bar, romantic upstairs lounge and outdoor dining area." — that's according to its Yelp page.
Open for business at 52 Belden Place (between Bush and Pine streets) since 2017, Toy Soldier offers a wide variety of elevated bar fare like fresh oysters, steamed mussels, salads, sandwiches, burgers and fried chicken. Stop in at happy hour for discounted cocktails and bar snacks.
Toy Soldier is open from 11 a.m.–2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 p.m.–2 a.m. on Saturday. (It's closed 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.
