Curious where Washington'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 deduce which restaurants have been most discussed this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Washington 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 hot, right now.
The Admiral
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Dupont Circle's The Admiral, the bar and traditional American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp saw a median 1.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, The Admiral appeared on Yelp relatively recently. Many new businesses struggle to gain reviews, but it has seen a surge of interest.
There's more that's trending on Washington's bar scene: Duke's Grocery has seen a 6.2% increase in reviews, and Johnny Pistolas has seen a 0.9% bump.
Open at 1 Dupont Circle NW since December 2019, The Admiral offers lobster rolls, raw oysters and other raw shellfish, steak frites, lobster linguine, baby back ribs and a crab cake sandwich. It also features 75 types of bourbon, as well as draft beer, wine and cocktails.
The Admiral is open from 4 p.m.–1 a.m. on Monday-Thursday, 4 p.m.–3 a.m. on Friday, 3 p.m.–3 a.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m.–midnight on Sunday.
King Street Oyster Bar
King Street Oyster Bar is also making waves. Open since November 2019 at 22 M St. NE in NoMa, the breakfast, brunch and traditional American spot, which offers seafood and more, has seen a 48.1% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.3% for all businesses tagged "Seafood" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Washington's seafood category: BlackSalt has seen a 0.3% increase in reviews, and Luke's Lobster in Farragut Square and Hot N Juicy Crawfish have seen 5.7% and 0.7% increases, respectively.
In addition to a raw bar, King Street Oyster Bar offers grilled sea scallops, fish and chips, macadamia mahi, basil-crusted chicken, crab cakes and Shanghai sea bass. Over the past month, it's maintained a strong 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
King Street Oyster Bar is open from 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–midnight on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday.
Nina May
Shaw's Nina May is the city's buzziest New American spot by the numbers.
The restaurant, which opened at 1337 11th St. NW in November 2019, increased its new review count by 43.2% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.4% for the Yelp category "American (New)."
Want more about the business's specialties in the words of the people behind it? "Nina May is the restaurant for all occasions. Co-owners Chef Colin McClimans and general manager Danilo Simic are serving up chef-picked and locally sourced dishes with unique and inventive cocktails," its Yelp page states.
It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: Shilling Canning Company has seen a 20.8% increase in reviews, and Black Coffee and Prather's on the Alley have seen 7.5% and 7.2% increases, respectively.
Among the menu options at Nina May are pumpkin and herb-crusted Maryland quail, bison tartare with Texas toast, crispy Maryland porchetta and stuffed rainbow trout with braised rainbow Swiss chard. It also serves cocktails, beer and wine.
Nina May is open from 5–10 p.m. on Sunday-Thursday and 5-11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Brunch is served from 10 a.m.-2:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Mexicue
Logan Circle's Mexicue, an outpost of the notable chain, is currently on the upswing in the breakfast and brunch category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, this cocktail bar and Mexican and breakfast and brunch spot increased its new reviews by 27% — and kept its rating consistent at four stars.
For an overview of the business, we looked to the history section of its Yelp page: "Mexicue launched as a food truck in 2010 and has grown to a full-service restaurant and bar."
What does this business focus on? "We smoke, grill, braise, char, pickle, juice, mash, grind and create in a way that stays true to the Mexican tradition. All with a twist of the American South. We believe in authentic, down-home cooking techniques. Nothing fancy about it," its Yelp page says.
There's more abuzz in the world of Washington breakfast and brunch: Philz Coffee has seen a 1.3% increase in reviews.
Open for business at 1720 14th St. NW since October 2017, Mexicue offers a brunch menu that includes cornbread French toast, smoky brisket quesadilla, huevos rancheros and breakfast tacos.
Mexicue is open from 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.–midnight on Friday and Saturday.
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.
