Wondering where New York City's insiders are 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 uncover which restaurants have been on the tips of diners' tongues this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at New York City 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 on a hot streak this winter.
Roland's
Open since last fall, this bar and restaurant is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp.
Citywide, Italian spots saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Roland's saw an imposing 109.1% increase, maintaining a convincing 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Roland's review count increased by more than 600%.
Located at 303 W. 127th St. (between Eighth and St. Nicholas avenues) in Harlem, Roland's specializes in thin-crust, Roman-style pizzas cooked in a Pavesi wood-fired oven (there are vegan pies available, too). The kitchen at the new spot, which was opened by the team behind next-door Harlem Bar-B-Q, also offers other Italian favorites like fritto misto, caprese salad, lasagna Bolognese and chicken Milanese.
Roland's is open from 5–11 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 5–10 p.m. on Sunday.
Red Crab - Juicy Seafood
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Sheepshead Bay's Red Crab - Juicy Seafood, this outpost of the East Coast seafood chain is a hot topic, according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 1.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, Red Crab - Juicy Seafood appeared on Yelp relatively recently. Many new businesses struggle to gain reviews, but it has seen a surge in interest.
There's more that's trending on New York City's seafood scene: Aqua Boil has seen a 101.6% increase in reviews.
Open at 1724 Sheepshead Bay Road (formerly Brothers Bistro) since November, Red Crab - Juicy Seafood serves up seafood boils with shrimp, snow crab, mussels, scallops and more, topped with Cajun seasoning, lemon pepper and garlic butter.
Red Crab - Juicy Seafood is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
Grand Shanghai House
Chinatown's Grand Shanghai House is also making waves. Open since December at 9 Pell St. (near the Bowery), the Shanghainese spot is relatively new to Yelp, but has seen a surge in new reviews, while all businesses tagged "Shanghainese" on Yelp saw an increase of 2.3% for new reviews in the past month.
What's this business's specialty? "We combine our passion for rich flavors with cherished memories of growing up in Shanghai to bring you our taste of home!" — that's according to its Yelp page.
Grand Shanghai House offers a full menu of authentic meat and seafood dishes, as well as noodles, soups, fried rice and an assortment of dim sum. Over the past month, it's maintained a sound 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Grand Shanghai House is open from 11 a.m.–10:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Savory Thai
Williamsburg's Savory Thai is the city's buzziest Thai spot by the numbers.
The new restaurant, which opened at 378 Metropolitan Ave. (near Havemeyer Street) back in August, is still relatively new to Yelp, but has seen a surge in new reviews. Meanwhile, the median new review count for the Yelp category "Thai" was up 1.8% over the past month.
Savory Thai offers Thai favorites for dine-in, takeout and delivery. On the menu, expect starters like papaya salad and spring rolls; tom yum soup; curries with choice of chicken, beef, duck, shrimp, tofu and more; pad thai, crab fried rice; and desserts like fresh mango with sticky rice. Daily lunch specials are available, too.
Savory Thai is open from 11:45 a.m.–4 p.m. and 5–10:30 p.m. on weekdays and noon–10:30 p.m. on weekends.
232 Bleecker
The West Village's 232 Bleecker is currently on the upswing in the New American category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, this New American spot saw a surge in new reviews, despite being relatively new to Yelp.
Open for business at 232 Bleecker St. (at the corner of Bleecker and Carmine) since December, the new restaurant serves a seasonal menu of elevated small and large plates. Check out the oven-roasted oysters, the beef tartare, the heritage porchetta with sunchokes, or one of the restaurant's many vegetable offerings, such as the charred cauliflower with sunflower butter or the grilled carrots with hot honey and ricotta. The business also offers a full list of wines, beer and cocktails.
232 Bleecker is open from 5–10 p.m. daily.
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.
