Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending at this very moment?
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 a notable uptick in 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 extra hot, right now.
Violet's
Open since June 2018, this spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp.
Citywide, seafood spots saw a median 0.7% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Violet's saw a 6.6% increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, its review count increased by more than 500%.
Violet's is not the only trending outlier in the seafood category: both Harborview Restaurant & Bar and Pearl 6101 have seen a 4.5% increase in reviews.
Located at 2301 Clement St. (at the corner of 24th Avenue) in the Outer Richmond, Violet's serves up beer, wine, cocktails and gastropub fare, including Korean barbecue-style oysters and large plates like fisherman's stew. It's run by the same team behind Italian spot Fiorella.
Violet's is open from 5–10:30 p.m. on Monday, 5–11 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday, 5 p.m.–midnight on Friday, 2 p.m.–midnight on Saturday and 2–10:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Wildseed
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about the Marina's Wildseed, the cocktail bar and vegan spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp saw a median 1.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, Wildseed bagged a 24% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating.
Opened in the former Belga space at 2000 Union St. (at the corner of Buchanan Street), this plant-based venture from restaurant group Back of the House offers guests a menu of vegan bar bites and large plates, as well as nine different signature cocktails, including a pineapple Negroni, an apricot julep and a gin and tonic with aloe.
Wildseed is open from 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday. Happy hour specials are available Tuesday-Friday from 3–6 p.m.
Bellissimo Pizza
Lower Nob Hill's Bellissimo Pizza is also making waves. Situated at 920 Sutter St. (between Leavenworth and Hyde streets), the well-established pizzeria has seen a 1.7% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.1% for all businesses tagged "Pizza" on Yelp. As for foot traffic, Bellissimo Pizza saw visits more than triple over the past month, according to SafeGraph data.
Bellissimo Pizza offers classic thin-crust pies for dine-in, delivery and takeout, in addition to a selection of paninis made on homemade focaccia bread. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Bellissimo Pizza is open until 2 a.m. daily. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy on Wednesdays and Thursdays, with a slowdown on Mondays.
Sasa
Japantown's Sasa is the city's buzziest sushi bar by the numbers.
Sasa, which opened on the second floor of the Japan Center shopping mall (22 Peace Plaza, Suite 530) in December 2018, increased its new review count by 5.6% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1% for the Yelp category "Sushi Bars." As for foot traffic, Sasa saw visits more than triple over the past month, according to SafeGraph data.
Sasa serves a full dinner menu of traditional sushi favorites, including two tasting menus — an eight-course omakase and a nine-course "grand" omakase ($60 and $85 per person, respectively). There's also a full lunch menu boasting 10 different lunch specials and a drink list featuring a selection of sake.
Sasa is open from noon–2 p.m. and 5:30–9:30 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday, noon–2 p.m. and 5:30–10 p.m. on Friday, noon–2:30 p.m. and 5:30–10 p.m. on Saturday and noon–2:30 p.m. and 5:30–9:30 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.) According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at noon, 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., and on Sundays and Saturdays, with a slowdown on Thursdays.
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.
