Wondering where San Francisco'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 and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to uncover which local businesses have been seeing especially high review volumes 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 on a hot streak, right now.
Magnolia Dogpatch
The Dogpatch outpost of local brewery Magnolia is making waves.
Previously known as Magnolia Smokestack, this brewpub, located at 2505 Third St. (at the corner of 22nd Street), relaunched in 2018 as Magnolia Dogpatch, with a revamped interior and a new menu. Over the last month, it has seen an 8.8% bump in new reviews, compared to a median review increase of 0.8% for all businesses tagged "Bars" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, its review count increased by more than 200%.
Like its parent brewpub, which debuted in the Haight back in 1997, Magnolia Dogpatch pours a wide selection of draft beers brewed onsite and serves a full menu of bar bites, sandwiches, flatbreads and entrees. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Magnolia Dogpatch is open from 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m.–11 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday.
Vega
Bernal Heights' Vega is the city's buzziest pizzeria by the numbers.
This well-established spot, which has been open for business at 419 Cortland Ave. (between Wool and Bennington streets) since 2009, increased its new review count by only 0.3% over the past month, below the median new review count of 0.9% for the Yelp category "Pizza." However, as for foot traffic, Vega saw visits more than double over the past month, according to SafeGraph data.
Vega offers a menu of authentic Italian dishes inspired by chef Giuseppe Manna's mother's cooking. Stop in for antipasti like grilled calamari and burrata with beets; pasta dishes like angel hair with crab and handmade pappardelle with wild boar ragu; entrees like lamb chops and veal saltimbocca; and, of course, a selection of pizzas topped with fresh mozzarella, cold cuts, mushrooms and more. Vega also features a full wine list.
Vega is open from 5–10 p.m. daily. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., and on Sundays and Saturdays, with a slowdown on Wednesdays.
Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates
The Marina's Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates is currently on the upswing in the dessert category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Desserts" on Yelp saw a median 0.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, this boutique chocolatier increased its new reviews by 6.2% — and kept its rating consistent at five stars. Review counts increased by more than 250% on a month-to-month basis, and the business saw visits more than double over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates opened its first brick-and-mortar store in Sacramento in 2008 and made inroads into the San Francisco market three years ago with the addition of this Marina boutique at 3108 Fillmore St. (at the corner of Pixley Street).
What's the business best known for? "We are best known for our chocolate bonbons, Parisian macarons, macaron ice cream sandwiches, small-batch house-made ice cream and couverture hot chocolate in five varieties! We pride ourselves on using locally and responsibly sourced ingredients and materials in our products and packaging." — that's according to its page on Yelp.
Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates also offers corporate gifting services. Visit its website for more information.
Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates is open from 11 a.m.–8 p.m. on Tuesday-Friday, 10 a.m.–8 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.–6 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.) According to SafeGraph, people visit Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates most on Saturdays and Sundays, and it attracts half of its total visitors over those two days, so go on Wednesdays if you want to avoid the rush.
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.
