Gelato and more: What's trending on Los Angeles' food scene?

Gelato and more: What's trending on Los Angeles' food scene?Photo: ecco un poco/Yelp
Hoodline
Published on March 23, 2020

Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right now?

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 analyze which restaurants have been in the spotlight this month.

To find out who made the list, we first looked at Los Angeles 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 sizzling hot, right now.

Malama Pono Restaurant

Photo: Brent M./Yelp

Open since February 2020, this seafood spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp.

Citywide, seafood spots saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month. Malama Pono Restaurant only recently appeared on Yelp, but while many new businesses struggle to gain reviews, it has seen strong initial popularity.

The restaurant serves seafood with a Pacific-influenced menu, according to its Yelp page.

Located at 13355 Ventura Blvd. in Sherman Oaks, Malama Pono Restaurant offers seared albacore carpaccio, grilled shrimp and parmesan grits, and pan-fried snapper. View the menu here.

Malama Pono Restaurant is open from noon–10 p.m. on Monday-Saturday. (It's closed on Sunday.)

Eufforiya Restaurant

Photo: Eufforiya Restaurant/Yelp

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Melrose's Eufforiya Restaurant, the modern European, Italian and French spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "Italian" on Yelp saw a median 1.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, Eufforiya Restaurant 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 Los Angeles's Italian scene: Chi Spacca has seen a 0.4% increase in reviews, and Pizza Sociale has seen a 36.5% bump.

Open at 7275 Melrose Ave., Unit B since December 2019, Eufforiya Restaurant serves penne alla checca, pesto pasta and burrata.

Eufforiya Restaurant is open from 10:30 a.m.–11 a.m. on Monday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday, 10 a.m.–midnight on Friday, 9 a.m.–midnight on Saturday and 9 a.m.–11 p.m. on Sunday.

ecco un poco

Photo: ecco un poco/Yelp

Beverly Grove's ecco un poco is also making waves. Open since November 2019 at 8318 W. Third St., the spot to score gelato has seen a 59.1% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.5% for all businesses tagged "Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt" on Yelp.

The business specializes in "natural Italian gelato and sorbet made fresh daily in small batches using Los Angeles farmers market ingredients and Italian excellences such as Bronte pistachio and Piedmont hazelnut, in accordance with traditional Italian recipes," according to its Yelp page. It also offers gluten-free pastries such as tiramisu, Sicilian cannolis and cheesecake made in house. 

There's more than one hot spot trending in Los Angeles' ice cream and frozen yogurt category: Handel's Homemade Ice Cream has seen a 5.1% increase in reviews.

ecco un poco features flavors like acai, black sesame, dulce de leche and cheesecake. See what else is on the menu. Over the past month, it's maintained an outstanding five-star rating among Yelpers.

ecco un poco is open from 1–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 1–11 p.m. on Friday, noon–11 p.m. on Saturday and noon–10 p.m. 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.