Want the inside word on New York City's buzziest local spots?
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 eateries have been most discussed this month.
To find out who made the list, we first 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. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.
Read on to see which spots are extra hot this spring.
Pizzette
Open since last summer, this spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp.
Citywide, seafood spots saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Pizzette saw a 45.5% increase, maintaining a terrific five-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Pizzette's review count increased by more than 170%. According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, the number of visitors to Pizzette more than doubled over the past month.
Located at 191 Graham Ave. (at Scholes Street) in Williamsburg, Pizzette was opened by the team behind Bushwick's Mominette. Stop by this casual pizzeria and cocktail bar for personal pizzas topped with seafood fra diavolo, linguine with clam sauce and a raw bar featuring dollar oysters, littleneck clams and more. Pizzette also offers classic and signature cocktails, as well as wine and beer on draft.
Pizzette is open from 5–11 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 3 p.m.–midnight on Friday and Saturday, and 3–10 p.m. on Sunday. According to SafeGraph, it's usually busiest at 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., and people visit Pizzette most on Fridays and Saturdays, with a slowdown on Thursdays.
Mighty Catch
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about the Upper West Side's Mighty Catch, the Cajun and Creole seafood spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Southern" on Yelp saw a median 0.9% increase in new reviews over the past month, Mighty Catch bagged a 56% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a sound 4.5-star rating.
Open at 940 Columbus Ave. (at the corner of 106th Street) since December, Mighty Catch serves up build-your-own seafood boils with shrimp, crawfish, crab legs and more, all cooked with potatoes, corn and your choice of sauce and spice level. The menu also includes other Southern favorites like fried catfish baskets and hush puppies.
Mighty Catch is open from 11:30 a.m.–10:30 p.m. on Sunday-Thursday and 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Red Gate Bakery
The East Village's Red Gate Bakery is also making waves.
Formerly a home operation, the bakery has been open in its first brick-and-mortar storefront, at 68 E. First St. (between First and Second avenues), since December. Over the last month, it has seen a 90.9% bump in new reviews, compared to a median review increase of 1.8% for all businesses tagged "Desserts" on Yelp.
Want to know more about the business's specialties? "Greg Rales gleans inspiration from the baked goods of his childhood, reimagining them with unique and unexpected ingredients. Our pastries, which range from cookies to loaves to celebration cakes, are crafted with premium ingredients and ably walk the line between familiar and sophisticated." — that's from its its Yelp page.
Red Gate Bakery specializes in classic American treats with a nostalgic twist, like homemade peanut butter Oreos, carrot loaf with candied pistachios and yellow birthday cake with chocolate frosting. Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating tick down from five stars to 4.5 stars.
Red Gate Bakery is open from 11 a.m.–7 p.m. on Wednesday-Saturday and noon–5 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday and Tuesday.)
CAVA
This Midtown location of popular chain CAVA is the city's buzziest Mediterranean spot by the numbers.
The fast-casual Mediterranean eatery, which opened at 1385 Broadway (at 38th Street) in the fall of 2018, saw a 1.6% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses for the Yelp business category "Mediterranean" — but saw visits more than triple over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
CAVA, which has restaurants across the country (including 10 around NYC), offers build-your-own grain bowls, salads and pita sandwiches, made with proteins like falafel, lamb meatballs and grilled chicken. Bowls and sandwiches at CAVA also come with a choice of dips and spreads, like hummus and tzatziki, and toppings like fresh veggies, crumbled feta and pita crisps.
CAVA is open from 10:45 a.m.–10 p.m. daily. According to SafeGraph, it's usually busiest at noon, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., and people visit CAVA most on Thursdays and Fridays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Sundays.
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.
