Want the inside word on Los Angeles's most happening 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 restaurants have been on the tips of diners' tongues 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 this spring.
Prego Pizzeria
Open since April 2019, this pizza spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Pizza" on Yelp.
Citywide, pizza spots saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Prego Pizzeria saw a 71.4% increase, with a slight upward trend from a four-star rating a month ago to 4.5 stars today. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Prego Pizzeria's review count increased by more than 170%.
According to its Yelp profile, Prego Pizzeria uses top quality ingredients and spices in order to create the perfect pizza and food for its customers.
It's not the only trending outlier in the pizza category: Milan's Pizzeria has seen a 56% increase in reviews, and Flame Pizzeria and Double Zero have seen 1.3 and 2.9% increases, respectively.
Located at 16733 Ventura Blvd. in Encino, Prego Pizzeria features a variety of options such as vegetarian and meat lover's.
Prego Pizzeria is open from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Uncle Paulie's Deli
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Melrose's Uncle Paulie's Deli, the popular deli, which offers sandwiches, salads and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp saw a median 1.2% increase in new reviews over the past month, Uncle Paulie's Deli bagged a 2.2% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a convincing 4.5-star rating. As for foot traffic, Uncle Paulie's Deli saw visits nearly triple in the past month, according to SafeGraph data.
There's more that's trending on Los Angeles's sandwich scene: Boo's Philly Cheesesteaks has seen a 1% increase in reviews, and Go Get Em Tiger and Yum Yum Donuts have seen 1.4 and 2.8% increases, respectively.
Open at 8369 Beverly Blvd. since 2017, Uncle Paulie's Deli offers a sandwich menu with selections like artichoke caprese, turkey pesto and meatball parmesan.
Uncle Paulie's Deli is open from 8 a.m.–4 p.m. daily. According to SafeGraph, foot traffic is heaviest on Saturdays and Thursdays, and it attracts a quarter of its total visitors over those two days. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Wednesdays.
Don Chuy's Mexican Restaurant
Playa Vista's Don Chuy's Mexican Restaurant is also making waves. Open since 2015 at 11800 Jefferson Blvd., the well-established Mexican spot has seen a 0.7% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 0.7% for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp. According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, Don Chuy's Mexican Restaurant saw visits more than double over the past month.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Los Angeles' breakfast and brunch category: The Front Yard has seen a 0.1% increase in reviews, and Egg Tuck and The Bucket have seen 4.8 and 2.2% increases, respectively.
Don Chuy's Mexican Restaurant has a breakfast menu with dishes like chilaquiles, huevos rancheros and breakfast burrito. Over the past month, it's maintained a strong four-star rating among Yelpers.
Don Chuy's Mexican Restaurant is open from 10 a.m.–10 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m.–10 p.m. on weekends. According to SafeGraph, foot traffic is heaviest at 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., and on Sundays and Saturdays, with a slowdown on Fridays.
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.
