Get these trending Los Angeles restaurants on your radar now

Get these trending Los Angeles restaurants on your radar nowPhoto: Jack in the Box/Yelp
Hoodline
Published on April 06, 2020

Want the scoop 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 most discussed 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 riding a trend, right now.

Jack In The Box

Photo: Jack in the Box/Yelp

Open since 2011, this fast food spot, which offers burgers, tacos and more, a franchise of the famous chain, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Burgers" on Yelp.

Citywide, burger spots saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Jack in the Box saw a 5.3% increase, maintaining a 2.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Jack in the Box's review count increased by more than 200%. According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, the number of visitors to Jack in the Box more than tripled over the past month.

Located at 16860 Vanowen St. in Lake Balboa, Jack in the Box offers a variety of burgers such as spicy sriracha burger, bacon cheeseburger and bacon and swiss burger.

Jack in the Box is open 24 hours a day. According to SafeGraph, people visit Leonor's Vegetarian Mexican Restaurant most on Fridays and Thursdays, and it attracts a quarter of its total visitors over those two days, with a slowdown on Sundays.

Leonor's Vegetarian Mexican Restaurant

Photo: Erika M./Yelp

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about North Hollywood's Leonor's Vegetarian Mexican Restaurant, the well-established Mexican spot has been getting a lot more foot traffic lately.

While Leonor's Vegetarian Mexican Restaurant stayed on par with the median 1.2% increase in new reviews businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp over the past month, maintaining a sound four-star rating, the number of visitors to Leonor's Vegetarian Mexican Restaurant more than tripled over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.

"At Leonor's Vegetarian Mexican Restaurant, we believe in meals that do good and taste good. Putting our own vegan and vegetarian twist on traditional Mexican recipes, we cook with care to craft meals that treat Earth and all its creatures well," according to its Yelp profile.

Open at 11403 Victory Blvd. since 2006, Leonor's Vegetarian Mexican Restaurant serves tamales, enchiladas and tostadas.

Leonor's Vegetarian Mexican Restaurant is open from 10 a.m.–9 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 10 a.m.–10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. According to SafeGraph, people visit Leonor's Vegetarian Mexican Restaurant most on Fridays and Saturdays, 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 Sundays.

SanSai Japanese Grill

Photo: Tearra S./Yelp

Woodland Hills' SanSai Japanese Grill, an outpost of the well-known chain, is also making waves. Open since 2007 at 20042 Ventura Blvd., the popular sushi bar and Japanese spot has seen a 0.8% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses tagged "Sushi Bars" on Yelp — but the number of visitors to SanSai Japanese Grill more than tripled over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.

SanSai Japanese Grill's menu features sushi rolls, hand rolls and nigiri. View the menu here. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.

Republic Of Pie

Photo: Maria J./Yelp

North Hollywood's Republic Of Pie is the city's buzziest coffee and tea spot by the numbers.

The popular bakery, which offers coffee, tea and more and has been open at 11118 Magnolia Blvd. since 2012, increased its new review count by 0.3% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.6% for the Yelp category "Coffee & Tea." According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, Republic Of Pie saw visits more than triple over the past month.

In addition to its menu of savory and sweet pies, Republic Of Pie offers a variety of coffee and tea drinks, including pour over coffee, horchata cold brew, cold brew on tap and kombucha on tap.

Republic Of Pie is open from 8 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 8 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. According to SafeGraph, foot traffic is heaviest at 10 a.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., and on Saturdays and Fridays, with a slowdown on Mondays.


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.