Get these trending Miami restaurants on your radar now

As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right this minute?

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 local businesses have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.

To find out who made the list, we first looked at Miami 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 winter.

Hotlime Craft Tacos And Ceviches

Open since September 2018, this Peruvian and Mexican spot, which offers seafood and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp.

Citywide, seafood spots saw a median 1.9% increase in new reviews over the past month. HotLime Craft Tacos and Ceviches only recently appeared on Yelp, but while many new businesses struggle to gain reviews, it has seen strong initial popularity.

Curious about this business? We found this in the business' Yelp specialties section: "HotLime, a craft taco and ceviche concept, features tacos that reflect Miami's diverse cultural scene and Peruvian-influenced ceviches. From using fresh, local ingredients to combining our favorite family recipes, everything we put into our menu comes straight from the heart." 

Located at 140 N.E. 39th St., Suite 241 in the Little Haiti, HotLime Craft Tacos and Ceviches—courtesy of friends chef Daniel Gonzalez and Carlos Padilla—offers four different Peruvian-influenced ceviches and a shorty with slow-braised ribs, onions, cilantro, cotija cheese and aji limo sauce. Libations include a smoky cocktail made from smoked pineapple, ancho chile-infused agave, lime and spicy rum. (View the menu.)

HotLime Craft Tacos and Ceviches is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Spanglish

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Spanglish, the cocktail bar and Latin American and New American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, Spanglish 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 Miami's New American scene: Tigertail + Mary has seen a 13.4% increase in reviews, and Ember Miami and Blvd Baes have seen 12.5 and 9.2% increases, respectively.

Open at 2808 N. Miami Ave. since November 2019, Spanglish offers empanadas; a roast pork plate and sandwiches like the Cuban and chimichurri melt.

Spanglish is open from 5 p.m.–2 a.m. on Monday-Saturday and noon–3 p.m. and 5 p.m.–2 a.m. on Sunday.

Ms Benedict

Ms Benedict is also making waves. Open at 3301 N.E. First Ave., Suite 101, the wine bar and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers coffee and tea and more, is relatively new to Yelp, but has seen a surge of new reviews, while all businesses tagged "Wine Bars" on Yelp saw an increase of 2.2% for new reviews in the past month. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Ms Benedict's review count increased by more than 200%.

Ms Benedict offers build-your-own omelets, toasts and flatbreads as well as a selection of beer, coffee and wine. Brunch options include Cuban egg Benedict, Mykonos toast (hummus spread, feta cheese, cucumber, tomato, tahini sauce and Kalamata olives), and an everything bagel with smoked salmon. Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating tick down from four stars to three stars.

Ms Benedict is open from 7:30 a.m.–4 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m.–4 p.m. on weekends.

DC Pie - Brickell

Brickell's DC Pie - Brickell is the city's buzziest bar by the numbers.

The bar, which offers pizza, chicken wings and more and opened at 1010 Brickell Ave., Suite 200 since December 2019, increased its new review count by 40.4% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.7% for the Yelp category "Bars."

Fascinated so far? Here's more about the business from its Yelp history section. Another spot from the Lucali Miami team, "DC PIE CO.'s pizza havens always keep it fresh with open patio seating, happy hour, lunch and dinner daily, and a new homemade soda and spritz menu," according to the business's Yelp profile.

DC Pie - Brickell offers basil-topped Brooklyn-style pizzas, all-beef meatballs, fresh salads and sweet hot wings with blue cheese. The drink menu includes 10 specialty cocktails. Try the Back to the Beach (elevate vodka, Saint Germain, guava and allspice); The Pop (Blanco Tequila, blackberry and ginger) and barrel-aged old-fashioned.

DC Pie - Brickell is open from 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday and Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday and 11:30 a.m.–midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Obra Kitchen Table

Brickell's well-established Obra Kitchen Table is currently on the upswing in the cocktail bar category on Yelp.

While businesses categorized as "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp saw a median 3.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, this cocktail bar and Latin American spot increased its new reviews by 15.4% — and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 500% on a month-to-month basis.

Interested so far? Here's more about the business from its  Yelp page. "A new Latin inspired casual eatery by chef Carlos Garcia in Brickell." — that's courtesy of its Yelp page.

There's more abuzz in the world of Miami cocktail bars: Melinda's has seen a 13.9% increase in reviews, and Esotico Miami has seen a 32.4% bump.

Open for business at 1331 Brickell Bay Drive, Unit CU1 since November 2018, Obra Kitchen Table offers a pork shank, wahoo tiradito with pineapple rum and topped with crunchy kale, and a corn and avocado risotto (it's made with nuts, mushrooms and a bit of parmesan).

Obra Kitchen Table is open from noon–3 p.m. and 6 p.m.–11 p.m. on weekdays and 6 p.m.–11 p.m. on Saturday. (It's closed 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.