In The Know: What's Heating Up Fort Lauderdale's Food Scene This Month
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MIAMI (Hoodline) - Want the scoop on Fort Lauderdale's most happening local spots?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to discover which eateries have been on the tips of diners' tongues this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Fort Lauderdale 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.
Read on to see which spots have the momentum heading into the end of the year.
Kousine Peruvian Kitchen
Open since February, this Peruvian spot, which offers seafood and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "seafood" on Yelp.
Citywide, seafood spots saw review counts increase by a median of 4.6 percent over the past month, but Kousine Peruvian Kitchen saw a 26.6 percent increase, maintaining a convincing 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 240 percent.
It's not the only trending outlier in the seafood category: Mastro's Ocean Club has seen a 21.1 percent increase in reviews.
Located at 841 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. in Central Beach, Kousine Peruvian Kitchen offers seafood-rich appetizers and main courses such as Arroz con Mariscos — a Peruvian-style seafood paella with shrimp, mussels, calamaria and salsa criolla.
Fishtales Restaurant & Nightclub
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Galt Mile's Fishtales Restaurant & Nightclub, the bar and New American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp increased their review counts by a median of 2.3 percent over the past month, Fishtales Restaurant & Nightclub bagged a 6.6 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a healthy four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.2 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
There's more that's trending on Fort Lauderdale's New American scene: Good Spirits Fifth & Fed has seen a 14.3 percent increase in reviews, and Milk Money Bar & Kitchen has seen a 11.8 percent bump.
Open at 3355 N.E. 33rd St. since 2009, Fishtales Restaurant & Nightclub offers reimagined bar classics like chicken quesadillas with lime creme fraiche and crab salad with lemon capers, remoulade, micro greens and more. (You can check out the full menu here.)
Lona Cocina Tequileria
Central Beach Alliance's Lona Cocina Tequileria is also making waves. Open since January at 321 N. Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd., the popular cocktail bar and Mexican spot has seen a 20.9 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 4.9 percent for all businesses tagged "cocktail ars" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 270 percent.
Lona Cocina Tequileria offers bar bites and cocktail favorites like fresh sangria, margaritas and mojitos with rum, lime, mint and soda. Over the past month, it's maintained a superior four-star rating among Yelpers.