The Spots Heating Up Denver's Dining Scene

(HOODLINE) - Wondering where Denver's in-the-know crowd is eating and drinking? It's easy to spot lines out the door, but some underlying trends are harder to see.

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 Denver 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 destinations are worth exploring, right now.

Tessa Delicatessen

This deli and cafe, which serves sandwiches, breakfast, brunch and more, is trending in comparison to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.

Citywide, breakfast and brunch eateries saw a median 1.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Tessa Delicatessen saw an 83.3% increase, maintaining a strong four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Tessa Delicatessen's review count increased by more than 250%.

It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: Devour The 303 has seen a 12.2% increase in reviews.

Located at 5724 E. Colfax Ave., Tessa Delicatessen offers a variety of breakfast and lunch plates on its menu, with options ranging from a pretzel egg sandwich, lox toast, quinoa bowl and bacon breakfast burrito to a salmon BLT, hot roast beef sandwich and kale Caesar salad with shaved Brussels sprouts.

Tessa Delicatessen is open from 8 a.m.–8 p.m. on Tuesday-Friday and 8 a.m.–4 p.m. on weekends. (It's closed on Monday.)

Logan Street

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Capitol Hill's Logan Street, the wine bar and New American bistro, which specializes in seafood and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp saw a median 1.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, Logan Street bagged a 27.5% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a sound four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.6 times more reviews than expected, based on its past performance.

There's even more trending in Denver's seafood cuisine scene: Maine Shack has seen a 6.8% increase in reviews, and Uchi has seen a 4% bump.

Open at 400 E. Seventh Ave. since 2019, Logan Street provides elevated cuisine. Noteworthy items to try here include scallops, grilled octopus, white bean soup, lamb cannelloni, artichoke flatbread and fried feta cheese.

Logan Street is open from 3–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and Sunday and from 3–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Daughter Thai Kitchen & Bar

Highland's Daughter Thai Kitchen & Bar is also making waves. Open at 1700 Platte St., Suite 140, the bar and Thai restaurant has seen a 30% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.2% for all businesses tagged "Bars" on Yelp.

Daughter Thai Kitchen & Bar features a menu brimming with authentic Thai dishes, including pad thai, Bangkok-style ribs, tom yum kha mushroom soup, spicy basil minced chicken, pineapple fried rice and pla-larb salad with fried frog. Over the past month, it's maintained a solid 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.

Daughter Thai Kitchen & Bar is open from 11 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 5–10 p.m. on weekdays and from 4–10 p.m. on Saturday. (It's closed on Sunday.)

Midwestern Saloon

Berkeley's Midwestern Saloon is the city's buzziest traditional American greasy spoon by the numbers.

The bar and traditional American gastropub, which can be found at 3961 Tennyson St., increased its new review count by 3.1% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.6% for the Yelp category "American (Traditional)." As for foot traffic, Midwestern Saloon saw visits double over the past month, according to SafeGraph data.

Midwestern Saloon specializes in quintessential Midwestern fare, such as cheese curds, Chicago-style hot dogs, burgers and a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. The establishment also boasts a sizable beer selection, including rotating craft brews on-tap and many others in bottles or cans.

Midwestern Saloon is open from 11 a.m.–midnight on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday, 11 a.m.–1 a.m. on Thursday and 11 a.m.–2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. According to SafeGraph, people visit Midwestern Saloon most on Sundays and Wednesdays, and it attracts a quarter of its total visitors over those two days, with a slowdown on Fridays.

Acova

Highland's well-established Acova is currently on the upswing in the New American category on Yelp.

While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.3% increase in new reviews over the past month, this New American restaurant increased its new reviews by 5.3% — with its Yelp rating declining slightly from 4.5 stars to four stars.

Open for business at 3651 Navajo St. since 2018, Acova serves items like beef short ribs, honey-stung fried chicken, street tacos, tomato basil soup, a buffalo chicken wrap, turkey brie panini sandwich and pan-seared scallops on its menu.

Acova is open from 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–midnight on Friday, 10 a.m.–midnight on Saturday and 10 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday.

Article provided by Hoodline.