Get these trending Houston restaurants on your radar today

Food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending today?

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 in the spotlight this month.

To find out who made the list, we first looked at Houston 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 have the momentum heading into springtime.

Indianola

Open since 2018, this well-established bar and breakfast and brunch and traditional American spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.

Citywide, breakfast and brunch spots saw a median 1.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Indianola saw a 5.3% increase, maintaining a superior four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Indianola's review count increased by more than 400%. As for foot traffic, the number of visitors to Indianola more than tripled over the past month, according to SafeGraph data.

It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: Common Bond Bistro & Bakery has seen a 200% increase in reviews, and Harry's Restaurant and Postino Montrose have seen 1.8 and 18.9% increases, respectively.

Located at 1201 St. Emanuel St. in downtown Houston, the Indianola brunch menu offers pastries, burgers, salad and platters that include pancakes, eggs, sausage and bacon. (Find the full brunch menu here.)

Indianola is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m.–11 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.) According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., and on Sundays and Fridays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Tuesdays.

Pappasito's Cantina

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Mid West's Pappasito's Cantina, a member of the popular chain, the popular Tex-Mex spot, which offers seafood and more, is trending based on local foot traffic data.

While Pappasito's Cantina stayed on par with the median 1.5% increase in new reviews businesses categorized as "Seafood" on Yelp over the past month, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating, the number of visitors to Pappasito's Cantina more than tripled over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.

Want to know more about this business? We found this in its Yelp history section: "H.D. Pappas left Greece in 1897 and traveled to America to pursue his dreams. He brought with him a passion for quality and service that became the benchmark of his success as he opened restaurants throughout Tennessee, Arkansas and Texas."

For more on the faces behind the business, we found this on Yelp: "Today, the privately-owned Pappas family of restaurants is based in Houston, Texas and is operated by Jim Pappas's sons, Harris and Chris."

What does this business focus on? "Famous for more than thirty years of Legendary Tex-Mex, Pappasito's Cantina is known for the flavor, freshness and quality of their food and drinks. Pappasito's Cantina serves up succulent, sizzling fajitas, hand-crafted drinks and some of the best chips and homemade salsa around." — that's from its Yelp page.

There's more that's trending on Houston's seafood scene: an outpost of the chain Crawfish & Beignets has seen a 10.2% increase in reviews, and Flying Fish and La Lucha have seen 8.7 and 6.7% increases, respectively.

Pappasito's Cantina has more than 20 locations across Texas, with one outpost in Georgia. Open at 6445 Richmond Ave. since 2008, Pappasito's Cantina offers tacos, enchiladas, ribs and fresh Gulf Coast seafood. (Explore the entire menu here.)

Pappasito's Cantina is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10:30 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., and on Saturdays and Fridays, with a slowdown on Thursdays.

Matcha Cafe Maiko

Sharpstown's Matcha Cafe Maiko is also making waves. Open since 2018 at 6650 Corporate Drive, Suite E, the popular spot to score ice cream and frozen yogurt, coffee and tea and shaved ice has seen a 1.6% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.3% for all businesses tagged "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp. As for foot traffic, Matcha Cafe Maiko saw visits more than triple over the past month, according to SafeGraph data.

What does this business focus on? "Premium Matcha Cafe Maiko is offering a variety of matcha-infused desserts including sponge cakes, soft-serve cones, lattes, frappes and floats with toppings like mochi, chestnuts and azuki beans. For purists, regular matcha tea will be on offer along with the spicier hoji tea. Our matcha and hojicha (roasted green-tea) powders are directly imported from Kyoto, Japan." — that's according to its Yelp page.

There's more than one hot spot trending in Houston's coffee and tea category: 7 Leaves Cafe has seen a 3.3% increase in reviews, and The Roastery and Bohemeo's have seen 3.7 and 1.7% increases, respectively.

Look for the matcha ice cream in a cone as well as the hojicha latte and the multi-layered Maiko special. Over the past month, the cafe has maintained a strong four-star rating among Yelpers.

Matcha Cafe Maiko is open from 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and Sunday and 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 1 p.m., 2 p.m. and 3 p.m., and on Wednesdays and Fridays, so go on Tuesdays if you want to avoid the rush.

Ember & Greens

The popular Ember & Greens is currently on the upswing in the New American category on Yelp.

While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.7% increase in new reviews over the past month, this New American spot, which offers comfort food and more, increased its new reviews by 13.7% — and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars.

Curious about this business? We found this in its Yelp history section. "We are thrilled to bring to life a restaurant that captures the voice of Memorial... This concept has come to life out of our family's experience in Memorial restaurants, and has been developed alongside a variety of leading restaurateurs in the Houston restaurant scene."

Want more about the business's specialties in the words of the people behind it? "At Ember & Greens, we will serve contemporary American, healthy cuisine with subtle international influence catered towards the health-conscious trends developing in the Memorial community." — that's according to its page on Yelp.

There's more abuzz in the world of Houston New American: The Grove has seen a 0.5% increase in reviews, and Bisou and Squable have seen 6.2 and 8.1% increases, respectively.

Open for business at 9403B Katy Freeway since July, Ember & Greens offers seasonal salads, sandwiches, flatbreads and wraps, along with entrees like blackened salmon with avocado salsa and creamy roasted jalapeño pasta. (Check out the full menu here.)

Ember & Greens is open from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and Sunday and 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

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.