Trend alert: What's heating up Miami's food scene this month

Wondering where Miami'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 analyze which eateries have been in the spotlight 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 cool this winter.

Baby Jane

Open since May 2016, this well-established cocktail bar and New American spot, which offers ramen and more, is trending based on local foot traffic data.

While Baby Jane stayed on par with the median 2.6% increase in new reviews for cocktail bars on Yelp over the past month, maintaining a sound four-star rating, the number of visitors to Baby Jane more than tripled over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.

Behind the business is Miamian Jason Odio who has successfully opened several clubs including Mokai and Mansion. The business is known for its  "specialty craft cocktail menu, Japanese beers, ramen and Asian fusion bites. Offering happy hour daily from 4 p.m.-7 p.m." — that's from its its page on Yelp.

It's not the only trending outlier in the cocktail bar category: Hutong has seen a 300% increase in reviews, and Miracle in Miami and Miami Mojito Company have seen 37.5 and 2.3% increases, respectively.

Located at 500 Brickell Ave., Suite 105E in Brickell, Baby Jane drink menu includes specialty cocktails like the Bette Davis Special (made with Ford’s Gin, Carpano Bianco, St.Germain, Rosemary, Luxardo Cherry and Lavendera) and a shishito mule garnished with a pepper (made with Herradura Tequila, shishito-lemongrass agave, lime and ginger beer).

Baby Jane is open from noon–2 a.m. on Monday, Tuesday and Sunday, noon–3 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and noon–5 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. According to SafeGraph, it's usually busiest at 9 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., and people visit Baby Jane most on Fridays and Thursdays, with a slowdown on Mondays.

DC PIE CO. Brickell

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Brickell's DC PIE CO. Brickell, the bar, which offers pizza and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp saw a median 2.2% increase in new reviews over the past month, DC PIE CO. Brickell appeared on Yelp relatively recently. Many new businesses struggle to gain reviews, but it has seen a surge of interest.

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. 

There's more that's trending on Miami's bar scene: Syndicate Kava Bar & Tap Room has seen a 57.9% increase in reviews, and El Patio Wynwood and Batch Gastropub - Miami have seen 1.5 and 1% increases, respectively.

Open at 1010 Brickell Ave., Suite 200 since December, DC PIE CO. offers basil-topped Brooklyn-style pizzas, all-beef meatballs with spiced ricotta, house sauce and basil 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 CO. 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.

Boia De

The Little Haiti's Boia De is also making waves. Open since June 2019 at 5205 N.E. Second Ave., the Italian and New American spot has seen a 23.8% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.4% for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Boia De's review count increased by more than 140%.

There's more than one hot spot trending in Miami's New American category: Glass & Vine has seen a 3.4% increase in reviews.

Boia De's tapas- style menu offers baked clams, bone marrow and crispy potato skins (with stracciatella, caviar and hard egg) as well as pasta dishes like ricotta gnocchi (with winter squash, spiced pepitas, sage brown butter). Over the past month, it's maintained an impressive five-star rating among Yelpers.

Boia De is open from 5:30 p.m.–10:30 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 5:30 p.m.–11:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Sergio’s Cuban

Brickell's Sergio’s Cuban is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.

The popular Cuban and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers sandwiches and more and opened at 40 S.W. 12th St. since March 2018, increased its new review count by 4.2% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.4% for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch." As for foot traffic, visits to Sergio’s Cuban increased by more than 50% over the past month, according to SafeGraph data.

Sergio’s Cuban offers breakfast, build-your-own bowls and sandwiches. Popular offerings include chorizo empanadas, pork bowl (filled with beans, carrots, beets, pico, rice, pork and plantains) and the Frita burger, featuring beef and chorizo, American cheese, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato and string potatoes (it's topped with Sergio's sauce on a potato bun). 

Sergio’s Cuban 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 9 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays, so go on Tuesdays if you want to avoid the rush.

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.