Want the dirt on San Antonio's buzziest local spots?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to deduce which local businesses have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at San Antonio 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.
Read on to see which spots are extra cool as we head into autumn.
The Patio Southtown
Open since May, this laid-back, family-friendly eatery, which offers burgers, seafood and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp.
Citywide, traditional American spots saw review counts increase by a median of 5.1 percent over the past month, but The Patio Southtown saw a 33.3 percent increase, maintaining a strong four-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the traditional American category: Embers Wood Fire Kitchen & Tap has seen a 17 percent increase in reviews.
Located at 1035 S. Presa St. in Lavaca, The Patio Southtown offers menu options like the Southtown Burger (with diced hot dogs, cheese and jalapeños), the Chopped Brisket sandwich (barbecue sauce, onion and pickle) and the Southtown Nacho (fries, queso, sour cream, guacamole, buffalo sauce and pico de gallo).
TBD Bar + Social
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about TBD Bar + Social, the bar and traditional American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While bars increased their review count by a median of 3.4 percent over the past month, TBD Bar + Social bagged a 15.8 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating.
Open since March at 938 N. Loop 1604 West, TBD Bar + Social offers buckets of beer and wine, cocktails by the pitcher and rotating discount beers. Food includes tacos, pulled pork sandwiches and specialty covered fries, like the one smothered in sirloin chili, queso and scallions. It also has patio games, arcade games and board games.
First Watch
First Watch is also making waves. Open since September 2017 at 830 N.W. Loop 410 near North Star Mall, the cafe, which serves traditional American breakfast and brunch fare, has seen a 15 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 3.2 percent for all businesses tagged "breakfast and brunch" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in San Antonio's breakfast and brunch category: Duck Donuts has seen a 14.3 percent increase in reviews, and La Panadería has seen a 9.9 percent bump.
First Watch is a nationwide chain that offers breakfast and brunch dishes. Pancakes, omelets and sandwiches are here, as are seasonal items, like the pumpkin pancake breakfast with two eggs and a chicken sausage patty. Over the past month, it's maintained a sound four-star rating among Yelpers.
Pharm Table
Downtown's Pharm Table is the city's buzziest New American spot by the numbers.
The vegan cafe, which opened at 106 Auditorium Circle in September 2015, increased its review count by 10.6 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 3.4 percent for the Yelp category "American (New)."
It's not the only trending outlier in the New American category: Anchor Bar has seen a 10.2 percent increase in reviews, and Maverick has seen a 9.5 percent bump.
Pharm Table offers dishes made with organic, seasonal and local ingredients and is free of dairy, wheat and processed sugar. Dishes include the Summer Pizza (quinoa crust, tomato cashew sauce, summer squash ribbons, hemp seeds, basil and Korean chili flakes) and the Quinoa Tamal Bowl (quinoa masa, sprouted black bean filling, sweet potato squash escabeche, carrot coconut chutney, beet crema, local greens and turmeric chia dressing).
All dishes are vegan, but you can add protein to anything, including pulled chicken, Asian pork and grass-fed beef. (See the full menu here.)
Buddy V's
Buddy V's is currently on the upswing in the Italian category on Yelp. Owned by Buddy Valastro, the star of "Cake Boss" and other TLC network cooking programs, the restaurant debuted in January.
While Italian restaurants increased review counts by a median of 3.1 percent over the past month on Yelp, this Italian spot increased its count by 9.3 percent — and kept its rating consistent at 3.5 stars.
Located at 15900 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 11200, the eatery offers pizza, pasta, antipasti and entrees like Mediterranean sea bass with cured lemon and chicken Marsala. (See the full menu here.)
