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

Trend alert: What's heating up San Antonio's food scene this monthPhoto: Nicha's Comida Mexicana/Yelp
Hoodline
Published on December 05, 2018

Unsure where San Antonio'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 to analyze which eateries 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, and tracked businesses that consistently increase their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.

Read on to see which spots are on a hot streak, right now.

The Patio Southtown

Photo: Rosemarie D./Yelp

Open since May, this traditional American spot, 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 4.7 percent over the past month, but The Patio Southtown saw a 28.4 percent increase, maintaining a sound four-star rating throughout.

Located at 1035 S. Presa St. in Lavaca, The Patio Southtown offers options like the Southtown Burger with diced hot dogs, cheese and jalapeños; the Southtown Hotdog wrapped in bacon with mayo, tomato, onion and lettuce; and the Chicken Fried Steak topped with gravy or queso with two sides.

Dick's Last Resort

Photo: Sushi M./Yelp

Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about downtown San Antonio's Dick's Last Resort, the well-established bar, music venue and traditional American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.

While businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 2.7 percent over the past month, Dick's Last Resort bagged a 13.7 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.8 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.

There's more that's trending on San Antonio's bar scene: Margaritaville has seen a 12.4 percent increase in reviews, and Bowl & Barrel has seen a 10.2 percent bump.

Open at 223 Losoya St. along the River Walk since 2006, Dick's Last Resort offers humorously insulting service alongside a menu of sandwiches, salads, burgers, pasta and more. Dishes include Dick's Big Pig sandwich with pulled pork, barbecue sauce and coleslaw and the Dolly with two grilled chicken breasts, rice and roasted squash medley. (See the full menu here.)

Nicha's Comida Mexicana

Photo: Nicha's Comida Mexicana/Yelp

Nicha's Comida Mexicana is also making waves. Open since 2010 at 5059 N.W. Loop 410, the Mexican spot has seen a 10.1 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2 percent for all businesses tagged "Mexican" on Yelp.

Nicha's Comida Mexicana offers menu options like the pork carnitas with tender pork marinated in spices and fruit juice with a crispy outer layer, served with guacamole salad, and the carne guisada with savory beef tips cooked in a special house gravy and served with refried beans. It also offers breakfast, which is served all day. (See the full menu here.) Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating improve from three stars to 3.5 stars.

BurgerFi

Photo: BurgerFi/Yelp

Oak Park - Northwood's BurgerFi is the city's buzziest New American spot by the numbers.

The New American spot, which offers hot dogs and burgers and opened at 1907 Nacogdoches Road in 2015, increased its review count by 11.3 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 3.3 percent for the Yelp category "American (New)." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 2.8 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.

BurgerFi offers burgers like the CEO (double wagyu/brisket blend burger, candied bacon tomato jam, truffle aioli and aged Swiss cheese) and the Breakfast All Day Burger (Angus beef, American cheese, bacon, maple syrup, fried egg, hash brown, grilled onions and ketchup). (Check out its menu here.)