Curious 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 uncover which eateries have been getting extra notice 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 extra cool this winter.
Fajita Express Mexican Grill
Open since 2013, this Mexican spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp.
Citywide, Mexican spots saw review counts increase by a median of 2.1 percent over the past month, but Fajita Express Mexican Grill saw a 15.9 percent increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis review counts increased by more than 470 percent.
Located at 10531 Culebra Road, Fajita Express Mexican Grill offers its namesake dish, as well as other Mexican staples like tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas and burritos. This family-owned spot also serves daily lunch specials and combos.
Embers Wood Fire Kitchen & Tap
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Embers Wood Fire Kitchen & Tap, the beer bar and traditional American spot, which offers pizza and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp increased their review count by a median of 2.7 percent over the past month, Embers Wood Fire Kitchen & Tap bagged a 15.7 percent increase in reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a strong four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 18.0 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 819 N. Loop 1604 East since last April, Embers Wood Fire Kitchen & Tap offers salads, burgers and, of course, wood fired pizza. Customers can choose from more than 10 pizza varieties (such a chicken pesto and Maui Waui), or they can build their own. Gluten-free options are available. Check out the entire menu here.
When the weather is warm, diners can bring their pooches to the pet-friendly patio.
Bowl & Barrel
Forest Crest's Bowl & Barrel is also making waves. Open since 2015 at 17619 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 102, the bar and bowling and New American spot has seen an 11.8 percent bump in reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.7 percent for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp.
This chain has locations in Houston and Dallas. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers. Bowl & Barrel offers two bowling lanes, food and drinks. The menu includes appetizers, a variety of meat dishes and pizza.
Several Yelpers, like Lucinda-Quentin T., recommend the giant pretzel and Margherita pizza.
TBD Bar + Social
TBD Bar + Social is the city's buzziest bar by the numbers.
The bar and traditional American spot, which opened at 938 N. Loop 1604 West last March, increased its review count by 7.9 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median review increase of 2.8 percent for the Yelp category "Bars." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 5.0 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
TBD Bar + Social has an indoor patio with a giant Battleship game, Connect Four, Jenga and countless regular-sized board games. The menu features bar food like burgers, sandwiches and wings.
