Unsure where Austin's insiders are 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 a noteworthy uptick in attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Austin 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 riding a trend this spring.
Market Street Pizza
Open since August 2017, this pizza spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Pizza" on Yelp.
Citywide, pizza spots saw a median 2.7 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Market Street Pizza saw a 20 percent increase, maintaining a convincing 4.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Market Street Pizza's review count increased by more than 230 percent.
Located at 13000 N. Interstate 35, Suite 210, Market Street Pizza offers pasta, calzones, sandwiches, salads and more. Look for the cheese burger pizza with mozzarella cheese, special burger sauce, ground beef, bacon, cheddar cheese, onions, pickles, lettuce and tomatoes. There’s also the taco pizza, made of refried beans, taco meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, cilantro and taco sauce.
Joann's Fine Foods
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Bouldin's Joann's Fine Foods, the brunch and dinner Tex-Mex spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp saw a median 2.1 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Joann's Fine Foods bagged a 19.2 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a convincing four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 1.4 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 1224 S. Congress Ave. since October 2018, Joann's Fine Foods offers Mexican brunch and dinner items that include tacos, with on corn or flour tortillas, jack cheese and an option of two fillings such as chorizo and hash browns or bacon and eggs. Or try the green chicken enchiladas that are made of jack cheese, sour cream, pickled onions and add rice and a choice of beans.
She's Not Here
Downtown Austin's She's Not Here is also making waves. Open since August 2018, at 440 W. Second St., the cocktai/sushi bar and pan Asian spot has seen a 14.9 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 3.6 percent for all businesses tagged "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis She's Not Here's review count increased by more than 280 percent.
There's more than one hotspot trending in Austin's cocktail bar category: Upstairs at Caroline has seen a 12 percent increase in reviews.
She's Not Here offers Sunday breakfast, lunch and dinner. Try dishes like wagyu rib eye, soft shell crab, “maki” that has yellowtail, crab salad, seasonal white fish, and cucumber; and Tasmanian ocean trout with passion fruit, South Pacific fruit relish and crown daisy.
Over the past month, it's maintained a convincing four-star rating among Yelpers.
Umi Sushi Bar & Grill
East Congress's Umi Sushi Bar & Grill is the city's buzziest bar by the numbers.
The well-established sushi bar, bar and Japanese spot, which opened at 5510 S. I-35, Suite 400 on February, increased its new review count by 5.5 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.9 percent for the Yelp category "Bars." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 4.2 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Umi Sushi Bar & Grill offers traditional and modern nigiri style sushi and rolls. Expect specialty rolls like the “Pepper Tuna”, which has thin slices of seared pepper tuna sashimi, served over cucumber with ponzu, scallions and roasted garlic . There's also classic rolls such as California roll kanikama, cucumber, avocado and topped with masago.
Taco Flats
Allandale's well-established Taco Flats is currently on the upswing in the Mexican category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp saw a median 1.9 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, this cocktail bar, beer bar and Mexican spot increased its by 3.6 percent—and kept its rating consistent at four stars. Review counts increased by more than 320 percent on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business at 5520 Burnet Road, Suite 101 since October 2014, the business offers various types of tacos. Enjoy “Barbacoa” tacos that have beef tongue and beef roll, fried garlic, onion and cilantro; “Chilaquiles DF”, made of tortilla chips, salsa roja, grilled jalapeño, fried egg, crema fresca, cilantro and queso fresco; or the “Dirty South” which irefried black beans, potato, bacon, scrambled eggs and American cheese.
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.
