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 discover which local businesses have been most discussed 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 increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are worth exploring this summer.
Ruben's Backyard
Open since January, this Tex-Mex spot, which offers burgers, sandwiches and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Tex-Mex" on Yelp.
Citywide, Tex-Mex spots saw a median 2.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Ruben's Backyard saw a 25% increase, with a slight upward trend from a three-star rating a month ago to 3.5 stars today. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Ruben's Backyard's review count increased by more than 160%.
Located at 13838 Jones Maltsberger Road, Ruben's Backyard serves appetizers, tacos, soups, salads and more.
Bowl & Barrel
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Forest Crest's Bowl & Barrel, the New American bar and bowling spot is a hot topic, according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp saw a median 2.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, Bowl & Barrel bagged a 6.9% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.3 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 17619 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 102, since 2015, Bowl & Barrel offers pizza, meatloaf, buffalo chicken, cotton candy, funnel cakes and appetizers like pretzels, Cornish hand pies and stuffed mushrooms.
Mr. C’s Fried Chicken & Waffles
Mr C’s Fried Chicken & Waffles is also making waves. Open since last November, at 7907 W. Loop 1604 N, Suite 102, the traditional Southern American spot has seen a 7.3% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.8% for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Mr. C’s Fried Chicken & Waffles offers home-style Southern food for breakfast, brunch, lunch and dinner. On the menu, you'll see classic breakfast platters, fried chicken and waffles specials and Southern sides such as collard greens, black eyed peas and sweet corn. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.
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.
