As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending right this minute?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to analyze which local businesses have been in the spotlight this month.
To find out who made the list, we looked at Atlanta 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, right now.
Cultivate Food and Coffee
Open since February, this tapas bar, breakfast and brunch spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Citywide, breakfast and brunch spots saw a median 1.8 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Cultivate Food and Coffee saw a 33.7 percent increase, maintaining a superior four-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Cultivate Food and Coffee's review count increased by more than 160 percent.
It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: The hive buckhead has seen a 21.4 percent increase in reviews, and Simon's Restaurant has seen a 9.2 percent bump.
Located at 1952 Howell Mill Road NW, Suite 200, Cultivate Food and Coffee offers tapas like avocado toast; goat cheese croquettes; street tacos with shrimp, brisket and vegan Buffalo cauliflower; salads; and full-sized brunch and breakfast plates including shrimp and grits, Rumchata French toast and bananas Foster pancakes.
Lazy Betty
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Candler Park's Lazy Betty, the New American spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.6 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Lazy Betty bagged a 37.8 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a solid 4.5-star rating.
Lazy Betty has been open at 1530 Dekalb Ave. NE since March. According to the restaurant's website, "Lazy Betty prepares three thoughtfully crafted tasting menus, each offering a distinct dining experience from our culinary team." The tasting menu features seven courses and changes seasonally, while the chef's tasting menu features 10 courses; a vegetarian tasting menu is also available upon request.
Grand Lux Cafe
Grand Lux Cafe is also making waves. Open since summer 2018 at 3500 Peachtree Road NE, Suite 2093, the traditional American spot has seen a 6.9 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2 percent for all businesses tagged "American (Traditional)" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Grand Lux Cafe's review count increased by more than 300 percent.
Grand Lux Cafe offers appetizers like mini cheeseburgers and crispy calamari; sandwiches; pasta including rigatoni and short rib ravioli; pot roast; Nashville hot chicken and other entrees; and steaks, salmon, a fish of the day and shrimp. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Gypsy Kitchen
Buckhead Village's Gypsy Kitchen is the city's buzziest bar by the numbers.
The popular bar and Spanish spot, which offers tapas and more and opened at 3035 Peachtree Road NE, Suite A209, in 2014, increased its new review count by 4.4 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 2.5 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Gypsy Kitchen offers tapas like roasted cauliflower and quinoa salad, marinated beets, grilled Spanish octopus, lamb sausage and cocoa-dusted scallops; entrees, including paella; and sharing plates like whole roasted fish and a 32-ounce ribeye.
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.
