Wondering where Atlanta'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 analyze which eateries have been seeing especially high review volumes 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 have the momentum heading into back-to-school season.
Wood's Chapel BBQ
Open since June, this spot to score barbecue and sandwiches is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp.
Citywide, sandwich spots saw a median 2% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Wood's Chapel BBQ saw a 75.9% increase, maintaining a strong four-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the sandwich category: Corner Bakery Cafe has seen a 4.3% increase in reviews.
Located at 85 Georgia Ave. SE in Summerhill, Wood's Chapel BBQ offers a large menu that features barbecue meat, including turkey, pork, beef, salmon, tacos and sandwiches. The casual restaurant also serves beer, wine, and cocktails, as well as specialty drinks like Whiskey Cheerwine slushies and frozen margaritas.
Estrella
Poncey-Highland's Estrella is also making waves. Open since August 2018 at 550 Somerset Terrace NE, Suite 102, the Latin American restaurant and bar has seen a 14.9% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.5% for all businesses tagged "Mexican" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis, Estrella's review count increased by more than 170%.
Estrella offers classic Latin American fare, such as carne asada, chipotle shrimp, pork belly and tacos. The open-air bar also serves cocktails, beer and wine. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Brezza Cucina
The Old Fourth Ward's popular Brezza Cucina is currently on the upswing in the New American category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, this New American and Italian spot, which offers pizza and more, increased its new reviews by 3.8% — and kept its rating consistent at 3.5 stars. Review counts increased by more than 330% on a month-to-month basis.
Open for business since 2015 at 675 Ponce De Leon Ave., Suite 158, the restaurant offers fresh oysters and seafood, pastas, steaks, pizzas and salads for lunch and dinner.
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.
