Want the inside word on Austin's most talked-about local spots?
We took a data-driven look at the question, using Yelp to analyze which local businesses have been getting a notable increase 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 increased their volume of reviews to identify statistically significant outliers compared to past performance.
Read on to see which spots are extra cool, right now.
Revelry On The Boulevard
Open since May, this cocktail bar, sports bar and New American spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp.
Citywide, New American spots saw a median 2 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, but Revelry on the Boulevard saw a 46.2 percent increase, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 6215 N. Lamar Blvd. in Highland, Revelry on the Boulevard offers appetizers, burgers, sandwiches and salads. Menu highlights include the boudin balls, honey Sriracha wings and the short rib banh mi sandwich.
Sugar Pine
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Wooten's Sugar Pine, the Japanese spot, which offers coffee and tea and ice cream and frozen yogurt, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Coffee & Tea" on Yelp saw a median 2.6 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, Sugar Pine bagged a 37.8 percent increase in new reviews within that timeframe, maintaining a convincing 4.5-star rating.
Open at 8578 Research Blvd. since May, Sugar Pine has an espresso bar and offers homemade ice cream in unusual flavors, like miso caramel, prickly pear and spiced chocolate.
Chispas
Downtown Austin's Chispas is also making waves. Open since March at 214 W. Fourth St., the Tex-Mex spot, which offers tacos and more, has seen a 13.4 percent bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.6 percent for all businesses tagged "Tex-Mex" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Austin's Tex-Mex category: Kerbey Lane Cafe - Mueller has seen a 12.5 percent increase in reviews.
Chispas offers 14 different taco options, small bites, soup and salad as well as cocktails, margaritas and Mexican beers. Over the past month, it's maintained a mixed 3.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Phoebe's Diner
Dawson's Phoebe's Diner is the city's buzziest traditional American spot by the numbers.
The well-established diner and breakfast and brunch and traditional American spot, which opened at 533 W. Oltorf St. in December 2017, increased its new review count by 9.6 percent over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 2.8 percent for the Yelp category "American (Traditional)."
It's not the only trending outlier in the traditional American category: Anthem has seen a 9 percent increase in reviews.
Phoebe's Diner offers new takes on classic dishes — there's creamy goat cheese grits with a spicy hatch chile hollandaise and a bacon-wrapped meatloaf with fried spinach and mashed sweet potatoes.
Bird Bird Biscuit
Rosewood's popular Bird Bird Biscuit is currently on the upswing in the breakfast and brunch category on Yelp.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp saw a median 2.6 percent increase in new reviews over the past month, this breakfast and brunch spot, which offers sandwiches and more, increased its new reviews by 9.7 percent—and kept its rating consistent at 4.5 stars.
Open for business at 2701 Manor Road since June 2018, the business's star attraction is its Queen Beak biscuit sandwich with spicy chicken thigh, cayenne black pepper honey and chipotle mayo. This spot also offers dough-doughs, which is biscuit dough rolled in sugar and cinnamon.
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.
