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 uncover which restaurants have been on the tips of diners' tongues 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 have the momentum heading into back-to-school season.
Las Palapas
Open since July, this Tex-Mex and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers tacos and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
Citywide, breakfast and brunch spots saw a median 2.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Las Palapas saw an imposing 163.6% increase, with a slight downward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to three stars today.
It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: Snooze, an A.M. Eatery has seen a 27.6% increase in reviews, and Tito's Mexican Restaurant and La Panaderia have seen 2.8 and 2.9% increases, respectively.
Las Palapas has 13 restaurants in San Antonio. The newest outpost, located at 3039 Tpc Parkway, serves breakfast all day. Menu favorites include breakfast tacos and the Machacado breakfast plate with eggs scrambled with onions, tomatoes, jalapeños, and beef fajitas. Weekend diners also get to try the traditional honeycomb menudo soup and the all-meat barbacoa taco. (Here's the entire menu.)
Las Palapas is open from 6 a.m.–11 p.m. on Monday-Saturday and 6 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday.
The Patio Southtown
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Lavaca's The Patio Southtown, the bar and traditional American spot, which offers burgers and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp saw a median 2.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, The Patio Southtown bagged a 10.4% increase in new reviews within that time frame, with a slight downward trend from a 4.5-star rating a month ago to its current four stars.
Open at 1035 S. Presa St. since 2018, The Patio Southtown offers comfort foods like burgers, sandwiches, salad, chicken and fried seafood. You can bring your pooch (there's a menu just for dog treats) and grab a spot on the patio, where there are plenty of board games. (Find the full menu here.)
The Patio Southtown is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.)
Willie's Grill & Icehouse
Willie's Grill & Icehouse is also making waves. Open since 2008 at 15801 San Pedro Ave., the popular traditional American spot, which offers burgers and seafood, has seen a 4.4% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2.8% for all businesses tagged "Seafood" on Yelp.
According to the business's website, Willie's Grill & Icehouse offers "Cajun-style Texan favorites at 17 locations throughout San Antonio, Houston and College Station." The spot serves up half-pound burgers, sandwiches, tacos, fried appetizers, desserts, beer buckets and more. Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy four-star rating among Yelpers.
Willie's Grill & Icehouse is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.–9:30 p.m. on Sunday.
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.
