Curious where New Orleans' 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 and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to discover which eateries have been seeing especially high review volumes this month.
To find out who made the list, we first looked at New Orleans businesses on Yelp by category and counted how many reviews each received. Rather than compare them based on the 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. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.
Read on to see which spots are extra hot this autumn.
Jimbeaux's Bar & Grill
Open since August, this Cajun/Creole spot and cocktail bar, which offers tapas and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Cajun/Creole" on Yelp.
Citywide, Cajun/Creole spots saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Jimbeaux's Bar & Grill saw a remarkable 142.9% increase, maintaining a solid 4.5-star rating throughout.
It's not the only trending outlier in the Cajun/Creole category: Streetcar Cafe has seen a 16.9% increase in reviews, and Gris-Gris has seen a 5.6% bump.
The business' website states that the menu "combines the classic Louisiana traditions expected in a traditional Cajun restaurant with cuisine from all over the globe." Located at 326 Camp St. in Central Business District, Jimbeaux's Bar & Grill offers Cajun-fusion menu items like oysters flambeaux (oysters Jimbeaux with a tableside flambé using Wild Turkey 101 for a smokey flavor), the grilled boudin plate (three links of boudin grilled and served with french bread croutons, remoulade and creole mustard) and roast beef tacos (New Orleans' style debris roast beef topped with Mardi Gras slaw and housemade crema).
Jimbeaux's Bar & Grill is open from 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Tuesday through Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.)
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Lower Garden District's Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken, the Southern spot and chicken shop, which offers comfort food and more, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Southern" on Yelp saw a median 1.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken bagged a 34.9% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a healthy 4.5-star rating.
This franchise has 29 locations across 13 states. Open at 308 S. Diamond St. since July, Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken offers individual pieces of white or dark-meat chicken, along with sides like baked beans, fried okra and potato salad. On the menu, look for chicken breast, thigh or wing combos that include three sides.
Gus's World Famous Fried Chicken is open from 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
NOLA Distillery
East Riverside's NOLA Distillery is also making waves. Open since 2017 at 3715 Tchoupitoulas St., the cocktail and whiskey bar and distillery has seen a 2.2% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses tagged "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp — but the number of visitors to NOLA Distillery more than doubled over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
NOLA Distillery creates small-batch bottles of vodka, bourbon, rum, gin, whiskey and tequila. The spot also offers handcrafted cocktails and distillery tour packages. Over the past month, it's maintained a sound 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
NOLA Distillery is open from noon–8 p.m. on Sunday through Thursday and noon–9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. According to SafeGraph, people visit NOLA Distillery most frequently on Sundays and Fridays, and it attracts a quarter of its total visitors over those two days. Go on Tuesdays if you want to avoid the rush.
French Toast
The French Quarter's French Toast is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.
The popular breakfast and brunch spot, which opened at 1035 Decatur St. in October 2018, increased its new review count by 8.9% over the past month while holding on to its solid 4.5-star rating, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.7% for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch."
French Toast offers morning meal favorites like waffles, crepes, eggs, and, of course, its namesake french toast. Also, look for Aebelskivers (a puffed pancake with powdered sugar and sauce) and sides like bacon and grits.
French Toast is open from 8 a.m.–3 p.m. daily.
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.
