Wondering where Atlanta'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 and SafeGraph, a dataset of commercial points of interest and their visitor patterns, to analyze which eateries have been getting extra notice this month.
To find out who made the list, we first 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. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.
Read on to see which spots are worth exploring this autumn.
Bistro Niko
Open since 2009, this well-established French restaurant and bar has been getting a lot more foot traffic lately.
While Bistro Niko stayed on par with the median 1.6% increase in new reviews for breakfast and brunch spots on Yelp over the past month, maintaining a convincing four-star rating, it saw a 35% increase in visits over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
Located at 3344 Peachtree Road, Bistro Niko offers lunch, dinner, desserts and cocktails, as well as brunch on Sundays. On the menu, look for classic French fare, such as coq au vin (braised chicken), escargot, veal tenderloins and steak au poivre (twin pepper crusted beef tenderloins).
Bistro Niko is open from 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5 p.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday. According to SafeGraph, it's usually busiest at noon, 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., and people visit Bistro Niko most on Wednesdays and Fridays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Sundays.
Hattie B's Hot Chicken
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Candler Park's Hattie B's Hot Chicken, the Southern spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Southern" on Yelp saw a median 1.4% increase in new reviews over the past month, Hattie B's Hot Chicken bagged a 5.4% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a strong 4.5-star rating.
Open at 299 Moreland Ave. NE since 2018, Hattie B's Hot Chicken offers a menu that highlights chicken, on which you'll see hot chicken sandwiches, white or dark meat platters, wings and fried chicken tenders. Southern sides, such as greens, baked beans and red potato salad and desserts, like peach cobbler, banana pudding and ice cream floats, are also available.
Hattie B's Hot Chicken is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–midnight on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.–4 p.m. on Sunday.
The Wing Bar
The Wing Bar in East Atlanta is also making waves. Open at 494 Flat Shoals Ave. since 2016, the New American spot, which offers chicken wings and more, has seen a 2.6% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 2% for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp. According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, visits to The Wing Bar increased by 42% over the past month.
The Wing Bar offers more than a dozen flavors for its hot wings, such as sweet chili, lemon pepper, hot honey, cayenne and agave barbe. Over the past month, it's maintained a solid four-star rating among Yelpers.
The Wing Bar is open from 11 a.m.–midnight on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and 1–6 p.m. on Sunday. According to SafeGraph, it's usually busiest at 8 p.m., 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., and people visit The Wing Bar most on Fridays and Wednesdays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods on Sundays.
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.
