As fans of cronuts and cake pops can attest, food trends come and go. So how can you tell which tastes are trending today?
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 restaurants have been seeing especially high review volumes 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 extra cool this autumn.
Chido & Padre's
Open since 2018, this popular Mexican restaurant and bar is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, bars saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Chido & Padre's saw a 6.6% increase, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Chido & Padre's's review count increased by more than 350%.
It's not the only trending outlier in the bar category: Pin & Proper has seen a 10.2% increase in reviews.
Located at 128 E. Andrews Drive NW in South Tuxedo Park, Chido & Padre's offers upscale Baja-style Mexican fare such as skirt steak, shrimp enchiladas, smoked brisket tamales and Baja fish tacos. Before you visit, check out the full brunch, dinner and drinks menus.
Chido & Padre's is open from 3–11 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 3 p.m.–1 a.m. on Friday, 11 a.m.–1 a.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Sunday.
The Hive
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Brookwood Hills' The Hive, the New American spot, which serves brunch, lunch and dinner, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, The Hive bagged a 10.6% increase in new reviews within that time frame, and it maintained a mixed three-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Atlanta's breakfast and brunch scene: Bistro Niko has seen a 0.8% increase in reviews.
Open at 1845 Peachtree Road NW since January, The Hive offers upscale Southern comfort foods such as Cajun pasta, catfish and grits, chicken and waffles, lamb chops and hot wings.
The Hive is open from 11 a.m.–11:30 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and 11 a.m.–12:30 a.m. on Friday-Sunday.
Howell's Kitchen and Bar
Howell's Kitchen and Bar is also making waves. Open since 2017 at 1962 Howell Mill Road, Suite 100, the well-established New American restaurant and gastropub, which offers pizza, salads, sandwiches and more, has seen a 5% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.8% for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Howell's Kitchen and Bar's review count increased by more than 230%. According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, visits to Howell's Kitchen and Bar increased by 43% over the past month.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Atlanta's New American category: The Wing Bar has seen a 2.7% increase in reviews.
Howell's Kitchen and Bar offers an eclectic menu of New American classics like skillet roasted chicken, grilled salmon and high-quality steaks made with a modern twist. Over the past month, it's maintained a sound four-star rating among Yelpers. Check out the full food and drink menus here.
Howell's Kitchen and Bar is open from 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–midnight on Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays, with a slowdown on Mondays.
Victory Sandwich Bar
Inman Park's Victory Sandwich Bar is the city's buzziest traditional American spot by the numbers.
The popular traditional American spot, which opened at 913 Bernina Ave. NE in 2015, increased its new review count by 4.4% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.6% for the Yelp category "American (Traditional)." It outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.2 times more reviews than expected based on past performance.
Aside from sandwiches, the Victory Sandwich Bar's menu features salads, ramen, hummus, spiked sodas, house-made dessert and a different flavored popcorn each day.
Victory Sandwich Bar is open from 11 a.m.–2 a.m. on Monday-Saturday and 11 a.m.–midnight on Sunday.
El Ponce
Poncey-Highland's El Ponce, a popular Mexican restaurant, has seen a major increase in foot traffic recently.
While El Ponce stayed in line with the median 1.9% increase in new reviews for businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp over the past month, visits to El Ponce increased by 50%, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
Open for business at 939 Ponce De Leon Ave. NE since 2014, El Ponce offers classic Mexican fare for lunch and dinner, with dishes such as enchiladas, tacos, tamales, fajitas, mole, chile rellenos, burritos and chimichangas on the menu. Brunch is available on Sundays.
El Ponce is open from 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–midnight on Friday, noon–midnight on Saturday and noon–10 p.m. on Sunday. According to SafeGraph, it's usually busiest at 4 p.m., 5 p.m. and 6 p.m., and people visit El Ponce most on Saturdays and Sundays, with a slowdown on Tuesdays.
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.
