Unsure where Austin's insiders are 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 uncover which restaurants have been on the tips of diners' tongues this month.
To find out who made the list, we first 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. Then we analyzed foot traffic data from SafeGraph to validate the trends.
Read on to see which spots are sizzling hot, right now.
The Git Out
Open since July, this bar and traditional American spot, which offers chicken wings and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (Traditional)" on Yelp.
Citywide, traditional American spots saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, but The Git Out saw a 65% increase, maintaining a strong 4.5-star rating throughout.
Located at 4930 S. Congress Ave., Suite C-304 in West Congress, The Git Out offers offers chicken wings, tacos, burgers and sandwiches. Trash Frys are made with waffle fries, cheddar jack blend queso, pico de gallo, jalapeños, tequila crema and cotija cheese—and it’s topped with a sunny side up egg.
The Git Out is open from 4 p.m.–midnight on weekdays, 4 p.m.–1 a.m. on Saturday and 4 p.m.–11 p.m. on Sunday.
V Cafe
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about V Cafe, the Vietnamese spot, which offers coffee and tea and sandwiches, is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp saw a median 2.2% increase in new reviews over the past month, V Cafe bagged a 55% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a convincing 4.5-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Austin's sandwich scene: Haymaker has seen a 0.6% increase in reviews.
Open at 10700 Anderson Mill Road, Suite 210 since July, V Cafe offers noodle soups, vermicelli rice bowls and sandwiches. Try the grilled beef on a croissant, which comes with carrots, pickles, cucumber, jalapeño, cilantro and house mayonnaise..
V Cafe is open from 11 a.m.–8 p.m. on Monday and Tuesday and 11 a.m.–9 p.m. on Wednesday-Saturday. (It's closed on Sunday.)
Rosedale Kitchen and Bar
Rosedale's Rosedale Kitchen and Bar is also making waves. Open since July at 3800 N. Lamar Blvd., the New American spot has seen a 34.1% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.6% for all businesses tagged "American (New)" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Austin's New American category: The Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen has seen a 22.2% increase in reviews.
Rosedale Kitchen and Bar offers offers smoked Gulf fish dip with tomato salsa, Creole remoulade and housemade chip, pan roasted salmon with sweet potato noodles, spinach and mushroom, and peanut butter ice cream for dessert.. Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating tick down from five stars to 4.5 stars.
Rosedale Kitchen and Bar is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday, 5 p.m.–11 p.m. on Saturday and 5 p.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday.
High Note
Zilker's High Note is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.
The Mediterranean and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers coffee and tea and more and opened at 300 S. Lamar, Suite A since Apri, increased its new review count by 13% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.6% for the Yelp category "Breakfast & Brunch."
It's not the only trending outlier in the breakfast and brunch category: Il Brutto has seen a 6.5% increase in reviews.
High Note's fresh juices, hand-crafted cocktails and food options like the edamole toast, broccolini sandwich, kimchi beef and sweet potato migas. (View the menu.)
High Note is open from 9 a.m.–10 p.m. on weekdays and 8 a.m.–10 p.m. on weekends.
Baby Acapulco
Gateway's well-established Baby Acapulco is trending based on local foot traffic data.
While Baby Acapulco stayed in line with the median 1.5% increase in new reviews for businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp over the past month, visits to Baby Acapulco increased by more than 50%, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
Open for business at 9505 Stonelake Blvd., Baby Acapulco, which has been operating in Austin for 40 years, offers chicken tortilla soup, nachos, gluten-free tacos, enchiladas and more. The robust drink menu includes cocktails, tequila, wine and beer; try the popular celebrity rita flight with purple, blue, strawberry and lime flavors.
Baby Acapulco is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and 11 a.m.–midnight on Friday and Saturday. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 7 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays, with a slowdown on Wednesdays.
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.
