Want the intel on Austin's most happening local spots?
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 eateries have been most discussed 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 riding a trend, right now.
The Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen
Open since February, this New American spot is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp.
Citywide, New American spots saw a median 1.6% increase in new reviews over the past month, but The Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen saw a 26.1% increase, with a slight upward trend from a 3.5-star rating a month ago to four stars today. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis The Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen's review count increased by more than 120%.
Located at 11700 Domain Blvd., Suite 148, in North Burnett, The Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen offers a bruschetta trio, pastas, sandwiches specialty pizzas, wine flights and more. Menu highlights include the burrata and heirloom tomato salad, shrimp and Italian sausage linguine.
The Grove Wine Bar & Kitchen is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday, 10:30 a.m.–11 p.m. on Saturday and 10:30 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday.
Haymaker
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Upper Boggy Creek's Haymaker, the well-established bar, which offers sandwiches, comfort food and more, is trending based on local foot traffic data.
While Haymaker stayed on par with the median 2% increase in new reviews businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp over the past month, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating, visits to Haymaker increased by more than 50% over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
Open at 2310 Manor Road since 2013, Haymaker offers burgers, craft beers, gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches and regionally-inspired sandwiches like the Haymarket filled with house-made roast beef and topped with Gruyere sauce, coleslaw, tomatoes and a fried egg.
Haymaker is open from 11 a.m.–midnight on weekdays and Sunday and 11 a.m.–1 a.m. on Saturday. According to SafeGraph, foot traffic is heaviest at 2 p.m., 8 p.m. and 9 p.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays. Stop by this spot on Mondays if you want to avoid the rush.
Phoebe's Diner
Dawson's Phoebe's Diner is also making waves. Open since September 2017 at 533 W. Oltorf St., the well-established diner and breakfast and brunch and traditional American spot has seen a 5.9% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.6% for all businesses tagged "American (Traditional)" on Yelp.
Phoebe's Diner offers beet orange juice mimosas, beer and wine, brisket with eggs Benedict, chorizo hash, deep fried French toast and a fried egg Sammy with kettle chips. Over the past month, it's maintained a convincing 4.5-star rating among Yelpers.
Phoebe's Diner is open from 7 a.m.–3 p.m. daily.
Fleet Coffee
Govalle's Fleet Coffee is the city's buzziest breakfast and brunch spot by the numbers.
The popular breakfast and brunch spot, which offers coffee and tea and more and opened at 2427 Webberville Road in September 2016, saw a 1.6% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses for the Yelp business category "Breakfast & Brunch" — but experienced a 44% increase in visits over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
Fleet Coffee offers espresso drinks, Veracruz breakfast tacos like the potato, egg and cheese, plus Sour Duck Market pastries. Menu highlights include the Morning Ritual, a lemon pound cake cortado with a lemon snap cookie.
Fleet Coffee is open from 7 a.m.–7 p.m. daily. According to SafeGraph, it usually gets busy at 12 p.m., 1 p.m. and 2 p.m., and on Saturdays and Mondays, 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.
