Want the scoop 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 deduce which restaurants have been in the spotlight 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 this autumn.
Las Abuelas
Open since fall of 2018, this food truck and Mexican spot, which offers sandwiches and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Mexican" on Yelp.
Citywide, Mexican spots saw a median 1.7% increase in new reviews over the past month, but Las Abuelas saw a 16.7% increase, maintaining a sterling five-star rating throughout. Moreover, on a month-to-month basis Las Abuelas's review count increased by more than 250%.
It's not the only trending outlier in the Mexican category: Comedor has seen a 12.3% increase in reviews.
Located at 11444 Manchaca Road, Las Abuelas offers It serves five spicy sandwiches, including the El Pimento (crispy chicken, green chile pimento and hot honey), along with bandera tots and camote fries as sides. (Click here for the full menu.).
Las Abuelas is open from 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m. and 5:30–8 p.m. on Tuesday-Saturday and 11:30 a.m.–2 p.m. on Sunday. (It's closed on Monday.)
Kitty Cohen's
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Govalle's Kitty Cohen's, the well-established cocktail bar, patio bar and event space is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "Cocktail Bars" on Yelp saw a median 2.1% increase in new reviews over the past month, Kitty Cohen's bagged an 11.9% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a solid four-star rating. It significantly outperformed the previous month by gaining 3.2 times more reviews than expected based on its past performance.
Open at 2211 Webberville Road since summer of 2015, Kitty Cohen's menu features beer, wine, and sake and specialty cocktails. Popular drinks include the Singapore Sling (Boodles dry gin, cherry heering, lime and bitters) and the Dr. Zhivago (made with Stolichnaya vodka, ginger beer and lime).
Kitty Cohen's is open from 3 p.m.–2 a.m. on weekdays and noon–2 a.m. on weekends.
Torchy's Tacos
Downtown Austin's Torchy's Tacos is also making waves. Open since December 2018 at 110 San Antonio St., Unit 120, the popular breakfast and brunch spot, which offers tacos and more, has seen an 11.9% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.5% for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp.
There's more than one hot spot trending in Austin's breakfast and brunch category: Bird Bird Biscuit has seen a 7.5% increase in reviews, and Il Brutto has seen a 6.6% bump.
Torchy's Tacos offers offers signature breakfast and regular tacos smoked beef brisket and cheese with tomatillo sauce, along with burritos, chips, dips and salad. Over the past month, it's seen its Yelp rating tick down from 4.5 stars to four stars.
Torchy's Tacos is open from 7 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.–11 p.m. on Friday, 8 a.m.–11 p.m. on Saturday and 8 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday.
Anthem
Downtown Austin's Anthem is the city's buzziest traditional American spot by the numbers.
The well-established beer bar, cocktail bar and traditional American spot, which opened at 91 Rainey St., Suite 120, since September, increased its new review count by 7.2% over the past month, an outlier when compared to the median new review count of 1.5% for the Yelp category "American (Traditional)."
It's not the only trending outlier in the traditional American category: Twin Peaks has seen a 6.1% increase in reviews.
Anthem's Hawaiian-themed menu includes an Aloha burger with bacon, gruyere cheese and grilled pineapple; a curry vegan hot dog on a pretzel bun; and the coastal fish and fries with redfish fried in a tempura beer batter with cilantro and Cajun panko served with furikake fries. (To view the menu, click here.)
Anthem is open from 11:30 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.–midnight on Friday, 11 a.m.–midnight on Saturday and 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Sunday.
Gourmands Neighborhood Pub
Central East Austin's well-established Gourmands Neighborhood Pub has seen a major increase in foot traffic recently.
While Gourmands Neighborhood Pub stayed in line with the median 2.2% increase in new reviews for businesses categorized as "Sandwiches" on Yelp over the past month, visits to Gourmands Neighborhood Pub increased by more than 50%, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
Open for business at 2316 Webberville Road since 2011, Gourmands Neighborhood Pub's menu features sandwiches like the Hannibal with ham, turkey, bacon, Swiss cheese and a house spicy mustard and The Last Supper with roast beef, bacon, queso, sliced tomato, shredded lettuce and shaved onion on a hoagie roll.
Gourmands Neighborhood Pub is open from 7 a.m.–midnight on Monday-Thursday, 7 a.m.–2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday and 10 a.m.–midnight on Sunday. According to SafeGraph, foot traffic is heaviest at 12 p.m., 1 p.m. and 9 p.m., and on Saturdays and Tuesdays. If you’re planning your visit, you may want to try its slower periods 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.
