Curious where Dallas'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 uncover which restaurants have been getting a notable increase in attention this month.
To find out who made the list, we first looked at Dallas 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 this autumn.
The Crab Station
Open since July, this bar and Cajun/Creole spot, which offers seafood and more, is trending compared to other businesses categorized as "Bars" on Yelp.
Citywide, bars saw a median 1.5% increase in new reviews over the past month, but The Crab Station saw a staggering 117.4% increase, with a slight downward trend from a 4.5-star rating a month ago to four stars today.
The Crab Station has outposts across Texas. This one, located at 2813 Commerce St. in Northeast Dallas, offers boiled seafood (crab, shrimp, clams, mussels, lobster and oysters), gumbo and fried chicken, along with side options like sausage, corn and rice. (Here's the full menu.)
The Crab Station is open from 11 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Wednesday and Sunday, 11 a.m.–midnight on Thursday and 11 a.m.–2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Punch Bowl Social
Whether or not you've been hearing buzz about Northeast Dallas's Punch Bowl Social, the New American, eatertainment and bowling spot is a hot topic according to Yelp review data.
While businesses categorized as "American (New)" on Yelp saw a median 1.8% increase in new reviews over the past month, Punch Bowl Social Dallas bagged a 14.3% increase in new reviews within that time frame, maintaining a mixed 3.5-star rating.
There's more that's trending on Dallas's New American scene: Public School 214 has seen a 1% increase in reviews.
Punch Bowl Social is a franchise with locations across the country. Open at 2600 Main St. since June, the restaurant offers salad, tacos, burgers and shareables like chicken wings, cauliflower nachos and green chorizo fries. Entertainment options include bowling, karaoke, board games and classic arcade games. (Check out the full menu here.)
Punch Bowl Social is open from 11 a.m.–2 a.m. on weekdays, 10 a.m.–2 a.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.–midnight on Sunday.
Velvet Taco
North Dallas's Velvet Taco is also making waves. Open since 2018 at 11700 Preston Road, Suite 600, the popular New American and breakfast and brunch spot, which offers tacos and more, has seen a 4% bump in new reviews over the last month, compared to a median review increase of 1.9% for all businesses tagged "Breakfast & Brunch" on Yelp. According to SafeGraph foot traffic data, visits to Velvet Taco increased by more than 50% over the past month.
Velvet Taco has locations spanning from Atlanta to Chicago. The restaurant offers more than 20 varieties of tacos, including the spicy tikka chicken, the Cuban pig and the Kobe bacon burger. The spot also has special brunch tacos and sides like red curry coconut queso. Over the past month, it's maintained a healthy four-star rating among Yelpers.
Velvet Taco is open from 10 a.m.–midnight on Monday-Thursday and Sunday and 10 a.m.–1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. According to SafeGraph, it's usually busiest at 12 p.m., 1 p.m. and 8 p.m., and people visit Velvet Taco most on Saturdays and Fridays, with a slowdown on Mondays.
Picasso's
Far North's Picasso's is the city's buzziest traditional American spot by the numbers.
The popular Italian and traditional American spot, which offers pizza and more and opened at 18160 Dallas Parkway in 2008, saw a 1.6% increase in new reviews over the last month — matching that of all businesses for the Yelp business category "American (Traditional)" — but experienced a 48% increase in visits over the same time frame, according to SafeGraph's foot traffic data.
Picasso's has three Dallas-area locations. The eatery offers pasta, pizza, salads, wings, fajitas, sandwiches and more.
Picasso's is open from 10:45 a.m.–10 p.m. on Monday-Thursday and Sunday, 10:45 a.m.–midnight on Friday and 10:45 a.m.–11 p.m. on Saturday. According to SafeGraph, it's usually busiest on Fridays and Saturdays, and it attracts a quarter of its total visitors over those two days, so go on Mondays if you want to avoid the rush.
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.
