Over the past several years, Tastes Pretty Good Hospitality has created one of Tampa’s best restaurant portfolios. It started with Michelin-starred Italian spot, Rocca, and has expanded to Streetlight Taco and Bar Terroir, a French bistro. Their latest concept is Lumbre, a Spanish restaurant that opened July 15 in the city’s North Hyde Park neighborhood.
Lumbre seats about 125 guests and is part of the Rome Collective, a new retail development.
Chef Nick Orr, who has been with the restaurant group for nearly a decade, including helping to open and run Rocca, is stepping into his first ownership role at Lumbre.
“Nick Orr was my first hire, and he’s been core to Rocca’s success ever since,” Bryce Bonsack, the group’s culinary director, said. “He’s earned this opportunity through years of consistency, leadership, and craft. Lumbre is his moment to step forward and continue our team’s work to shape Tampa’s reputation as one of Florida’s most compelling dining destinations.”
The restaurant stocks a selection of imported cheeses and charcuterie.
Orr has a deep interest in Spanish cooking, and in 2024, he spent time in Spain, training on traditional grills in the Basque region and working in kitchens in Madrid, San Sebastian, Barcelona, and Valencia. During this stint, he learned many of the staple dishes that shaped the menu at Lumbre.
“It’s about honoring tradition, cooking with intention, and creating something that feels genuine,” Orr said.
The menu has five sections: cheese and charcuterie, bocados (bites), entrantes (starters), platos principales (large format), and desserts.
There are several Spanish imports, like pata negra ham (acorn-finished Jamón Ibérico aged for 48 months), chorizo, and several cheeses, including a six-month Manchego.
The team makes pan de cristal every day — bread with a delicate, crunchy outer crust, which anchors one of Orr’s favorite bites, pan con tomate. Other standout snacks are gildas (little skewers of olive, pepper, and anchovy) Jamón Ibérico croquettes, and yellowfin tuna tartare with crispy rice.
One of chef Nick Orr’s favorite bites on the menu is pan con tomate.
Starters include patatas bravas (crispy potatoes with a spicy sauce), octopus, and braised short rib cannelloni, while larger plates range from a whole sea bream and a 26-ounce rib-eye to a paella loaded with Cornish hen and artichokes.
For dessert, there’s a Basque-style cheesecake with poached pears and goat cheese, and churros served with chocolate and dulce de leche.
The bar is pouring a variety of cocktails, Spanish wines, and ciders, and it’s making fresh Sangria.
Tastes Pretty Good has more projects in the works, including White Wolf, a rustic Americana restaurant, and Carnivore Club, an intimate 28-seat chef’s counter focused on wood-fired cooking that will be located above White Wolf. Those will be followed by Kingfish, a full-service sushi bar that is slated to open early next year.
Dining and Cooking