Lumbre is open: A first look at Tampa's new wood-fired Spanish restaurant
Lumbre opened July 15 at the Rome Collective in North Hyde Park — the latest from the Michelin-winning team behind Rocca, Bar Terroir, and Streetlight Taco.
On the map
The exact spot — handy for figuring out which neighborhood you're really in.
Tampa's dining scene just lit another fire — literally.
Lumbre, the latest concept from local hospitality group Tastes Pretty Good, officially opened its doors on Wednesday, July 15, at the Rome Collective development at 220 N Rome Ave.
I've been watching this one since the announcement dropped in the spring, and now that it's actually open and seating guests, it's worth a proper look at what you're getting into before you try to snag a reservation.
The team that earned this hype
Tastes Pretty Good — the group behind Lumbre — is the same team behind Rocca, a Michelin-starred Italian restaurant in Tampa Heights; Streetlight Taco, a Michelin Bib Gourmand recipient on Henderson Blvd; and Bar Terroir, the hugely popular French restaurant in South Tampa.
That is a track record that almost no other local hospitality group in Florida can match.
Lumbre will be led by Executive Chef and Co-Founder Nick Orr, who previously helmed the kitchen at Rocca.
Orr has been with the group for more than seven years and was one of its earliest hires, joining prior to the opening of their original concept, Rocca.
The group's philosophy, per Business Debut, is to build concepts around people who have grown within the company —
"It's people that have worked for us ideally for five years and they've proven themselves," and then the group helps provide the capital, the infrastructure and the support to make those concepts happen.
Lumbre is that model playing out in real time.
What's on the menu — and what to order
Diners at Lumbre can expect wood-fired grilling, traditional paella, tapas featuring pristine seafood, and imported cheeses and hams.
The menu is structured in four sections: cheese and charcuterie, bocados, entrantes (starters), and platos principales.
On the approachable end,
you'll find Pan con Tomate ($8), Croquetas de Jamón ($11), Tartare ($12), Tortilla de Patatas ($13), and a Mushrooms dish ($16) featuring four types cooked over wood fire with egg yolk and pancetta.
Step up to the large-format plates and
Cannelloni ($18) gets topped with veal demi-glace, while Paella ($69) arrives in a big pan that serves four.
The early standout, according to That's So Tampa:
the Ibérico at $55 — a pork collar cooked medium-well so the fat melts just right, delivering salt, fat, and char that rivals a great ribeye.
The whole experience comes from Tastes Pretty Good, and diners can watch chefs work the fire-centered grill through an open kitchen setup, with prices staying lower than what you'd pay at the group's fancier places.
The design intent mirrors that:
the restaurant seats about 125 guests in a bright, open space with large windows, natural materials, and regional design influences aimed at evoking the feeling of eating in the Basque region, Madrid, or Barcelona.
The Rome Collective is becoming a real destination
It's not just about Lumbre.
The Rome Collective is a nearly 40,000-square-foot retail development at the northwest corner of North Rome Ave and North A St in North Hyde Park, just west of downtown Tampa.
And
Tastes Pretty Good just announced its first Pinellas County location this week, and an Italian concept will also join the Rome Collective soon.
North Hyde Park is quietly stacking up into one of the more interesting dining corridors in the entire metro.
Hours and reservations
Hours run Tuesday through Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m.
The restaurant is at 220 N Rome Ave., Tampa. Reservations are live on OpenTable — and given the demand for anything this team touches, booking ahead is a smart move.
What does all of this mean for the neighborhood? North Hyde Park has been quietly building momentum for a few years, and anchors like Lumbre accelerate that. If you're weighing South Tampa vs. Downtown St. Pete as a place to plant roots, the continued investment in North Hyde Park's walkable retail and restaurant corridor is one more data point worth knowing. The Rome Collective is the kind of mixed-use development that tends to lift the whole surrounding block. And for anyone already moving to Tampa Bay from out of state, this is a preview of exactly why Tampa's culinary credibility keeps rising. If you want my honest take on what neighborhoods are worth watching right now — this is one of them.