Lucky Tigre isn’t just delicious. It’s a classic, dumpling-fueled, Tampa success story.
Chef Julie Sainte Michelle Feliciano, who lives around the corner from her Old West Tampa Filipino eatery, has resided within the same five-mile radius her entire life. She grew up in Tampa watching her mom make merienda (Filipino snacks) that she would take to work and sell to coworkers to make ends meet.
When Julie and her now-husband Seanissey Loughlin were faced with similar financial struggles during pandemic furloughs, she followed her mother’s lead and started what effectively became an underground dumpling operation. She started making dumplings and other merienda for friends and family, but eventually word of her popular dishes spread beyond her network, with perfect strangers hitting her up over Instagram, looking for good food in the middle of strange times.
Chef Julie inside Lucky Tigre, located at 1901 N Howard Ave. Photo by Ysanne Taylor for That’s So Tampa
“My mom was always resourceful in figuring out how to survive and how to make ends meet,” she says of her inspiration to start selling merienda to people in her circle. “That was always a theme, just being scrappy and doing what needs to be done.
“When that expanded beyond family and immediate friends, I did a little Instagram and a bootleg, like, DM for dumplings type thing.”
“DM for dumplings” may be one of the most beautiful and nonsensical sentences to come out of the year 2020.
Six years later, Julie, her family, and the pop-up that became her brick-and-mortar restaurant are thriving. Every day, the lunch rush at Lucky Tigre fills the dining room and patio with happy snackers, coffee fiends, dumpling lovers, and devoted regulars alike. Some have been following since day one. Some just walked by and decided to see what the fuss was about.
All of it combined is one of the tastiest new local success stories the historic neighborhood has seen. Julie’s restaurant sits across the street from the original Alessi & Alessi baking facility. She has baby pictures at West Tampa Sandwich Shop, and she grew up going with her family to the now-shuttered Fourth of July Café on weekends.
It’s hard to imagine someone better to continue the tradition of not only West Tampa restaurants, but also of cuisines in the neighborhood brought from other countries.
Photo by Ysanne Taylor for That’s So Tampa
And that cuisine is where Julie shines. Anyone who grew up on Filipino food will feel like they’re back at home, but her dishes aren’t just for those who already know what the names mean. A chef cooks for everyone, after all.
“Maybe you don’t know what Filipino food is, but you know what rice is, and you know what barbecue is, so we can get you there,” she says. “We can find you something that you’re going to like.”
The menu is simple in its length and style, while the flavors of the traditional and fusion dishes shine through. Her dumplings, of course, make a star appearance. Her lumpia is not unlike what her mother sold to friends and coworkers a generation ago. The Tocino Spamsilog (grilled tocino SPAM and a fried egg) will permanently change your conceptions of both SPAM and breakfast in a single bite.
The mochi-fried chicken, tossed in a mochi rice flour batter, is both perfectly recognizable and also a completely new experience to the uninitiated, like I was on my first try. Lemongrass BBQ chicken skewers are tasty and approachable, while the bao bun smash burger is the kind of flavor-packed crossover dish that has made Lucky Tigre so popular on its journey from bootleg dumpling purveyor to pop-up sensation to brick-and-mortar favorite in the neighborhood.
And don’t skip dessert. Lucky Tigre has the Filipino favorite, halo halo. This one may be a bit less recognizable to first-timers, but it’s worth the venturing out of your comfort zone for. The shaved ice, coconut milk, and ube ice cream treat is a bowl full of nostalgia for Filipino sweet tooths, and the hype is more than merited.
Mochi chicken bao buns (top left); Tocino Spamsilog (top center); lemongrass BBQ chicken skewers (top right); chili-carrot beef dumplings (bottom). Photos by Ysanne Taylor for That’s So Tampa
It’s the kind of food that begs for repeat experiences, and it comes in casual digs with an affordable price point.
“It’s easy,” Julie says. “It’s accessible. It’s food for every day. There are plenty of places you can go to that have hyper-elevated dining experiences. I mean, we can’t go to certain places with our family of five. We want to be the kind of place that families can come eat, or if you just want to come eat alone in your sweatpants, you’ll be happy.
“It’s chill, it’s really good, and it’s not going to break the bank.”
The constant rotation of guests, friends and family at Lucky Tigre is ample evidence to confirm all three. However, if you haven’t visited yourself, this is the type of evidence best experienced with your own taste buds.
Lucky Tigre is open for lunch and dinner 11 am – 8 pm Tuesday-Friday, 11 am – 7:30 pm on Saturdays, and 12-7 pm on Sundays.
Julie’s latest passion project, Lucky Mornings, turns the eatery into a caffeine-lover’s paradise every morning. The café menu starts at 7:30 am, featuring a perfectly Lucky Tigre mix of oatmilk teas, flavored lattes, organic matcha, and tasty pastries. There aren’t many other places to grab a salted ube coconut caramel coconut latte on your way into work.
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Photos by Ysanne Taylor for That’s So Tampa