Nina Hospitality (stylized “NINA”) is adding another concept to its belt, with the Nest. Set to open March 12, the Nest is attached to Caracara, Nina’s Dunedin Asian tacos and tapas spot, at 720 Broadway.
“The space is super intimate, attached to Caracara through the bathroom hallway,” co-owner and Executive Chef Traci Bryant told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
The Nest has about 30-35 seats, “depending on the party size, as the furniture is all estate antique chairs and sofas,” Bryant said. “It's basically my fantasy flat if I actually had any time to spend at home.”
Though Bryant—who scored last year’s Best of the Bay Reader’s Pick award for Best Chef—is the executive chef for all Nina concepts, but she will be shifting gears, moving to the Nest full-time. Chef de Cuisine Brandon Page will take on the lead role at Caracara.
“I will be focusing on a more specific expression of my taste and palate in the Nest. The Nest essentially is a hyper focused moment of Caracara,” Bryant said. “And instead of being Latin-Asian influenced fare, it will be more French focused, informed by my time living and working in western France (Marçay).”
Two teased dishes on The Nest’s Instagram page are a cold smoked scallop with local star fruit and a yuzu-black vinaigrette and shiso and a lemongrass ground beef tenderloin with nuoc cham.
Bryant owns Nina Hospitality with her husband Kurt Ferguson. The brand also runs the itty-bitty-once-an-ATM-now-a-taco-stand Taco Baby, along with Jack Pallino’s and Jack’s Bottle shop—all located in Dunedin.
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