Taberna 13, Oxford Street (formerly Flying Dutchman)

New Portuguese pub has taken over the troubled Flying Dutchman. Lads Who Lunch visited on a hot June day for some tapas and Portuguese beer.  The ambience is relaxed, with soothing muted olive green paint, and a general Mediterranean feel. There are tables and chairs for sitting outside, though - as is too often the case - this would likely mean breathing in somebody's cigarette smoke. 

Ambience

The beer selection is keg, but it does have a focus on Portuguese. I had the Super Bock, which unfortunately, though cold and fizzy, had a stale note, presumably due to the keg pipes not being cleared before serving the beer.  Meh, it was drinkable, and - if anything, the mildly sour note added interest to the beer. 

Beer selection is mostly Portuguese

We liked the relaxed Mediterranean feel - the overall look is good, though there is just a tad too much obviously fake plants. A better impression could be made with plant mural on the walls, and real plants on the tables - perhaps invest in some sprigs of dried lavender which require no care. 

Food is fresh and tasty and attractively presented. As is our way, Lads Who Lunch like to have a light lunch - we often just have a starter, which in Spanish/Portuguese tradition is called tapas, and is acceptable as a snack or light lunch. Sometimes people have several different tapas as a main meal.

Our tapas

I had deep fried cuttlefish - a traditional Portuguese starter from the coastal area around the southwestern port of Setubal. Myles had deep fried chicken meat balls - coxinha, which is a Brazilian dish, though has become popular in Portugal. We both thoroughly enjoyed our tapas.  

Overall we liked the place. It's early days yet, and there is no website, no advertising (other than their Facebook page), and the menu has not been finalised so is not available online. It's a laid back, cool place to come just for a drink, some tapas, or a full evening meal. 

Date: June 2022    Score: 6 

13 Terminus Terrace
Southampton
SO14 3DT



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Flying Dutchman

Corner location hotel-pub close to the popular evening destination Oxford Street. Originally Days Hotel, and more recently Captains Place, this has been refurbished and reopened in March 2015 as the Flying Dutchman. Went in after the Southampton Half in April 2015. No cask beers, so settled for a Guinness served very cold. TV screens on the wall either side of the public bar which each showed different sporting events. Sign outside said Sunday lunch for £9.95 but only meat available - no veggie roast option. A pint of very cold Guinness, a packet of crisps and a packet of Cheddars cost £6. The entrance from Terminus Terrace leads to a choice of restaurant on the left or bar on the right. The bar area is modern and neutral - it is definitely bar rather than pub. It was empty when I went in, though it was Sunday lunchtime on the day of the Southampton Half Marathon. Before I left one other customer came in. A man with tattoos who had a pint of lager as he watched the football on one of the screens.

Grrr. In doing a TripAdvisor review of the place I copied my history of the building, which had links to the sources. But instead of clicking "copy" I must have clicked "cut" because the entire history section has gone! 

Here's the shorter, edited write up I did for TripAdvisor (some links restored): 

The Flying Dutchman has had several names over the years. Built in 1853, it was a hotel under the name of Days Hotel until 1898 when it became Parker's Hotel, and was home to one of the crew of the Titanic. It has had various names over the years, including: Captains Place; Court Jester; Tut & Shive; Antico, and Captain's Corner. It changed name to The Court Jester in 1998 when it was a Greene King pub, serving IPA, and being run by a former opera singer. After being unoccupied for a while it was refurbished and reopened in March 2015 as the Flying Dutchman. It closed in 2020 when the pandemic hit, and has now reopened as a Portuguese tapas bar called Taberna 13.

Date: April 2015    Score:  4

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Pubs in Oxford Street