A new Caribbean restaurant where diners can choose from a range of vegetarian and vegan dishes as well as traditional meat curries and jerk chicken is now open for business in Thornton Heath.

If you pay a visit to YahSo, on Whitehorse Road, you could tuck into a plate of shredded beef, jerk pork and rice and peas - or opt for jerk tofu and plantain instead.

Guests can choose whether they'd like to sit in a booth, at a table or at the bar at the new eatery.

And the whole food menu - which features jerk burgers and spicy king prawns - is also available to take away.

Rum punch, anyone?

The restaurant opened last Thursday (November 30) and was founded by Jamaican-born restaurateur Andrew Dell and his partner Yvonne Clarke.

The couple both grew up with Caribbean dishes but noticed that a lot of Jamaican food was not vegetarian and wanted to offer a plant-based twist to some of their family favorites.

"We know that a lot of people in south London are vegan or vegetarian and that even if they eat meat, they are really keen on knowing that their food is sustainable, fresh and healthy," Yvonne explained.

“Many Jamaican and Caribbean restaurants or food outlets offer very little for vegetarian diners and resort to offering generic and expected dessert dishes.

"When deciding on the menu we knew we wanted to remain authentic but we also wanted to be as inclusive as possible - so we are doing a lot of traditional dishes but also things like jerk tofu and vegetarian curries."

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Most of the food at YahSo - including fresh fish fillets, jerk steak and corn on the cob - is marinaded and then grilled to keep it healthy yet flavoursome, Yvonne added.

To wash it all down, Andrew and Yvonne have crafted a drinks menu with an extensive array of tropical cocktails including rum-based classics like pina coladas, dark and stormies and mojitos.

Explaining the eatery's twist on its drinks menu, Yvonne, who lives in Beckenham, said: "Something we noticed with a lot of places which serve cocktails is that they tend to be very ice-based.

"You don't get the full flavour of the drink when it's that icy or diluted, so we are making all of our drinks with less ice."

The walls are full of decorations featuring Caribbean musicians

If cocktails aren't your thing, you might opt for a glass of wine, bottle of beer or soft drink.

The restaurant has 48 seats and while those who just fancy a cocktail are invited to sit at the bar, there are cosy booths for diners to sit and enjoy their evening.

"The space is quite big but the layout works really well for giving that feeling of privacy and intimacy," Yvonne added.

"When the unit became available we jumped at the chance to take it - we saw there was a need for this kind of healthy Caribbean food in the area and wanted people in south London to have a place to come, sit down and enjoy Jamaican hospitality."

Yah-So is currently open from 2pm until midnight daily, but Andrew and Yvonne hope to open for lunch in the near future.

For more information on the restaurant, you can visit its Facebook page at www.facebook.com/YahSoGrill.