A start-up business was recommended by their local councillor to seek some promotional publicity from Inside Croydon. KEN TOWL tried the food at Yaad Vybz and got a 5% off offer for this website’s readers
Councillor Joseph Lee may have voted three times for a 15per cent increase in our Council Tax but, then, no one’s totally useless.
Lunch very special: Yaad Vybz offers delicious Jamaican-inspired food at very reasonable prices
The silver lining around the Joseph Lee cloud is his good taste when it comes to fast food. It is thanks to Joseph Lee that together with a guest, I got to try some of the best Jamaican-inspired food we can remember eating.
So thank you, Joseph Lee, Conservative Council Tax-hiker, for that.
Kemmar Hayles, the affable and hard-working owner of Yaad Vybes in Selsdon contacted Inside Croydon last week, on the recommendation of Mr Lee. They asked if we could pop down and see how what they had to offer.
Hayles opened up shop last year and soon collapsed with exhaustion as he tried to do everything himself, six days a week. Launching any small business, in this post-lockdown world, in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, has got to be hard.
Now he’s back and he is getting a little bit of help, partly from family, and he seems to be thriving. Once your eyes adjust to the Jamaican patty yellow of the walls of Yaad Vybes, the menu highlights Jamaican classics such as curry goat and jerk chicken, plantain, rice and peas. We tried them all.
A plate of Jamaica: ‘Jerk chicken reminds you of a smoky backyard barbecue, the curry goat comes in a rich, deep sauce’
The jerk chicken reminds you of a smoky backyard barbecue, the curry goat comes in a rich, deep sauce with just the right balance of spices, the rice is fluffy, the plantain perfectly cooked. We can’t complain. We don’t. Kemmar offers us a patty, too, but we have had enough. He insists. We take it away for later. It, too, turns out to be very good.
Pricing is on the low side of very reasonable – main meals are mostly £8.50 small and £9.50 large, patties are £2.50.
From now until the end of March, Yaad Vybz is offering 5per cent off to Inside Croydon readers. Just identify yourself as such when you place your order.
As for after that, Councillor Lee and I can only hope that his 15per cent increase in Council Tax in April does not do too much to discourage Yaad Vybz’ customers, or indeed those of any of the small businesses that make Croydon a more interesting place to live.
- Yaad Vybz is at 174 Addington Road, Selsdon, on the 64 and 433 bus routes. They are open to eat-in, for takeaways and deliveries, and their food is available to order on Deliveroo, Ubereats and Just Eat. Phone: 020 3654 6492
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