Is it possible to have too much of a good thing?

South End, Croydon’s Restaurant Quarter, has yet another new addition to the impressive list of culinary offerings, this time in the form of the bright and airy Yumn Brasserie.

With such a large space to fill there is the threat that Yumn will often look empty even when attracting a decent crowd, but the decor is clean and crisp and diners are given space to breathe rather than being crammed in like sardines.

Opening just before Christmas in the large former Wild Lemongrass Oriental Buffet Restaurant, Yumn offers a quirky menu dominated by offerings from their Josper Grill.

For those unacquainted with this contraption, a Josper is a combination of a charcoal oven and grill in one, the idea being it provides a barbeque taste, but within a closed environment so none of the moisture or flavour escapes.

With this unique piece of equipment in their armoury, Yumn offers the classic steak cuts, burgers and Turkish cuisine type grills, as well as plaice and salmon.

Alongside the Josper is a range of modern European dishes, and then tucked in the corner of the menu, an intriguing Fusion section.

Each dish has a number of wine recommendations, and to Yumn’s credit these are not all taken from the pricier end of the drinks menu.

 

Your Local Guardian:

The autumn salad

Keen not to fill up too quickly I chose an autumn salad for start while my partner went for the soup –on this occasion artichoke.

We also pick a South African Chenin Blanc (£20.95), recommended from the menu as a white that will work with red meat.

Honey glazed roast carrots, parsnips and beetroot piled on top of a humus base, the salad was a genuine treat and easily justified what might have been considered a slightly steep £6.95 price tag.

The Josper was of course extremely tempting but I couldn’t ignore the Fusion column, so while the other half tucked into a 225g fillet steak (£23.95) I picked the king prawns with scallions, served in a spicy tomato-based sauce (£13.50).

 Again I was very impressed. The sauce packed a decent punch, but complemented the prawns, which were juicy and succulent rather than overpowering them. And this time, I was also very surprised at the low price, considering the obvious quality of the ingredients.

Your Local Guardian:

Yumn's josper grill is a big selling point for its steaks, burgers and kebabs

The fillet steak was also good value considering its size, though my partner felt she had tasted better, and was disappointed with the skinny fries which accompanied it.

To finish we shared a carrot halwa with vanilla ice cream (£4.95). Not typically a desert man, I went for the more savoury option, and though the halwa was of course very sweet, the vanilla ice cream tempered this well preventing the meal from being too sickly.

Leaving full sated my overall impression is Yumn is still a little unsure of who it is marketing itself at. The menu is quite diverse in scope, and offers the chance to eat relatively cheaply, while the decor hints at a more posh offering. However if others have the same experience as myself then I’m confident the new kid on the block will more than hold its own.

Yumn Brasserie, South End, Croydon CR0 1BF www.yumnbrasserie.co.uk