The tomahawk arrives on a board built for two and lands in the middle of the table at Harvest, the open-grill brasserie inside Village Market in Gigiri. Executive chef Ashish Ugal runs a farm-to-table programme heavy on fire — grilled lamb chops with rosemary, a fritto misto, a seafood platter, catch of the day from the coast. It sits within the Trademark Hotel, which opened at Village Market in 2017, and built its name on diplomatic-quarter expense accounts and a walk-in wine room. Mains run roughly KSh 2,500–4,500; the tomahawk lands closer to KSh 9,000 for the table.
The Kitchen
Executive chef Ashish Ugal runs Harvest as an open-grill brasserie, and the kitchen's whole logic is fire and provenance. The menu is built around the grill — a tomahawk and other large cuts plated for sharing, grilled lamb chops with rosemary, a fritto misto, a seafood platter and a daily catch flown up from the Kenyan coast — with farm-fresh produce sourced for the table. The tomahawk, carved tableside and built for two, is the signature order; the seafood platter is the alternative for a group that wants to graze. There is also a walk-in wine room with a deep international list, unusual for Nairobi, which is part of why the room works for entertaining. Mains sit around KSh 2,500–4,500. It is not a tasting-menu kitchen — it is a confident grill-and-produce brasserie that knows its strongest plates and leans on them.
The Room
Harvest sits inside Village Market in Gigiri, the diplomatic quarter, with a sleek modern dining room of natural wood and greenery plus a large outdoor terrace. The room seats around 120 across the two, sound runs at a comfortable hum, lighting is warm, and the terrace is the seat to request in good weather. Dress is smart-casual — Gigiri business attire is the norm at lunch given the embassy and UN crowd. The walk-in wine room doubles as a private-feeling corner. It reads as polished and professional rather than intimate.
Best for Impress Clients
Book Harvest to impress clients because it is built for exactly that crowd: it sits in Gigiri's diplomatic quarter where the UN and embassy business of Nairobi gets done, the walk-in wine room gives you something to do and a list to order from, and the share-the-tomahawk format breaks the formality of a client meal. Order the tomahawk for the table to set a generous tone, let the wine room steer a bottle, and book the terrace for a daytime meeting or the main room for dinner. The professional, polished register is the right one for entertaining without overplaying it. Reserve a terrace table when the weather is good.
Not for
Not for a quiet, romantic tasting menu — it is a busy, professional grill brasserie in a shopping-and-hotel complex, better for entertaining and groups than for an intimate dinner for two.
Frequently Asked
Is Harvest Restaurant worth it?
Yes, for grilled meat, seafood and entertaining. Harvest is the open-grill brasserie of the Trademark Hotel at Village Market, and chef Ashish Ugal's fire-and-produce menu — the share-the-tomahawk, the seafood platter, a walk-in wine room — is well suited to client dinners and groups. It is a polished brasserie rather than a destination tasting menu, so judge it on that. For a more intimate or farm-tasting night in Nairobi, our Nairobi dining guide lists rooms like Cultiva.
How hard is it to book Harvest?
Booking is low to moderate difficulty. Harvest is a sizeable room with a terrace, so weekday tables are usually available a few days out; weekend dinners and the terrace in good weather are the tightest slots. Call +254-730-886000 or book direct, and ask for the terrace specifically if the weather is good. For a client lunch, the diplomatic-quarter location means midday can be busy with the embassy and UN crowd.
What is the dress code at Harvest?
Smart-casual. Harvest sits in Gigiri's diplomatic quarter, so the lunchtime crowd skews business attire from the embassies and UN offices, and dinner is relaxed smart-casual. There is no jacket requirement, but neat dress suits the room and the clientele. For a client meal, business-casual is the safe register; the terrace is more relaxed than the main room.
What should I order at Harvest?
Order the tomahawk if you are a table of two or more — it is carved for sharing and is the signature order, around KSh 9,000 for the table. The grilled lamb chops with rosemary and the daily catch from the coast are the other standouts, and the seafood platter suits a group that wants to graze. Let the walk-in wine room steer a bottle; the international list is unusually deep for Nairobi.
