A Bar For Heroic Drinks … Like ‘Witch Doctor’

Be careful what door you open. Some doors open to a man, a sensei in a long white beard smoking a pipe, a parrot perched on his right shoulder. Other doors lead to more doors. Some doors — like the heavy wooden one on the 9th floor of Trademark Hotel at Nairobi’s Village Market look like the doors in the Prohibition Period of the 1920s and early 30s.

It looks like it opens into a secret invitation to a discrete members club. However, once inside, there isn’t a sensei but a whole glass wall overlooking the lovely vista of Nairobi and lounge-like seats running alongside it.

The bar sits sturdy in the middle. Facing the east side are more chairs with another view. Loud-coloured murals. An incessant chatter of clinking cutlery, music and laughter.

There is no secret club here, this is an eatery and bar for heroes. I know, I must have lost you. Let’s start from the top, shall we? Where do you think heroes drink, eat and schmooze with other heroes? The answer is nobody knows. So Trademark Hotel designed a space where art, fantasy, indulgence and individuality collide in a burst of energy and colour.

Where food celebrates heroes. From comics , entrepreneurs, athletes, authors, protectors of the environment, long-haired man, a parrot. So basically you and I. We are all heroes.

They serve sushi even though Hero isn’t a Japanese restaurant. It’s also where we drink heroic drinks like ‘Witch Doctor’ (Cachaça basil syrup, passion pulp, orange juice) or Mask of Sorrow (Jose Cuervo, mango, white wine, basil syrup). But what good are heroes if there are no villains? So they also have their menu. Feeling risqué? Try out their Shaving Cream (Gran Marnier, cream vodka, coconut shavings). The dessert for heroes feature items like ‘Roadside Royalty’ (roasted maize ice-cream) or ‘Kitu Kidogo’ (chai ice cream mandazi).

Like I said at the beginning, be careful what doors you open.