Coffee and cocktail bar Raven's Nest to open in Whitehaven

Raven's Nest is the creation of Bex Bateman and Neil Waters. Bex, 28, was born in Yorkshire and grew up in New Zealand. She trained in culinary school before returning to England to work in the luxury hotel industry where she fell in love with cocktails, because as she says, "who doesn't?"

She trained as a mixologist and furthered her training as an instructor in Spain.

Inside Raven's Nest (Image: Supplied)

Bex met Neil, 30, who is a chef turned barista and the pair moved up to Whitehaven. 

Bex worked at the Grapes for over a year until the building became available. She said: "We jumped at the chance to make our long-term goals come true and open our own bar."

Neil who "always loved the world of caffeine", eventually realised it was his real passion and has been working at the Howling Wolf for the last year.

The bar in Raven's Nest (Image: Supplied)

Raven's Nest will focus on sustainable options. Bex said: "We both have a huge love for sustainability and want to try and do our little bit for the planet so everything we do we try and keep that in the back of our mind.

"We’ve worked hard to try and choose sustainable supplies, even down to the toilet roll! We are primarily a specialty tea, coffee and cocktail house but we will be serving food too. All of our food is meat free as I am vegetarian and Neil is pescatarian."

The venue will be serving a wide range of platters, ranging from enough to fill one person to some big enough to fill 10 people. These boards will feature goodies like homemade hummus, ‘sausage rolls’, chilli pickled eggs and lots of cheeses.

Some of the platters available at Raven's Nest (Image: Supplied)

Bex said: "We are trying really hard to cater for as many allergens and intolerances as we can too.

"We will also have home-made daily soups, pastries and sweet bakes. Our drinks will use as many B-Corp certified brands as we can and the cocktail menu is all twists on classic cocktails which is how we see ourselves too."

The pair describe Raven's Nest as a "very cosy, retro, environment with a twist."

Raven's Nest is described as cosy yet retro (Image: Supplied)

Bex said: "We’re hoping that people can feel how much passion we have put into the place. We aim to do our bit for the planet while having fun and meeting amazing people."

The establishment will eventually host pop-up themed evenings and cocktail classes as well as private parties.

Raven's Nest located on Lowther Street, will open on Thursday May 23, from 8am to 4pm on Thursday to Monday, and is pet friendly.