Live owl cocktail bar to open in London

Londoners will able to enjoy sipping cocktails while petting owls when a pop-up owl bar rolls into town next month.

For one week only between 19 March and 25 March, Annie the Owl will be open in Soho allowing guests to get up close and personal to the feathered creatures between 8pm and 2am.

The concept was inspired by the popularity of Tokyo’s owl cafés, where customers come for coffee and to see the birds.

Annie the owl – after whom the bar is named – will take centre stage in the late night venue along with five other owls: Darwin, Ruby, Cinders, Winston and Hootie, who is a finalist in the World Owl Beauty Pageant.

Due to the high demand for tickets, a ballot system has been put in place which can be entered in the Annie the Owl website.

Tickets cost £20 and include two cocktails mixed by expert bartenders and two hours with the owls, supervised by professional falconers.

Cocktails include recipes such as the Annie Collins, made from gin, fresh lemon juice, sugar syrup and soda water, and the Owl-Presso Martini, a blend of vodka, espresso, Kahlua and Tia Maria.

All proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to Barn Owl, which works to help the conservation of owls in the UK.