With cocktail names like the Lemon Ricky Ricardo, The Barnacle is not your average bar.

The new restaurant nestled in a tiny cottage on Prune Alley has been offering craft cocktails and local tapas since April.

“Orcas has such a strong appreciation for local and regional offerings – there is a lot to draw from and I knew people would appreciate it,” said owner Jared Lovejoy. “We’ve had such a cool response from the community – it’s really sweet.”

The business is a joint effort between Lovejoy and The Kitchen owners Charles Dalton and Jasmine Townsend.

It is located just a few steps away from The Kitchen, which creates the curated tapas featured on the bar menu. They are served on sushi boards and each plate has a theme like “Smoke on the Water,” “Bombay Trader” or “Pig War.” They highlight local and regional ingredients.

“We are so lucky on Orcas because there are so many farms here,” Lovejoy said. “The Northwest is ‘land of the small batch everything.’”

The Barnacle serves craft cocktails, which means all of the mixes are made in-house. Bartenders create bitters, tonics, shrubs (a drinking vinegar), sweet and sour mixes, grenadine and infusions with strawberries, raspberries, mint or herbs.

Lovejoy stocks liquor primarily from small distilleries in the Northwest. This fall he is planning tasting nights with representatives from a handful of the distilleries. The Barnacle also serves Northwest wines and island-brewed beers.

The specials change daily because Lovejoy says “we want our customers to try new things.” A recent mix was the Lemon Ricky Ricardo, a citrus/rosemary/pepper vodka with lemon-ginger tea, orange bitters and soda.

Lovejoy owned a restaurant and nightclub in Seattle and worked in event production prior to moving to Orcas in 2005. He has wanted to open a bar behind The Kitchen since Dalton, a good friend, first opened nearly two decades ago. But the space was always in use – until last year.

He transformed the bungalow into an old-world bar with an eclectic mix of nautical-themed decor and layers of intrigue. Customers can drink inside or in the courtyard garden.

“We encourage people to think of it as a lounge,” Lovejoy said. “Stick around and hang out. We’re not about moving tables.”