I discovered Ovelha Negra (Black Sheep) on my most recent trip to Rio (Nov 2015, yep, I'm writing…read morethis while waiting in the airport to, sadly, depart). I've rarely drank champagne while in Brasil; when traveling, I usually stick to the local stuff, and sparkling stuff isn't something Brasil is known for. We ended up going there twice. Bottles of bubbles are available starting at R$35 for the domestic stuff and upwards from there for products of Spain, Italy, France, etc. There are glasses available for R$15, but the emphasis is on the bottles that come in an ice bucket. That domestic stuff isn't all that bad. All this in a cool old building in an old neighborhood. Monday night there was slow, maybe about 12 people including us. The owner said to come back on Thursday, so I did. Around 7:30p the place was packed beyond capacity, replete with heavy consumption and the types of people who don't like bumping into everyone else's champagne buckets. Yep, while the DJ cranked old-school hip-hop videos, some squabbles erupted. I'm not sure of the Portuguese word for "shit-show," but you get the idea. The consumption-card system, which requires payment at the end opposite the exit, exacerbated the melee. Ovelha Negra is definitely worth a stop on your Rio trip, but if it looks packed inside, there are a bunch of other cool bars in the area worth checking out too.

This place is a champanharia. So don't be surprised when you go there and all they have is…read morechampagne and food. I went with a group of friends, and we had a great time. Basically you order a bottle of champagne and they bring it out to you in a bucket of ice. Pretty straight forward, and it was pretty good. There's food too, but I didn't eat anything. The big downside to this place is that it's very small. And they have a long table running down the middle of the room with stools all around it. So it gets very very crowded, which makes it hard to move and harder to order more champagne. This place seems to be frequented only by Brazilians (probably because it's in kind of an out-of-the-way [ie not near the beach] building in Botafogo). If you're looking to mix with some locals - here's your place.

Came here during our stay for some dancing. We arrived rather early and were the only women there…read more At about 11ish it started getting a bit fuller and more people started showing up. They play all kinds of music. When we arrived, we did not know that they offer free beer and caipirinhas until midnight which we thought was kind of cool. Everyone was friendly and we did not have any issues. There was also a man in the corner who would put glow in the dark paint on you for a tip.

Excellent food, small place. the owner is an elder Lady from the state of Minas Gerais and is very…read morehospital

Saloon 79 has everything what you may expect of a pub. The moment you enter this pub you…read moreimmediately get in the mood for a beer and live rock music. The most impressive thing of this pub is, that they know perfectly well how to deal with sound in a relatively small environment. It is one of the rare places where amateur bands can really sound great without their music being a messy wall of sound. I definitely recommend Saloon 79 if you are in for a night of good live rock accompanied by a nice and cold drink!

We tried the Salada verde - a green salad prepared with lettuce, broccoli, chayote - a pear-shaped,…read morepale green vegetable. It tasted okay. The Calabresa pizza with Mozzarela cheese, onion, "calabresa" sausage and tomato sauce was acceptable and we were pleased. The Baurú com fritas was a mess but the sliced bread, cheese, ham, filet mignon, fried eggs, lettuce, tomato and French fries worked cohesively.

Stopped in here for a quick late breakfast before heading across the street to the beach. We were…read moreseated outside to take in the view of the palm trees and crashing waves across the way, but also had the view of the large televisions to watch the World Cup Games. If you are looking to sit outside to enjoy the weather without getting sunburned this is a good spot since there is a nice covering over the dining area. I ordered the Simple Omelet with a double espresso. To be honest, I wasn't quite sure what was in a Simple Omelet, but figured why not. Turned out to be quite good...filled with onions, ham, cheese and I think chives. It was also huge so come hungry! It was a bit salty, but had a lot of flavor and very well could be one of the best omelets I have had! Great spot to hit on a nice day for breakfast or even just a beer outside and some people watching :)

There's nothing like the city of Rio in The States but if I had to make a comparison for Americans…read moreit'd be like a combination of New York, LA, and Las Vegas all rolled into one. Casual dress is pretty much always acceptable and it's a total beach vibe, (LA) there's an indescribable energy and businesses are close quartered (NYC) and you can drink absolutely anywhere. (Vegas) B.G. is just one of the bars in this Baixo Gavea area that is part of a Mardi Gras-like street party and it's unlike anything you've probably ever seen if you're from the US. You grab a drink, spill out into the street, try to samba with strangers that don't speak English very well, and repeat several more times till you hit up all the bars on the block. B.G. is not only the bar in the midst of this madness that I remember most clearly, but it's the one that had the quickest bathroom/bar lines and that's a big deal when you're at this amazing street party. You just have to go to understand.

One of the popular spot to hang out on some days in Rio. You can order foods and drinks to have on…read morethe sidewalk or dine inside if you get in there early or braved the wait. Then you've got all these people hanging out at the corners around. It's madness on the weekends. Unfortunately I do not speak Portuguese well, but my friends told me that sometimes you can see local celebs there. So in generally the wait is crazy, and non-vegetarian friendly. But you can have a good meal there for sure.