Along my travels yesterday, my fiance and I took a trip out to Wakefield. It is one of our favourite towns near Ottawa. We go hippie shopping and antiquing... Then we always stop at the Mouton Noir. Or, for my friends back in St. Catharines, The Black Sheep. If you are looking for a fantastic "greasy spoon" "Canadiana" type of restaruant, this is definitely the place to go in Wakefield! The food is so delicious and eventhough, the service is slow, it is a very laid back town! So, there is something to expect. How nice is it, to sit out on a patio, with a good beer and a good burger, watching a spectacular view of the Ottawa River! Lay back and have a beer! What could be better! :D read more

We stopped in at the Black Sheep Inn in Wakefield Qc for a bite to eat. As we sat down at a table the sever told us that if we wanted drinks that she would be getting them and the food would be another server. So this meant two tips. For a tourist town I was expecting well dressed staff and a better ambiance The food was alright but there wasn't much choice. Very disappointing. read more

The Black Sheep Inn, or Le Mouton Noir, is an amazing bar/music venue in Wakefield Quebec which is about 25 minutes north of Ottawa. This venue is legendary for performers and is always on the list of top 10 places to play in Canada. The setting is intimate with table seating but there is also room to dance or stand around depending on what band is playing. The decor is simple, worn in and charming with a retro feel. I have seen many amazing shows here and both the venue and setting in Wakefield make it tranquil and memorable. Sitting on the front patio overlooking the lake before the Neko Case show starts and the Wakefield steam train going by. If you are visiting Ottawa make sure you take a trip up to Wakefield and I suggest you drop by for drink at Le Mouton Noir. read more

Black Sheep Inn - a group of motorcycles parked on the side of the road - Pubs Near Me - Wakefield, Quebec

This is probably my favourite venue for live music in the Ottawa-area. I know, it's 25-30 min from Ottawa but I still consider it in the area. The shows here are wonderfully intimate and you will leave having not only enjoyed a beautiful show but knowing more about whatever artist you chose to see. read more

I would have loved to give this place a great review but that will never happen as I will never be returning to this venue. I arrived late in the evening near the end of a show - and I must say, had the door man made himself known, I would have been more then happy to pay to get in. Instead, I noticed no one so I walked in after my friend. I was then grabbed by the arm and asked to see my stamp - as I did not have one, I told the door man as much - and without another question I was told that I was trying to sneak in and there was the door and to "get the f*** out". I found this to be an incredibly rude way to speak with patrons and since I was perfectly willing to pay my way in, I asked to speak to the manager. I will admit, at this point I did have a choice name for the door man since he had chosen to be so rude to me. The manager, who also claimed to be the owner, came out guns-blazing (claiming that he would stand by his staff no matter what, before I even got a word in), and refused to listen to a word I had to say. I wanted to explain that I found the door man rude and unprofessional, and to simply make him aware of how I was treated - to which he informed me that they were at capacity anyways, and that the guy working the door was just the sound guy filling in for someone anyways, so he really doesn't know how to deal with these situations, and that the door man had been told not to let anyone one else in at all. Plenty of excuses and not a single apology in sight for such rude behaviour - from the door man, followed by the manager/owner who refused to let me voice my opinion. For someplace that's so popular and well known in our area, I would have hoped that one persons inappropriate behaviour wouldn't be repeated by the owner of the establishment. Needless to say, this whole situation could have been righted by a simple apology - one that I doubt will ever happen and so I will be sure to tell my friends what I think of the Black Sheep and it's staff and owner - and I will not be returning. Ever. I hope others can continue to enjoy it with being treated so poorly. read more

A dozen of us cruised up from The Brasseur Du Temps in Hull for the Great Lakes Swimmer Show last Saturday, April 18th. We were excited to go see some live music with a large crew and to do it at The Black Sheep Inn. Admittedly, the last concert we had seen at the Black Sheep was a few years ago for Mighty Popo. Good Times! THINGS HAVE CHANGED...... and not for the better. We showed up at 8:30pm expecting to be late for the GLS show, only to find out that there indeed was an opening act. Cool, we congregated back by the bar and got some drinks (the house was full). Immediately our party got rude, judgemental service from the two bartenders, especially the surly young lady. Then the opening band came on. The PA volume was quite low. Whenever any of us tried to talk, we were getting told to be quiet by the staff. Since when is The Black Sheep a no-talking bar/music venue? Especially in the back. So, in an attempt to be polite, four of us tried to go off to a further back corner to talk. Again we were shhhhhed. So we tried to move into a big storage area that had extra chairs to have a chat. We were followed in by the sound guy who told us to scram, that we should go outside in the cold to talk and that we were disrespecting the band. We thought that was funny, since we had tried to find the most remote place to chat as to not disturb anybody. By this time, the band was into its 3rd song and the crowd had gone from NAC Concert Quiet to the usual average amount of light chatter. However, since we were the group without chairs and closest to the bar we continued to be hassled by the bar staff and sound guy for having conversations. Finally, once the GLS came on and the crowd was even noisier, I tried to have a private conversation with what seemed to be the most reasonable bartender about the ridiculous expectation of complete silence for a live show. It did not go well and I was threatened with immediate removal from the premises. Later in the show, one of our friends went outside for fresh air and was rudely barred re-entry. That was it. We all left. We had all paid $25 for the GLS show and left halfway through. Lame. Not the fun place it used to be a few years ago. Very arrogant. I guess this sometimes happens when a place doesn't have enough competition and hires the wrong people. read more

Blacksheep Inn is one of the strangest places I've ever been with a weird atmosphere and zombie-like patrons. After years of hearing about how much of a great place it is I finally went over the Christmas holidays and watched the Mighty Popo. This is an African-beat type of band (Rwandan) and they practically pleaded with the audience to come up and dance. For the first three or four songs my husband and I were the only ones dancing in this relatively busy venue. Finally people started to get up on the dance floor, annoying those people who were sitting at the tables as they couldn't see the band anymore (the body language said it all). I mean common! It's a gig! I just couldn't believe it. I went again to watch Jeremy Fisher last weekend with my two girlfriends. Again, for the longest time we were the only ones singing and dancing as he played. We were taking pictures of ourselves with the band in the background, laughing, being merry having a grand ole' time. About halfway through Jeremy's set while he was tuning his guitar and setting himself up for the next song a lady bartender came up to us and told us to be quiet as we were disturbing the audience. Firstly, we were talking about the gig (all positive) and secondly we weren't really being that loud. Just talking normally. I guess it sounded a lot worse because of the zombie-like patrons sitting there staring quietly into space. It was strange! So I thought I would chat with the senior looking lady bartender and ask her why they are telling people to be quiet at a gig whenever he isn't even playing? She then looked straight into my eyes and said "I wanted to tell you guys to shut up all night". I couldn't believe it. The Blacksheep Inn is not the National Arts Centre and we weren't watching an orchestra or the ballet. But then again am I really surprised? Ottawa is the only town where when watching an outside rock concert (such as at Bluesfest) people in their lawn chairs sitting close to the stage get annoyed because people are standing in front of them! I know firsthand, I've been told off! On the food side of things the food is average pub grub. If you want something dirty, try one of their specialty poutines as they are pretty good in that greasy kind of way. read more