I discovered Ovelha Negra (Black Sheep) on my most recent trip to Rio (Nov 2015, yep, I'm writing this 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. read more