Compare a West Loop Piano Bar and a Texas-Style Dive Bar in Chicago

At 201 N. Peoria St., Grapes & Grains is a reservations-exclusive lounge that channels 1920s Chicago with exposed brick, Chesterfield sofas and vintage chandeliers. Guests settle in for cocktails, small plates, whiskey and wine beside a baby grand piano, and as the evening goes on the room builds into a high-energy piano bar with live performances and tender skewers. Reservations are required and the lounge is 21+. Hours start at 6:00 PM Wednesday through Friday and 5:00 PM on Saturday, and it holds a 4.4 rating from 266 reviews.

Broken Hearts at 1009 W Lake St feels like a Texas frontage road tavern, pouring cheap Hamm's and Lone Star. A photo booth sits inside, and the crowd mixes queer and traditional cowboys. Pool is free Sunday through Wednesday, and occasional local country music plays without a cover. No food is served and the bar is 21+. It opens at 5:00 PM Sunday through Friday and 2:00 PM on Saturday, and reviewers call it a neighborhood dive with friendly staff. It holds a 4.3 rating from 74 reviews.

These two West Loop bars answer different moods. Grapes & Grains is the planned night, with a reservation, a baby grand piano, cocktails and small plates in a brick lounge styled after the 1920s. Broken Hearts is the casual one, with cheap beer, free pool early in the week and occasional country music with no cover in a Texas roadside setting. Book Grapes & Grains for a date or a dressed-up evening, and keep Broken Hearts for a group hangout. Both are 21+, and Broken Hearts serves no food.