Which bars sit in the sweet spot between dive and fancy?

• Ready Made
• Harry’s Bar & Tables is a decent bar middle ground.

Finding the right bar can often be as important as finding the right bartender. On Saturday night, I was searching for a place that fell in between a dive bar and a fancy joint. I needed an establishment that served beer, wine and cocktails in a fashion that could please regular drinkers of any of the three.

In a pinch and based on geography, my party ended up at Harry’s Bar and Tables in Westport – arguably the most universal of spots that pulls in a crowd ready to drink all manner of drinks. A dark and stormy (rum and ginger beer with a lime wedge) is never shyly poured, the wine seems classier when it’s pulled from a cooler covered in leaded glass, and the beer is right down the middle. There are tables looking out on the most alive corner of Westport (Westport and Pennsylvania) and a patio that usually has a few seats open.

What other bars fall into the happy place between dive and closed-toes shoes required?