The Crafty Chameleon Bar

I am new to the St. Louis area and have friends that live in Ballwin, MO. I’m originally from Denver, CO and asked my friends if they knew of any good craft beer bars around them. They weren’t really familiar so I consulted Unilocal,and saw all of the great reviews for this place. I just now created a Unilocal profile so that I could comment. I often use Unilocal as a guideline to find places to go, and am RARELY disappointed, but this one takes the cake! How they have ever gotten a good review is beyond me.
We walked into an almost empty bar. The bartender seemed particularly interested in the only customer in the whole place, a gentlemen sitting near the end of the bar. It took the girl about a good 5 minutes to come over greet us, acting like it was a big deal to walk the ten feet to our table. She gave us one menu (there were four of us) and told us if we had questions or wanted to sample anything, we could come to the bar ourselves. Unbelievable! If we wanted to sit at the bar, we would have! (there was plenty of room)
After being there for about twenty minutes, we finally got our first round, without so much as a smile or the girl letting us know what her name was in case we needed anything. Then she went back to the bar and starting talking about «new people» to the one man at the bar. No wonder he was the only one there! New people should always be treated better than regulars, especially if you want to stay in business!
On top of the lack of service, the place seemed to have a stale musky odor about it, which I realized had to be coming from the bathroom as soon as I went in there. It smelled like the sewer had just backed up or maybe that it had just never been cleaned properly. Needless to say it made my stomach turn… I could barely finish using the facilities without losing my lunch. After that, I insisted to the rest of my party that we find somewhere else to drink, and we left, NEVER TO RETURN. Not even a «thanks for coming in» from the bartender. The next time anyone asks me about The Crafty Chameleon, I will only direct them to my singular Unilocal review. They could really benefit from an overhaul of the whole business, ESPECIALLY the staff.
Later that night we checked out the International Tap House, with a thousand times better selection, staff, bar, and atmosphere. It was no wonder they were crowded and Crafty Chameleon was not.

I ended up here on a Wednesday night. Very nice beer, wine, and cocktail selection but no food. It turns out they have trivia every Wednesday night. We came in during the last couple of rounds of trivia and it seemed like lots of fun. I would go back for the trivia. I had a couple of Stella Cidres and a fun night. Pleasant crowd and servers too!

We walked into The Crafty Chameleon after dinner next door. I was excited by the sign that read «fine wine» and the description on their website. I would hardly call a bottle of Cabernet that sells for $ 10.50 a bottle online to be considered fine wine. There was an extensive beer list. This seems to be their specialty and should remain their focus. We selected a table but had to go to the bar to order a drink. While we waited for drinks, 4 individuals began moving tables and chairs across the room with a dolly. It was so distracting and extremely loud.

Great night! Came in on a whim, since the bae and I couldn’t figure out what we wanted to do on a Wednesday night. Crafty chameleon had a really great beer selection (for where it is and who it serves). Katie was amazing, she really knows her beers, and Wednesday night trivia was really fun. Will be back soon! (And with a better trivia partner).

Is there a way to give 10 stars?!? I disagree with everyone who says it’s similar to Itap or like itap. It’s a MILLION times better. Very friendly staff, personable owner who is always checking in with patrons, and a great selection of bourbons, beer, and whiskey. Thank you, Unilocal,for bringing me in. It is a breath of freshness in stale west county!

Similar to itap but less crowded as people have stated. Not as big of a selection as itap but they will get there quickly as they have a great business. Servers are knowledgeable.
First time I went, service was outstanding. Couldn’t have been better! Second time, nobody came to help us but obviously its a bar so just went up to grab what we needed.
You can bring food in like itap which is a plus.
They also have some cheaper beers than itap.
They have a list for $ 3,$ 5,$ 6 etc drinks. They also serve wine and whiskey and mixed beer concoctions
Went back again 1.14.15 and met co owner. Super knowledgeable and super friendly. Talked to us for quite a while and even gave us a free beer coupon to me and my buddy. Now that’s how you run a business. Gained loyal customers.

Itap was crowded with some kinda beer festival thing, so my friend and I decided to give this place a shot. and glad we did! Lots of good beers on draft and bottle. Plus wine! Friendly service and less crowded than itap for sure. You bring your own food since they don’t have any food here. Just booze. Aww yeah.

I’ve been here a few times and always have a great time. It’s very similar to iTap, but usually not as crowded, which is nice.

This place is awesome! The bartenders, servers and owners know their beer! 3 of them are certified Cicerone beer servers. Julie, Jessica, Topher and the gang keep things very interesting and fresh! Andrew and Cara are awesome too!!!
The tap selection is always rotating. Great bottle list. You really need to come check the CC out.
You will not be disappointed!!!

The Crafty Chameleon has several gluten-​free beer options. Sold!

Fantastic place. Went here on their first day open and their grand opening and absolutely loved it. Plenty of great beers, and the staff are great at helping you pick the right one. Got a few on your mind? They’ll let you sample them without any hassle. They’re cool with you bringing food, too, which is great for when you want to grab something and find a cool hangout to enjoy the meal and some beer.

I like this place. Sure there are too many screens around about… more
even than average… but you just have to learn to accept that that is
the American way! At least they put a couple of them to good use by
displaying the draught beer list!
Its friendly here and my Ethos IPA from the Tallgrass Brewing Company was delicious, although it took me about an hour to drink and i realised i have 4 pale ales a day limit! Love hoppy beers but it turns out you can have too much of a good thing.
I’d’come here again for sure

Was in town for work and found this place on google. Great find! Huge selection of very good beers, good wine list too. The staff was very knowledgeable on beer and was able to match my tastes very well. One surprising thing was the bourbon selection. It wasn’t mentioned on google but they have a good variety to choose from.
The place had some sports on good sized tv’s but it didn’t have a sports bar vibe. Staff was highly attentive but not annoyingly so.
I’ll be here again when I’m in town!

I’ve spotted ads for this new place several times and wanted to go because of the promise of both good beer and wine. The beer side of things is way more extensive with a three ring binder full of selections by the bottle and plenty to choose from on draft. As for wine, there were about 20 or so to choose from.
The atmosphere is rather sparse and sports bar like. The solo singer seemed loud for the place, probably because there is no carpeting and nothing more than a bar and several tables to absorb any noise.
The service was mostly attentive. Tame West Country crowd. Very laid back and not at all stuffy.

Excellent beer, space and service. The ability to bring in your own food from home or area restaurants just makes this amazing tap house even better.

We have been here a couple times now. Service is great! They have a great selection of beers and the staff seems pretty knowledgeable too. They could use a couple TV’s on the patio– nothing like watching a Cards game outside drinking a cold beer. We will definitely be back.

The Crafty Chameleon is a rather new watering hole in Ellisville. It follows a business model similar to iTap in that it only serves beer and wine. No food is available for purchase, although Dewey’s, Windowsills, or Asian House. There is also a Dominos Pizza nearby.
The joint is in half the space of an old Chevy’s. It is currently very spacious with enough tables and bar space to accommodate the regulars and new arrivals.
Decoration is sparse and hidden at times in the nooks and crannies of the establishment. Check out the custom ties by the door when you leave.
Beer menus are available and the current draft list is on one of two televisions. There are plenty of televisions to watch and staff are happy to change individual televisions to particular sporting events of your choice. I didn’t ask if they would mind watching my favorite telenovela. Give it a go and see what happens.
Electronic dartboards are available. Last time I was in I couldn’t tell if they were plugged in or not.
Give this place a try and I think you will like it. It does suit the craft beer enthusiast without being stuffed with 80 Twenty-​something hipsters looking for a PBR replacement.

Great service! All the staff is constantly checking to make sure you don’t need anything. So many beers to choose from! I need to go back so I can try some more. They don’t serve good but are paired with some restraunts to provide menus/​delivery or you can bring in your own. Tons of TVs so it was a great place to watch college football!
Can’t wait to go back!

Wide variety of great beers for any taste. Lots of TV’s. can’t wait to visit during football season. Awesome patio area for relaxing outside to enjoy a cold one (or more). Curious to see what promotions there will be, but it is too new to know what those might be. Will return often.

Pretty cool place. Tons of good beer on draft & bottled. Bar maids are generous with samples if you don’t know what you are in the mood for. Small but nice wine list. No food but you can bring your own or have food delivered. They got together with local restaurants so you have a nice variety to choose from.
Ask for Christy. She was our barmaid and greeted us as we entered the place. She is super nice and knowledgeable. We will definitely be back.