300 guides

Who it is for

The same design reads differently depending on who wears it and where.

Placement

Where it sits drives visibility, pain, healing and how it ages.

Subjects & symbols

What the design depicts, and what it has traditionally meant.

Before and after

Choosing, aftercare, cover-ups, and finding the right artist.

Piercing

Placements, healing and jewellery, beyond tattooing.

Culture

Tattoos in public life.

5 Top Notch Tattoo Parlors in NYC

Reviewed & updated First published 5 designs

This page was written in 2013 and has been checked shop by shop in September 2026. One of the five has closed. The other four are open, and three of them have been trading long enough to be part of the city's tattoo history in their own right.

Worth knowing the background: tattooing was banned in New York City from 1961 to 1997, officially over a hepatitis outbreak. The trade carried on underground for those thirty-six years, and several of the shops below opened in the first years after legalisation, which is why New York's scene skews older and more traditional than its size would suggest.

Top notch tattoo parlors in nyc design, idea 1

Saved Tattoo - closed

Saved, at 426 Union Ave in Williamsburg, closed in June 2020. It is named here because it is still widely listed and still searched for. Scott Campbell, who ran it, has moved on to other work.

three king

Three Kings Tattoo - Greenpoint, Brooklyn

572 Manhattan Ave. Noon to 8pm Monday to Thursday and Sunday, 11am to 9pm Friday and Saturday. Walk-ins every day.

Open since 2008 and still built around the idea that a tattoo shop should be walk-in rather than appointment-only, which is increasingly rare at this level. American traditional, black and grey, portraits, traditional Japanese, Polynesian, tribal and new school.

Top notch tattoo parlors in nyc design, idea 3

Sacred Tattoo - Soho, Manhattan

264 Canal St, Suite 2E. Noon to 8pm daily. Walk-ins welcome.

Established in 1989, which means it was operating during the ban. A large roster covering a wide style range, and a gallery space alongside the studio.

Top notch tattoo parlors in nyc design, idea 4

Rising Dragon Tattoos - Chelsea, Manhattan

51 W 14th St, Suite 2R. 1pm to 9pm Sunday to Thursday, to 10pm Friday and Saturday. Seven days.

Founded by Darren Rosa in 1984 and one of the first shops to go legal in lower Manhattan after the ban lifted. Six artists, all with at least eight years behind them and most with over ten in New York specifically. Mostly by appointment, walk-ins if the schedule allows.

Top notch tattoo parlors in nyc design, idea 5

Hand of Glory Tattoo - Park Slope, Brooklyn

465A 7th Ave. Noon to 8pm, seven days. Appointments recommended, walk-ins welcome.

Founded in 2001 by Craig Rodriguez and Anna Sea. Traditional and Japanese styles, with piercing added more recently. Same-day appointments are often available, which is unusual in Brooklyn.

Also worth knowing

Daredevil Tattoo, 141 Division St on the Lower East Side, opened in 1997 - the year tattooing became legal again - and houses the NYC Museum of Tattoo History alongside the working shop. Noon to 8pm daily, same-day appointments available. It was not on the original list and should have been.

Before you book

New York City licenses tattoo artists through the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and both the artist and the premises must be permitted. The licence should be on display.

Then the ordinary checks: sterile needles opened in front of you, fresh gloves, single-use ink caps, an autoclave, surfaces covered and wiped between clients.

A practical note on this city specifically: New York rewards booking with a named artist far more than turning up. Even the walk-in shops here have artists whose books are months deep, and the difference between the person who is free this afternoon and the person you actually wanted is usually the difference between a tattoo you like and one you tolerate.

Details change. Phone before travelling.