London's best tattoo studios
The capital is home to some of the world's best tattoo studios and parlours – with top artists such as Nikole Lowe, Saira Hunjan, Naresh Bhana and Mo Coppoletta. Whether you're looking for a discreet design or a larger one, here are the sharpest needles in town
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Flamin' 8 (click for more images)
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Good Times
Noon-7pm Mon-Sat. £100/hr, 147 Curtain Road, EC2A 3QE (020 7739 2438).
Serene tattooing sounds like an oxymoron, but not where Nikole Lowe's Zen-like sanctuary above Curtain Road is concerned. Spacious, light and sophisticated, it's the opposite to stereotypical cramped and garish tattoo shops. The walls boast cross-continental curiosities with a bohemian and exotic twist and there's a multi-ethnic shrine in one corner, representing the studio's unique design flair. Lowe, who featured in TV series 'London Ink', has assembled some of the best female tattooists in London, including hipster (and Kate Moss) favourite Saira Hunjan, you'll have to be patient, however: both Lowe and Hunjan's waiting lists stretch into the future. Read more
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PRICK!
11am-7pm Mon-Fri; noon-6pm Sat; noon-5pm or by appt Sun. £70 min, 386 Old St, EC1V 9LT (020 7729 9545/ www.henryhate.com).
LA-born artist Henry Hate presides over Prick! – Shoreditch’s longest established tattooists (which celebrated its seventh birthday in June, 2010). Unpretentious, friendly and popular, Henry pitches Prick! as a ‘friendly, neighbourhood studio.’ It’s crammed into a small unit on Shoreditch’s busiest intersection, attracting local hipsters, a few rogue bankers from the City and anyone else who might be passing by (it’s one of London’s few studios that accepts on-the-spot appointments). Upstairs is a traditional lounge, decorated with house designs and Henry’s artwork, but it’s down in the basement where the real action is – four artists buzz away, often with a guest tattooist in their midst such as Ichi Ink from Japan in September 2010.
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Diamond Jacks
Noon-7pm Mon-Fri; 11am-6pm Sat; Noon-5pm Sun. Min deposit £60, 5 Walkers Court, W1F 0BT (020 7437 0605/ www.diamondjacks.co.uk).
Soho's longest running tattoo parlour is also its most rockin' and unpretentious. Nestled in a suitably sleazy alley, every inch of its walls are covered in music memorabilia and rows of vibrant tattoo flashes. Dee Dee Ramone and the Stray Cats used to come here in the '80s and current owner Darryl Gates continues its sleazy punk legacy, keeping the shop's original fittings and neon sign. Gates has designed tattoos for Vogue photoshoots and films like 'This Is England', but they're also known for their body modification services (genital beading, anyone?) from Iestyn Flye. Read more
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Flamin' Eight
10am-6pm Mon-Sat. £70/hr, 2 Castle Road, NW1 8PP (020 7267 7888/ www.flamineight.co.uk).
Naresh Bhana's lurid purple corner shop has the punky edge you'd expect on Camden's main strip, but is tucked away on a more peaceful Kentish Town side street. It's dedicated team are a lot friendlier too, working within Bhana's treasure trove of voodoo knick-knacks from around the world. There's the skull-topped tiki bar-cum-counter that dissects the studio, the intricately carved coffee table filled with interesting wooden and metal needles, and shelving stretching across the room on which carved Haitian figures and Day of the Dead themed trinkets sit. Whatever your pain threshold, you're never short of oddities to take your mind off it. Read more
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Into You
Noon-7pm Mon-Sat. £80 min, £80/hr, 144 St John Street, EC1V 4UA (020 7253 5085/ www.into-you.co.uk).
Open since 1993 and sticking out of Clerkenwell office blocks, Into You is one of the most sought after studios in London and some of the capital's best tattoo artists have worked under its steer. Go for owner Alex Binnie's bold tribal designs, Mr X's saturated black graphics and first-rate shading, or for Tomas Tomas, who often uses a traditional hand-poking technique, and whose incredibly intricate, modern tribal diagrams are particularly impressive. They're about as far from Celtic crosses as you can get! Read more
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The Family Business
Noon-7pm Mon-Sun. £80 min, 58 Exmouth Market, EC1R 4QE (020 7278 9526/ www.thefamilybusinesstattoo.com).
Everything about The Family Business is sharp, from its boutiquey location in Exmouth Market to its suited and booted staff and vintage swing soundtrack. Its blood red interior, adorned with Roman Catholic imagery, is inspired by owner Mo Coppoletta's Italian heritage, and contrasts with the bold Japanese screens separating the work area from the waiting room (and giving privacy to customers). Look out for the book ‘Tattooed by The Family Business’ (released September 2010). Read more
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Frith Street Tattoo
Noon-8pm Mon-Sat; 1pm-7pm Sun. £80 min, £100/hr, 18 Frith Street, W1D 4RQ (020 7734 8180/ www.frithstreettattoo.co.uk).
Frith Street has been custom designing quality work since 2003 but its popularity escalated recently thanks to its some time employee and frontman of British punk band Gallows, Frank Carter. He showed how much he loved tattoos by getting inked live onstage at Reading Festival in 2007. Since then they've drawn a younger, punkier crowd, who choose from one of Frith Street's six formidable artists. Read more
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New Wave Tattoo
10:30am-5:30pm Mon-Fri; 10am-5pm Sat. £50 min, 157 Sydney Road, N10 2NL (020 8444 8779/ www.newwavetattoo.co.uk).
Lal Hardy's Muswell Hill studio is London's most famous, offering a wide range of styles, from mechanical (Collins) to Japanese (Orist) to feminine designs (Zed), which is probably why they've attracted such celebrity customers. It's not as chic as some of the other parlours, but at 20 years old, it's still one of the most dependable. Read more
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Jolie Rouge
Noon-7pm Mon-Sat. £50 min, 364 Caledonian Road, N1 1DU (020 7609 5111).
Caledonian Road parlour Jolie Rouge is among the more underground in London, but it's held in high regard by the city's tattoo creatives. Their studio has a fresh and streetwise approach, all opulent wallpaper and gothic candelabras inside, and Matt-Difa is particularly revered for his graffiti-inspired work. What's more, they're willing to try what others turn down and pride themselves on not having the rockstar attitude of some of the other shops. Read more
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George Bone Tattoos
Noon-6pm Mon, Wed-Fri; Sat 10am-6pm; Sun 10am-4pm, 58 Boston Road, W7 3TR (020 8579 0831/ www.georgebonetattoos.co.uk).
You may mistake George Bone's solo studio for the set of a Meat Loaf video, with its plentiful skeletons, pentagrams and gothic drapery, but he's been operating his successful tattoo business out of west London since 1973. Extra kudos for the 'monastically-themed' toilet, which comes 'complete with chanting monks'. Bone's is definitely one for the seasoned rocker. Read more
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