The Best Tattoo Shops in Dallas-Fort Worth

The perfect tattoo needs saturated color and shading, and no gaps or unintentional Picasso-inspired Hunter S. Thompson images that appear after it heals. The lines should also not mirror Dallas unfinished streets. Straight and consistent is a key requisite for the design, and to do so requires an artist who can not only breathe life into the art but also execute it through artistic expression and a steady hand not fueled by meth.

And ideally, the artist will follow the Golden Rule that award-winning Dallas tattoo artist Liz Cook shared with the Observer in 2015: “The rule was like, don't tattoo anything that you're going to fuck up. And if you're going to fuck it up, make sure they know.”

Of course, the perfect tattoo is not only about the design but also the experience offered — the journey to get that forever memento tattooed.

Dallas has its share of specialty tattoo artists who have mastered styles from Tabori to watercolor, and plenty of great artists who keep up with the hottest tattoo new trends. The following 13 shops offer artists who breathe life into their work and will probably tell you that they might “fuck it up” if you ask for a design outside their area of expertise. Don't think of the list below as a definitive ranking but simply as well-vetted options to consider before you get inked.

Sinners Tattoo Studio

5032 Lemmon Ave., Ste. B
Sinners Tattoo sounds like a place you'd end up rubbing shoulders with the Devil. A five-star-reviewed shop on Lemmon Avenue, it boasts a roster of award-winning tattoo artists who are dedicated to satisfying your body art urge, whatever it may be. Studio owner Brandon Albus, known for his black-and-gray designs, specializes in realism combined with color fusion. He’s joined by seven other tattoo artists.

For the past several years in July, the studio has hosted the Sinners Tattoo Expo, a show with award-winning tattoo artists from around the country, including artists from the hit TV show Ink Masters.

Rebel Muse Tattoo

17370 Preston Road, No. 510
1565 W. Main St., Lewisville
Rebel Muse offers body art from Liz Cook, co-owner and one of the best tattoo artists in North Texas, with nearly 2 million followers on social media. Her art is lifelike, which makes sense given her favorite tattoo style is hyperrealism, and she excels at hyperrealistic portraits. According to her website, Cook is currently slinging AI-generated 3D forms and concepts, computer-animated 3D and Geo Roses at rates that begin at $2,000 for a 5 to 6 hour session.

Headquartered in Lewisville, the custom art tattoo studio has a wide range of talented artists who offer realism and portraits to Japanese and American traditional art at locations in Dallas, Lewisville, Denver and Kansas City.

Elm Street Tattoo

2811 Elm St.
Elm Street Tattoo is owned and operated by ink masters who live the lifestyle, not entrepreneurs cashing in on the latest trends. The shop is owned by Oliver Peck, one of the best-known “old school” American style tattoo artists and a master tattooist who's served as a judge on Ink Master. If you're looking for “Lady Luck” on Friday the 13th, then Elm Street tattoo parlor is the place to go.

From walk-ins to custom-drawn tattoos, these ink masters are at the top of their game. Proof of this statement will be on display at Elm Street Tattoo's Elm Fest, May 16–19, when hundreds of people will line up to get their Lucky 13 tattoos by several artists and enjoy live music and a burlesque show.

Mother’s House

2512 Oak Lawn Ave.
Tucked away in Dallas' Oak Lawn neighborhood, Mother’s House offers high-end tattoos, a permanent cosmetic experience curated by “good love” and filled with “good people and good energy” while one of its tattoo artists pierces your skin with 1 to 35 needles, between 50 and 3,000 times per minute for however long it takes to finish your perfect tattoo. Thankfully, numbing cream does exist if you’re not the type who enjoys pain.

Mother’s House tattoo boutique also offers a coffee and nonalcoholic beverage bar in what Dallas Lovelist called on Instagram "a cute house, set up for the perfect instagramable experience." Owner Brieana Jones creates art that falls somewhere between American traditional and neo-traditional and specializes in blackwork, fine lines and psychedelic images. She’s joined by five other tattoo artists who offer ornamental, Japanese traditional, traditional and Chicano styles.

Dark Age Tattoo Studio

124 W. Oak St., Denton
2836 Bledsoe St., No. 200, Fort Worth
If your desire for the perfect tattoo includes “blow people away,” then Rember Orellana's Dark Age Studio is the place to offer the experience. The tattoos Orellana showcases on his Instagram reimagines what tattoo art can be. Words do it little justice.

With locations in Denton and Fort Worth, Dark Age Tattoo claims to offer the best realism art in the country by world-renowned and award-winning artists. The shop has been slinging ink in downtown Denton since 2014 and opened in Fort Worth in 2021.

Electric Feels Studio

1380 River Bend Drive, No. 121
5677 Village Glen Drive
Electric Feels’ name alone would have landed the studio on this list. It promises either a tattoo nightmare or the best experience of your life. Either way, it will be a good story to share and one that will last a lifetime.

Sharing stories is exactly what Electric Feels offers at two location in Dallas. As a female, POC and LGBTQ+ owned and operated studio, it's on a mission to challenge and change the norms of the tattoo industry and to do so as a “sanctuary for self-expression, creativity and belonging.” Artists Dre Li, Summer Sanchez, Heather Lynn, Bella and Tess Mae have plenty of masterpieces in their portfolios and offer a variety of styles.

Eden Body Art Studios

13360 Preston Road
Deanna James, a tattoo artist from Ink Masters, wanted to reimagine what people thought when they heard the words “tattoo parlor” by offering a sleek, clean and inviting place where the artists harness the “renaissance of tattooing”: less counterculture and a space to be more expressive with their art. Eden Body Art Studios, owned by James and her husband Colton, offers 11 resident tattoo artists, most of them women who focus on styles such as painterly realism, vintage black and gray, color and black and gray realism and neotraditional.

“Women have been ruling the tattoo industry for a little while now after being underdogs, and it’s about time people recognize us as serious competitors and serious artists,” James said in a discussion on the studio’s website about her experience on Ink Masters, one of the hottest tattoo shows on TV.

Folklore Trading Company

3120 Swiss Ave.
It was only a matter of time before Pokemon found a way to infiltrate the tattoo industry.

Billy Weigler, the owner of Folklore Trading Company, could be considered a master of creating the art. He takes those little a-holes from the Poké Balls and showcases why they belong among the iconic tattoo imagery of skulls, butterflies and roses. His Instagram, filled with Pokemon-inspired tattoos, also highlights his specialization: neo-traditional illustrative color. He also focuses on black and gray illustrations and does cover-up work. At the Dallas shop, six artists offer skills in neotraditional, traditional, black and gray illustrative.

The Chosen One Ink Tattoo

519 E. Abram St., Arlington
Former President Donald Trump’s tenure at the White House and Denis Villeneuve’s Dune adaptation have taught us several lessons in recent years, the most important one being that the Chosen One should be avoided at all costs.

But that doesn’t mean you should avoid this studio in downtown Arlington.

Inside, the studio looks like a place Paul Atreides wishes he could chill and enjoy the old-school Super PacMan arcade game if he wasn’t busy committing genocide against the galaxy. The checkered floor and neon signs just add to the appeal.

Known as one of “The Best Tattoo Studios in the Great State of Texas,” it’s also a healthy place where all of the artists are OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen certified, which means they’re trained in being cautious to limit risk of exposure to hepatitis C, which has a long history with tattoo art.

Lady Karina leads the studio with 15 years of experience and a title of All-Around Master Tattoo Artist, a rare accomplishment in the tattoo industry.

Lady Magnolia Tattoo & Piercing

2720 W. Mockingbird Lane
Lady Magnolia is filled with vintage decor and goods, carefully chosen to offer a relaxing environment where compassion, kindness and respect are the bare minimum requirements offered to clients. Owner and tattoo artist Bri Leflore created a space that offers custom tattoos at affordable prices in a variety of styles by several different artists.

Located near Love Field, the studio is surrounded by restaurants, shopping and entertainment within walking distance for family and friends who really don’t want to linger in a studio while you make a two-hour tattoo last four hours due to the pain.

Lamar Street Tattoo Club

1709 S. Lamar St.
Awarded “Best Tattoo Artist in 2023” by the Observer’s readers, Josh Hall has made previous appearances on 13 of our Best Tattoo lists. His tattoo studio was once known as “J. Hall & Co. Gentleman Tattooers,'' but is now called Lamar Street Tattoo Club. Hall calls it the premier destination for “some of the most exceptional body art you can find in the heart of Dallas.”

Lamar Tattoo Studio artists believe that quality should never be compromised. Hall writes on the studio’s website that each artist “has been painstakingly selected” to ensure they are skilled practitioners.

The Black Rose Studio

215 N. Walnut Creek Drive, No. 101, Mansfield
The heart of Mansfield is where the Tattoo Collector, Alonzo Gonzales, lingers at The Black Rose Studio that he co-owns with Jerry Martinez. Here they produce some of the best ink work in the Dallas-Fort Worth region with eight other tattoo artists who specialize in a variety of styles.

Both have been slinging ink for more than a decade. Gonzales prefers black and gray realism and Japanese-influenced art but can crush color realism and enjoys large projects such as back pieces and sleeves. Martinez has been tattooing since he was 13 years old in the Arlington area, focusing on realism tattoos while also appreciating all styles. He mostly does black and gray tattoos, but will do color tattoos as needed.

Depiction Tattoo Gallery

4001 W. Green Oaks Blvd., No. 221, Arlington
Located in South Arlington, Depiction Tattoo Gallery offers custom work as close to perfection as possible. Artists have implemented surgical standards and are dedicated to using the best machine and ink products available on the market. Artistic skill, attention to detail and ability to adapt designs and styles have made the folks at Depiction some of the most sought after artists in the region.

Tattoo artist and owner Sam Frederick opened the gallery in 2010. She specializes in decorative, floral, neo-traditional and mehndi.

As the gallery staff points out, “Our expert artists are here to translate your story, your aspirations and your individuality into an exceptional piece of permanent self-expression — a tattoo. This isn't about picking designs off a wall; it's about collaborating with trained professionals who are just as invested in the masterpiece creation process as you are.”