Emma Mannheimer

Emma Mannheimer is a Seattle-born, Portland-based writer and editor. Read More

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You’ll need to plan ahead to score an intricate botanical piece at Wonderland Tattoo.

Credit: Courtesy of Wonderland Tattoo

Favorite Portland Tattoo Shops

Find out where to score a permanent Portland souvenir.

Updated July 27, 2024 5 min read

Emma Mannheimer

Emma Mannheimer is a Seattle-born, Portland-based writer and editor. Read More

One of America’s most inked cities, Portland boasts a deep well of tattoo shops and artists, primed to help craft your permanent Rose City memory. Our roundup of Portland tattoo shops offers a mix of walk-in and appointment-only inking sessions. Keep in mind some artists have lengthy waitlists — so plan ahead. All that’s left to do is decide on some inspiration for your art, set a budget and provide your canvas.

Portland’s Top Tattoo Shops

Atlas Tattoo

Classic styles, by appointment only

Set inside a large blue house in North Portland, Atlas Tattoo features buzz-worthy artists. By appointment only, with some same-day appointments available. The shop minimum is $100, with an hourly rate of $200.

Atlas’ roster includes some of Portland’s most popular tattoo artists, like Jerry Ware and Dan Gilsdorf. Ware works in clean lines and bright colors, and Gilsdorf follows American and Japanese traditions.

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Birdhouse Tattoo

Great for first-timers, walk-in appointments

Print-maker-turned-tattoo artist Alia Bird opened this low-stim, inclusive shop, designed as an antidote to the hardcore tattoo shop vibe, with plants and a welcoming lobby filled with colorful artwork highlighting the full roster of talented artists that work between their two locations, in Southeast and Northeast. Artists offer breaks and snacks for tattoos that require sitting for a long session, great conversations and chill music.

With over thirty artists between the two locations, you’re sure to find the right artist for your first tattoo or your seventh. They offer walk-in appointments seven days a week.

Ever True Tattoo

Cash only, walk-in appointments

Visit the airy historic Old Town location of Ever True for a spur-of-the-moment Portland memento. Traditional pieces, botanical work and geometric patterning are the house specialties. Walk-ins are welcome. A shop minimum of $60 further encourages spontaneity, though hourly rates hover around $160, cash only.

Ever True’s personable owner and artist Drat Diestler specializes in Polynesian black work.

Grizzly Tattoo

Appointments are best with some walk-in times available

Billed as one of the friendliest Portland tattoo shops, Grizzly Tattoo welcomes visitors beneath its glowing red neon sign. Operating on North Williams Avenue since 2011, the shop is known for talented artists who often book up months in advance. And depending on the artists, they charge $150-$200 an hour, with a shop minimum of $100.

Icon Tattoo Studio

Cash only, appointments are best with some walk-in times available

Icon Tattoo Studio has held dominion over the North Portland tattoo scene since 1999. The inviting shop features a light-filled studio with large windows and high ceilings.

Icon’s skillful cast of artists, including Alena Chun and Mickey Carlisle, offers tats in diverse and distinct styles. Options range from black and white roses to colorful portraits of women and animals. The shop minimum is $150.

Reliquary Tattoo

Women-owned, cash only

Located on bustling Broadway Street in Northeast Portland, Reliquary Tattoo is a cooperatively run, female-owned tattoo parlor, focusing on creating an inclusive environment for its clients.

Reliquary’s artists are available by appointment only. Price quotes can be discussed with the artists after booking an appointment, as each artist offers different policies and rates. Reliquary is cash-only, but there is an ATM within walking distance of the parlor. No walk-ins are available, but people are invited to visit and view the artists’ flash books and projects when the shop is open.

Reliquary’s artists include Allyson Bennett, Elli Adams and founder Meg Adamson. Peruse through samples of each tattoo artists’ work on their website.

Sea Tramp Tattoo Company

Open late, cash only, walk-in appointments

Located in the Central Eastside, Sea Tramp is Oregon’s oldest tattoo shop, founded in 1978 by legendary artist Bert Grimm. (He’s rumored to have inked the infamous Bonnie and Clyde, and his historic flash sheets line the shop’s walls.)

Sea Tramp’s artists — Patrick Murphy and Skot Ramsay — carry on Grimm’s tradition of offering old-school designs (though tattoos of all kinds are also offered at this street-style shop). Hourly rates vary, but the shop minimum is set at $100 (cash only). Walk-ins are welcome, 363 days a year.

Tattoo 34 PDX

Black and Indigenous-owned, walk-in appointments

Located in the heart of the Hawthorne District, Portland’s only Indigenous and Black-owned tattoo shop, Tattoo 34 PDX, is run by a husband and wife team dedicated to community building and inclusion, where all clients feel welcomed and cared for.

Tattoo 34 has a $100 shop minimum, and the artists charge by the hour per session. Each artist sets their own session fees, so check the pricing on the artist’s page. The shop also offers Walk-Ins on Wednesdays and Sundays starting at noon, where you can get a flash tattoo with appropriate walk-in tattoo concepts.

The artists at Tattoo 34 have varied and diverse specialties, which include surrealism, botanicals, bold colors tattoos and traditional tribal work.

Wonderland Tattoo

Women-owned, by appointment only

Since opening in 2014 in Southeast Portland, Wonderland Tattoo has become one of the city’s most popular ink parlors.

The resident artists include local legends Alice Kendall and Kirsten Holliday, who are known for intricate botanical pieces. The artists’ extraordinary custom work means their appointment books only open about four times a year. If you score a session, these gorgeous tattoos cost $200 per hour, with a shop minimum of $100.

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