I loved being able to hit them up and get a quick response to get a specific tattoo that I wanted to get done while I was there for my bachelorette trip. Beth Callaghan was awesome and honestly I will never get tattooed by a man again because these women rocked it! My friend was able to get tattoo as a walk in too was is always nice. Read Less

I spent a lot of time looking at different parlors in SF for my first tattoo. I'm so happy I picked Mermaids because they reassured me through the whole process and were absolutely nonjudgmental about and addressed all of my concerns. The studio was clean and quiet and everyone was so pleasant. I'll be back soon! Read Less

So, I met these women WAY too late in my tattoo game. I only have a little bit of room left, and I'm filling it all in with the Mermaids. I've seen Beth (@mistercallahan) for several tattoos now- mostly small and medium sized custom pieces- some flowers, some eyeballs, and some cupcakes to be exact. Her lettering and line work are precise and she has some pretty amazing game when it comes to translating my ideas into actual designs. You should probably get her working on your ink before the rates go up - right now she's in the refining and polishing phase of her apprenticeship with Anne. seriously- those lyrics you wanted written down your arm or on your butt? Do it. Read Less

Once again, Anne has proved herself a fine artist and craftsman. I came to her with a piece done by someone else. I was unhappy with it, and asked her to improve it, based on my drawing. She freehanded all that I wanted, and did superb work. I don't think I'll ever go to anyone else. Read Less

Anne at Mermaids Tattoo made my first tattoo experience amazing and so relaxed. I called ahead of time (a few times) with lots of questions. Anne patiently answered every one of them. She was genuinely excited for me to be getting my first tattoo. The shop itself is welcoming and super clean. All the other tattoo artists were friendly as well. I absolutely love my tattoo and am already thinking about my next one. I'll definitely be going back to Anne for that one and will recommend this shop to anyone looking to get a tattoo. Read Less

Anne did an extremely professional job and help me with my two tattoos to look better , proportional , she took the time before start working to assure it was on the right location and it was something I was happy with . I will recommend her again and again! Read Less

My daughter has been wanting a tattoo for the last few years (against my advice). After a ton of research, I found Anne who owns Mermaid Tattoo. On the morning of my daughter's 18th birthday, I surprised her by flying up to San Francisco for her first tattoo! Anne came in on her day off (my daughter's birthday landed on a Sunday) and was absolutely amazing. Anne was patient, kind, extremely artistic, and made my daughter feel completely at ease. She spent so much time making sure the drawing, placement, sizing, and colors were exactly what my daughter wanted. I absolutely can not recommend Anne enough... She truly traces pride in each piece she creates. Read Less

I had such a wonderful experience at mermaids today.  I'm in town from New Mexico, and wanted to get a tattoo while in the city.  Anne was so accommodating with my schedule.  Her shop is so nice and inviting.  She is warm and kind.  Had a great time and got an absolutely beautiful tattoo.  I will recommend mermaids to all my friends coming out to San Francisco.  Thanks Anne!I Love my beautiful California Poppy tattoo! Read Less

Having the best time getting my arm tattooed. Everyone is super friendly and Zeph was extraordinary: listened to my story and my idea and turned it from some vague anxiety-ridden nebulous "I kinda think I wanna..." to something truly extraordinary and alive. Thank you, Mermaids and Zeph! Read Less

I contacted Zeph after researching tattoo artists for several weeks. I was really impressed with her work (as well as that of Anne Williams, founder of Mermaids Tattoo Studio). After our initial consultation, I sent her some pictures of birds I took on a photo trip, and we designed a tattoo together. SO yesterday, I went in to have it done, and I must say I was blown away. It was more like a painting, with amazing detail and color work and true artistry. She was very concentrated in her work, and did the whole thing in 3 hours. The studio is very comfortable and clean, and the atmosphere is calm and lovely. It was so nice to be in an all girl tattoo studio! As soon as I can figure out my next one, I will be back for sure. Read Less

I contacted Zeph after researching tattoo artists for several weeks. I was really impressed with her work (as well as that of Anne Williams, founder of Mermaids Tattoo Studio). After our initial consultation, I sent her some pictures of birds I took on a photo trip, and we designed a tattoo together. SO yesterday, I went in to have it done, and I must say I was blown away. It was more like a painting, with amazing detail and color work and true artistry. She was very concentrated in her work, and did the whole thing in 3 hours. The studio is very comfortable and clean, and the atmosphere is calm and lovely. It was so nice to be in an all girl tattoo studio! As soon as I can figure out my next one, I will be back for sure. Read Less

Just left Mermaids Tattoo after getting my fiancé her first tattoo. She was extremely nervous and Johnny and the rest of the staff did an amazing job making her feel comfortable. Everyone there is so nice and extremely talented. Johnny did fantastic work and her tattoo came out better than she hoped. If you're looking to get inked, you definitely want to check out Mermaids Tattoo! Read Less

This place was referred to my by friends. All staff are super friendly and nice. It's very clean, calm and friendly environment that make you calm and ready for your tattoo. I got my first tattoo here and Zeph was true pro. I couldn't ask for more and be happy. The detail on my tattoo is great. I'll definitely recommend her to all friends and family! Thank you!!! Read Less

I have been waiting for Sam to fix a tattoo and I could not be more thrilled with the results. She is amazing. The space is warm and inviting and the women are wonderful. This is the only place I will ever get tattooed! You must go. Thank you Sam for the wonderful experience Read Less

Kim is a gifted artist with wonderful energy. The shop is tucked away on Mission in SF, in a bright clean space that puts you at ease and makes you happy to be a part of the creative process going on here! Love Mermaid Tattoo. Hope to see you again soon❤️ Read Less

If I could give 1000 stars for Mermaids Tattoo and Kim Stace Thomas, I would. I had e-mailed Kim a few weeks before describing the tattoo I wanted, and she was able to find a spot for me soon enough. I walked in the parlor on a Tuesday, and noticed right away how clean and organised the entire space was. Each artist had their own space for showcasing tattoo ideas, a table, etc. I knew right away that I had chosen the best parlor and tattoo artist to work with. She made sure I was comfortable before applying anything, was not impatient when I kept changing my mind, and was overall confident and humble. My tattoo is a backwards script, and Kim took the time to make sure the lettering was legible, and made sure to let me know some ideas to make the tattoo even better. Her concern for aging and thickness of the ink was incredibly considerate, and I very much appreciated how personal she was with me and taking the time to make sure the location was perfect, the alignment was correct, and making adjustments when needed after I looked at the mirror multiple times. I cannot rave how much I enjoyed working with her! Her spirit and enthusiasm for such a simple tattoo thrilled me, as I would have most likely gotten eye rolls at other parlors. The attention to detail, interest in maintaining the integrity of the handwriting, and knowledge of lettering were refreshing. I definitely will be coming back, and highly recommend this parlor and Kim. Can't wait to work with you again!! Read Less

Kim! Omg you can't give me enough space to rave about her! I have been looking for a certain style for months and not only does she have it in spades but is extremely talented, warm, friendly, smart and a joy to work with. Her work is fantastic, she took my pretty lame tattoo and made it beautiful and by free hand! The space is very calm and chill and clean. They do a great job of making it feel not dark or cold but warm and relaxing. Plus its very female oriented which lends to the atmosphere. Totally the best choice and by complete accident we happened to make this appointment work out. I consider it all kismet and now will continue to work with her going forward. Give them business people, you won't be disappointed! Read Less

There aren't enough stars or good words to slap on Mermaids Tattoo and Kim Stace Thomas. Seriously. SERIOUSLY.I've wanted a simple but meaningful tattoo for about five years, but life had me holding off for some time due to moving across the country, money, and not really having a good artist in mind that I thought I could trust with getting my motto permanently etched on my arm. After some research and some balking at reviews of some places in SF that seem to think they're better than you are just for existing, I decided to give Mermaids a shot since it's really close to my apartment and I had yet to read one bad review of the place.I was a little nervous for the consult but I felt silly for being nervous for even one second. I sat down with Kim and was immediately at ease. She feels more like a real friend than someone I'm paying for a service. She explained in detail what the process would be, took my deposit, explained how long it would take, and said she'd have a few pieces and ideas ready for me to choose on the day of my tattoo. On the actual day I was ecstatic and Kim was amazing. I actually told her she was amazeballs, which I never actually said before. Those words never exited my mouth hole until that moment but she really earned it. She managed to take my idea, just a phrase, and a description of how I wanted a "kind of script but not really" and managed to come up with the absolute PERFECT script for my tattoo. It blew me away and it was over really quickly, in maybe fifteen minutes.And I cried. I cried messy tears of joy because this was five years in the making and Kim made my dream happen relatively painlessly in like fifteen minutes, without ever making me feel like I was annoying or a "newb" or a pain in the ass, or any of that. She even hugged me afterward, like five times. She went above and beyond her duties as an artist and really made me feel amazing as a person, and for the love of all that is holy I cannot wait to go back. The atmosphere is clean and really open and inviting, the artists are friendly and open themselves, and...look, the whole place just put me at ease and I'm a very high-strung person with anxiety anyway and they made me feel at home. Add to that the talented and detailed artwork and it really doesn't get much better than Mermaids Tattoo and Kim Thomas. Read Less

I came all the way from Colorado so that Kim could rework a mermaid tattoo that I absolutely dreaded. She made it absolutely beautiful again!! I loved her and Anne so much!! They both provided out of this world service, and made me feel comfortable and ease the whole time!! Rib tattoos are not a piece of cake! After quite some time (4 hours of tattoo time) the intern (from Germany, I'm sorry I forgot your name) also went out of her way to make me feel at ease and loved!! ❤️I absolutely love the transformation my mermaid goddess is making, and I look forward to more work later in the year! Thanks again!!! Read Less

I came all the way from Colorado so that Kim could rework a mermaid tattoo that I absolutely dreaded. She made it absolutely beautiful again!! I loved her and Anne so much!! They both provided out of this world service, and made me feel comfortable and ease the whole time!! Rib tattoos are not a piece of cake! After quite some time (4 hours of tattoo time) the intern (from Germany, I'm sorry I forgot your name) also went out of her way to make me feel at ease and loved!! ❤️I absolutely love the transformation my mermaid goddess is making, and I look forward to more work later in the year! Thanks again!!! Read Less

Could not recommend Mermaids more. Just got my first tattoo, and was blown away by how comfortable and welcomed I felt. Kim made all of my nerves go away. She was so relaxed and easygoing, but I knew I was in the hands of a total professional! Her sketch was PERFECT and captured exactly what I wanted. Kim was so attentive to my needs and was willing to alter any part of the deign to fit what I wanted. I am so, so happy I found this place. The space is beautiful & clean. Kim exceeded my wildest expectations and gave me a tattoo that I absolutely love and will treasure forever. I'll probably be back! Read Less

Zeph just finished up my new piece, and I couldn't be happier with it! I was fortunate enough to have already had the image, but she did a phenomenal job getting it inked. It was quick and painless. (Only an hour for some detailed calligraphy in Sanskrit.) The shop itself was awesome- very welcoming. Loved the vibes there! I'll definitely be going back later for some of my other pieces. Read Less

Kim was awesome. I went with two of my friends and Kim was super supportive. It was our one friend's first time and she was freaking out and Kim had the best bedside manner and made her feel totally at ease. My other friend and I had general ideas of our tattoos and Kim knew exactly what we were talking about and was able to sketch what we had in mind perfectly. Would definitely recommend! Read Less

I had an absolutely awesome experience getting tattooed by the talented Anne Williams. I came in with some vague, chaotic ideas of sacred geometry and floral pastels, and Anne pulled it all together into a wonderfully beautiful design that was much better than anything I would have thought of on my own. I was looking for a very light and delicate style to my tattoo with no harsh lines, and Anne hit the mark. On the day of my tattoo, Anne was so sweet and funny and talked me through the whole process. Despite my fidgeting, Anne was very patient with my first time tattoo jitters. There was so much care for detail and elegance in my tattoo that Anne's artistic talent really shines. The studio itself is fresh, clean, and relaxing to be in, and the soft music in the background definitely kept me grounded through the whole process.This tattoo was very personal to me and being my first tattoo, I was very nervous. However, Mermaids delivered above and beyond anything I could have expected or asked for. I am still getting tons of compliments on my tattoo and I couldn't be happier with it. Thank you Anne, for this beautiful piece of art. Read Less

All of the artists here are stunningly talented.  It also has a nice vibe.  All the artists are women, it's a light and airy space, and you'll get tattooed while listening to the Beatles instead of death metal. Read Less

I came in off of a terrible week where I needed to do something for myself. I had a pic of what I wanted and Zeph found me in the lobby and said she had time right then. I'd done enough research to think she was awesome. She was so attentive to detail, very thoughtful, very thorough. I love my tattoo so much. It took an hour, which I thought was fast for the detail and yet you cannot tell the original from what she inked. Cannot recommend highly enough. Queer, woman owned, and in the not quite yet terribly annoying gentrified part of the Mission. All of the tattooists are legit artists, many of them from Black & Blue in the heyday. GO HERE. You will not regret it. Read Less

After spending some time in Italy, I wanted to get a tattoo to commemorate my time there and decided on the Florentine fleur de lys. I spent some time looking at different shops but ultimately chose Mermaid's Tattoo and had such an awesome experience with Kim.Kim is sweet, personable, down-to-earth and beyond easy to work with. I initially sent her an email, met with her for a consultation, and a couple weeks later walked away with a tattoo that I absolutely love. She made the whole experience fun and easy-going (getting a tattoo behind your ear is not the most comfortable!).The shop is extremely clean and everyone is so welcoming and kind; there are absolutely no pretentious vibes here. Mermaid's Tattoo is about 3 blocks away from the 24th & Mission BART station and the 49 and 14 lines stop just up the block so, it's easily accessible from anywhere in the city.Thank you again Kim and Mermaid's Tattoo! I couldn't be happier with my tattoo. Read Less

I'd been wanting to get my first tattoo for many many months, and I finally mustered the courage to put a list together of six places in SF that had great yelp reviews.  Mermaids Tattoo was the first shop I walked into and I was sold.  The shop happened to be officially closed the day I walked in, but two of the artists were there organizing and happily chatted to me about my design, and were warm, professional, welcoming, and enthusiastic.  I scheduled a consultation the following week with Kim Thomas, and I showed up with a vague, confusing, scattered idea of what I wanted.  She was nothing but creative and positive and loved my idea.  We narrowed down what I wanted, I listened to her advice, and she said she'd have a drawing ready by the next week.  Unfortunately I went camping just before my scheduled appointment and got sunburned!  I emailed her asking if it was still okay to get tattooed, and she moved the appointment later because apparently sunburns pulse out the ink with the extra blood.  When it was finally the day of my appointment, Kim was very honest about her abilities and concerns about my piece (it involved a lot of parallel lines) and never pressured me to be comfortable with something if it wasn't truly what I wanted.  I went ahead with the tattoo, and she was hilarious throughout my 2 hour stenciling and 3 hour tattoo sitting.  I felt completely comfortable and she checked in on how I was feeling regularly.  The shop uses disposables and everything was sterile.   I'm thrilled with my piece, and Kim wants me to come back to the shop when it's fully healed just to check in and see it, and make sure it doesn't need any touch ups (which are free for the first few months)!  I can't recommend this place enough.  Full of kind, professional, creative, passionate artists.  I'll definitely come back for another tattoo here. Read Less

Love the vibe, the people, the clean environment, especially the bathroom, proximity to good food and snacks, transportation, all the talented folks there but most of all Sam McWilliams. For life! xoxo Read Less

I wouldn't give this shop anything less than the five stars it deserves. If I could give it 10 I would. Nothing but good things to say where do I even start.... The shop is so friendly, it's comfortable and professional at the same time. Today, I got done with a piece that probably was worked on for over 15 hours and it was time I write a review.All I have to say is Micah is an amazing artist, she's so sweet & makes you feel comfortable while getting tattooed. Her work is absolutely amazing and I have never been disappointed, EVER. I first went to her back in 2011 at a previous shop and then continued with her about a year and a half later at this shop. Last year, I came in needing a cover up but wanted it to blend with what she had previously put on my body. I gave her some of my thoughts but I really just left it up to her artist eye and let her do the designing;) I trusted her and knew I was in good hands. The time and the money put into my piece was so worth it and I couldn't have asked for a better experience. And I want to thank her to devoting so much of her time working on my body! Totally recommend Micah. I can promise, you will not be disappointed. The shop is overall is great, cool vibes, cool people. :) Read Less

I had the best experience with Kim and Micah one could ever ask for at Mermaids! I was lucky enough to get a drop-in, and came in with just the sentence I wanted tattooed. Kim understood exactly how I wanted it, and I would have trusted her without seeing the stencil beforehand. The three of us discussed the tattoo back and forth, and something very simple turned into a beautiful piece of work. Kim is very easy to talk to and the conversations float in all directions. Although I had my butt flashing all over the place, with twitches going crazy - I could still not be more comfortable. She has this admirable ability of creating an amazing atmosphere, and if I ever return to SF to get some ink - I know exactly where to head. This world definitely needs more of these female powerhouses, and Mermaids is a prime example.  I could not have been more grateful, Kim! Thank you! Read Less

Just spent my Birthday weekend getting tattooed with my wife and friend!! Kim was awesome! She was easy to communicate with and super helpful with customizing our artwork!! I am in love with my new tattoo!! The shop was friendly, clean and easy to find! Thanks Kim!! Read Less

I have never been to a more professional, clean, friendly, artistic tattoo shop before in my life. The experience I had there with artist Micah Riot was fantastic. I could not be happier with the choice of shop and artist and the outcome of my beautiful tattoo. Read Less