You want a shitty experience without even being a tattooed???!...go to Downtown Tattoo. Pretentious. Rude as shit. And shitty art. I was told to return for availability later in the evening (I arrived at 5pm), and came back at 8:30pm just to wait two extra hours. Me and my friends were ignored, and disregarded. It was obvious that they didn't want to tattoo any of us but after hours of waiting, nothing was ever said and we ended up leaving. They kindly watched us leave as they congregated at the front and completely ignoring all of us. Don't waste your time or money. The two chicks at the desk fuckin suck and only greeted "ppl" they knew. Go to Electric Lady Tattoo! It's friendly and reasonable. Read Less

Great shop!  Walked in and was greeted by a friendly staff, and very helpful artist. Jim was able to take a picture I found, hanging on the wall of the shop, and turn it into something better than I expected. I'll recommend him, and the shop to anyone I know heading down to New Orleans. Read Less

I was visiting from Long Beach and was speaking with a bartender that had all her ink done here.  I will start by saying the place is extremely clean.  Everyone had their shit together.  Based on what I wanted I was told to go with Jason because of his cross hatching ability.  Made an appointment 2 days in advance.  Everybody is great and Jason did an amazing job.  Not too high priced and he took a lot of pride in his work.  This was my fifth tattoo and think for sure the best.  Go there and go to Jason.  MAKE AN APPOINTMENT! Read Less

Short version: Jim is the man. Go to Downtown Tattoo.Longer version: I was in town for a long weekend and had an idea for a shoulder piece. Went in on a friend's recommendation and met with Jim. We talked about what I wanted and looked over some reference images. He said it would take some time to draw it up so we made an appointment for the following day. He absolutely nailed the vision I had and it was a great experience all around. Shop is clean, staff was great and they let us stay late to finish the piece.  Being in the heart of the French quarter I'm sure they get a lot of strange requests (witnessed a few while I was there) - and the guys were professional and courteous to everyone that came in. Read Less

I found this shop and artist Billy online in reached out a month before arriving to NOLA. Billy was very rude and seemed to care less about our request to book an appointment and we had multiple people we wanted to bring into the shop. We tried to book with other artist but they had the same snob attitude. They clearly are swamped with walkins and don't care about customer service. Go a little outside of downtown NOLA and you'll find better quality and better service skip this place. Read Less

Done by Brandon. We had an instant connection, and he took care of me. I'm going back for more work. The significance of the tattoo is in honor of my cousin, Ayrian, who was a Monroe Police Officer. She lost her life in the line of duty after crashing her cruiser going to assist another officer. The years from '87-'94 represents the years  we (closest cousins) were born. And 211 is her badge number. Read Less

My second tattoo with Henry. He's amazing. Helped me realize my vision. Tattoo is perfect, colors beautiful. And I have lots of ink. Highly recommend Downtown Tattoo! Friendly, clean and professional. These people are on their game! Read Less

Went to get a piercing just because. Staff was nice. Piercer was very patient with me and helping me understand what I was looking for. Answered all of my questions and made me very comfortable. Would definitely go back if I wanted another one. Read Less

What a great place!  Very clean, very professional and super kind and down to earth people!   If your looking to get a tattoo in New Orleans, I highly recommend this place!   Ask for Jim.  He did my daughters, 3 of our friends and my tattoo.  Super sweet, very talented, awesome guy!!!!   This place and Jim get as many starts as I can give.  Thank you for a beautiful piece of art work that means so much to me!!! Read Less

Stopped in like 45 minutes before they closed for a spur of the moment tattoo, expecting to have to book time for the next day but they got me and my friend in then! We both wanted the same thing, & they were done by 2 different artists, so they're very different but we had ample time to say that wasn't what we wanted had we wanted matching tattoos. Her artist customized hers to fit with her existing sleeve, & my artist gave me a beautifully shaded, quality piece. Pricey, but it's quality work in a touristy area. Read Less

Excellent customer service and extremely talented artists. My friend and I got tattoos here on vacation - we walked in, had an artist immediately start sketching then we worked together to pick the best parts of each sketch. Overall incredible experience, I highly recommend! Read Less

After years of having a girlfriend who is way tougher than me make fun of me for not following through with a simple nostril piercing I finally decided to just get it over with. We walked in and i was directed to Chris Jacques who was more than enthusiastic to put a hole in my face. He was super professional, yet easy going. After picking out the jewelry his main priority was cleanliness. They have a medical grade sterilizing machine he used on all the tools used which made me feel 100% confident that I won't have take antibiotics months down the road. After my eyes swelled with tears (he was playing a very sad alkaline trio song in the background) he walked me out and gave me a card with all the aftercare information needed. Great experience. Read Less

I went in for a tooth gem 3 weeks ago. After 2 weeks it came off im assuming maybe something I ate. They offer to put a new one on for free w in 30 days. Had the second one put on. I followed all directions. It came off less than 24 hours later. So now I have this glue on my teeth I need to get removed at a dentist. $50 for the gem. About $10 if u pay for parking. And not sure how much my dental appointment will be but I'm pissed about throwing money away for a gem I wore for such a short time. Chris was nice. Very polite. This gem was way more trouble than it's worth. Read Less

Such a great experience! I've been wanting to get my nostril pierced for a while and told myself the next time I find myself near this shop, I'd go in and get it done. The staff at the desk were super welcoming for a walk-in like me and handed me over to Chris to help answer any questions I had and show me some jewelry. Chris was very friendly and professional during the whole process and explained everything he was about to do, so no surprises. I was in and out of the door in less than an hour with an awesome new piercing. Thanks y'all! Read Less

Wish I had something positive to say about this place. It looks nice from the outside and the artist seem to have quite impressive portfolios online but the problem was communication.I went on their website to setup a consult with the artist, my week availability, as well as an image of the original design , area where I wanted the tattoo as well as the size. I also emailed the artist the same info. Didn't hear a word back from anyone. Not only did that come off as very unprofessional but communication  with potential customers in the tattoo industry is Essential. Instead I spent my 325 at another tattoo place across the street. glad I emailed multiple tattoo shops before visiting the area. Wish I had something positive to say but the lack of no communication what so ever with the business made me choose another tattoo shop. Read Less

Came in a couple weeks ago to get a tattoo for my birthday. Shop was very clean and my tattoo artist, Henry Rhodes, was straight up awesome to work with and get a tattoo from! Went in with a flexible idea and left with a beautiful rose tattoo that exceeded my expectations by far!!! Highly recommend the shop and I will definitely return! Read Less

This place Rocks,they r so professional and treat u like family! Very clean & the artist are extremely talented. If you make it down to Nola definitely check out downtown tattoo you will not be disappointed ♡ CoirtneyWynne☆~ Read Less

Very professional and knowledgeable staff. I wish I remembered their names. They had their own informed opinion and insight about tattoos. They were legit.I don't live in New Orleans, so I followed yelp reviews and had gone to a tattoo location down the street from these guys, at first. I caught very imposing and negative vibes from that location, & my tattoo had to feel RIGHT, since it's gonna be on my body forever! So, I didn't get a tattoo there, went to dinner and hours later came in to Downtown Tattoo. I immediately felt very respected and listened to...My tattoo is clean and gorgeous. The artist that worked in me was very friendly, careful, and very precise. I'm incredibly impressed with my experience here.This staff turned my tattoo experience around by 180. I went from nervous and unsure (as the previous place made me feel), to confident and excited about my piece here! Read Less

Very professional and knowledgeable staff. I wish I remembered their names. They had their own informed opinion and insight about tattoos. They were legit.I don't live in New Orleans, so I followed yelp reviews and had gone to a tattoo location down the street from these guys, at first. I caught very imposing and negative vibes from that location, & my tattoo had to feel RIGHT, since it's gonna be on my body forever! So, I didn't get a tattoo there, went to dinner and hours later came in to Downtown Tattoo. I immediately felt very respected and listened to...My tattoo is clean and gorgeous. The artist that worked in me was very friendly, careful, and very precise. I'm incredibly impressed with my experience here.This staff turned my tattoo experience around by 180. I went from nervous and unsure (as the previous place made me feel), to confident and excited about my piece here! Read Less

I want you all to know before reading this that I'm an idiot. At some point in my life, I decided, "Look, I already have tattoos, why don't I just get a new one in every new city I visit until my entire right arm is covered?" I don't know when I became so stupid, but goddamn I am sticking to this idea. And that's how my quest towards an amazing 6-star experience at Downtown Tattoo began. Yelp, you gotta give me more stars to work with here, jeez.I knew the design I wanted. It's a halved avocado, expect the pit is replaced with a disco ball. I like to dance, and only God can judge me. Back to that rule about visiting new cities though, I'm only allowing myself to do walk-ins. I'll usually go in with an idea for a tattoo and see if they can do it on the fly, or maybe that'll change, this was my first travel tattoo (and third overall). So I walked into Downtown Tattoo--which I chose because it has both a super high rating and a significantly greater number of reviews than all but one other NOLA parlor I could find--and asked the front desk what could be done here. A friendly guy manning the desk asked me to email the design to the parlor email and he'd make it happen. Maybe like 20, 25 minutes later I was in a chair with a guy named Chris--not the guy who welcomed me at the desk--who had sketched out his awesome take on the design and was going to bring it to life on my right forearm. He said it might take 90 minutes to do, what a stretch--it took only 30. And it was mostly not too painful! The part close to the veins in the middle of my arm was a bit much, but it was easy to power through, and it's not like Chris could do anything about that.Let's talk about Chris for a sec. This man is a true artist. He filled in all the lines, colors, and whatnot super quickly and in great detail. I didn't really consider before going in how difficult tattooing a disco ball can be, especially one replacing an avocado pit. You have to choose the direction the light is coming from, you have to choose the color of the light, you have to properly color in the ball to reflect how it's spinning, all that stuff. He did an amazing job. Some of the squares on the disco ball are blue; some are black; some are pink; some are yellow; there's even a separate sparkle in the top left corner. Most of the avocado is filled in with a super realistic shade of green--there's some green left out at the edges, nothing that anyone has noticed or that a touch-up couldn't fix--and the little bit of the outside of the avocado that can be seen is shaded perfectly too.Then there's the price. The price! What a reasonable price. Maybe I'm biased because I'm from Brooklyn, where having friends costs like $25 every time you even think about seeing them, but Downtown charged me a super reasonable rate, one that, even if Chris' work had somehow not been amazing (it was!), allowed me to leave him a properly large tip. I didn't feel great about leaving a big tip the one time I got a tattoo here in Brooklyn (don't get a tattoo here). Not the case in NOLA.The tattoo is six days old at the moment, and it's healing really well. I could foresee the colors changing ever so slightly, but since it's not full of red irritated blotches anymore, I'm going to try to include a picture once I get through the text of this. I'm really happy with this tattoo and all my friends love it. Thanks Chris and Downtown! Read Less

My favorite NOLA based tattoo artist lives here! Pauly does great work & has amazing bedside manner. I've also been pierced here a few times by all the piercers & each one has been very courteous & calm while puncturing me. They know a lot about their jewelry as well. A very nice shop overall, I get all my body mod needs met at Downtown. Read Less

I was in New Orleans on vacation and decided to get my first tattoo done. I showed up to this place and got an appointment with Joe. I had a imagine of what I wanted done and he sketched a similar version out. Joe is an amazing tattoo artist and did a great job. It was a great first experience and can't wait to get more done. I wish I lived in the area to get more done by him. The tattoo I wanted was being asked 600$ to do back at home this place only charged 300$ so their prices are great and they do great work. I'm extremely happy with the end result. If I'm ever in the area again I will 100% be back. Give Joe a shot because he was awesome. Read Less

Love this tattoo shop. it was my first "big" thigh piece and i was incredibly nervous. The tattoo artist was very calm and respectful. Although i wasn't the perfect client (i am a very jiggly person), he remained patient with me and explain why it was important for me to stay still. the tattoo artist is an incredibly talented man, no wonky lines, no mistakes. he was careful and concentrated in his work. I'm going to get another tattoo soon and i'm 100% coming back here. :) Read Less

Full disclosure - I don't have tattoos or piercings aside from my ears. I think I've only set foot in a tattoo parlor once or twice in my entire life. Needless to say I'm not the most experienced when it comes to rating them but for what's it worth my experience with this location was positive.I wandered in just before midnight last Saturday night/Sun morning. They were about to close but agreed to service us since it'd been slow all day due to the unusually in-climate weather. My sister and a friend both decided to get different areas of their ears pierced. (Not earlobes) My sister got a daith piecing. She has terrible migraines and read that the daith piercing could help alleviate the pain. The tattoo artist said he'd heard that but didn't want to say one way or the other that the daith piercing would help with her migraines. He was direct and professional. My sister decided to go through with the piercing. I accompanied her to a back room where she laid on a chair to receive the piercing. The tattoo artist washed his hands and wore gloves. He was gentle and explained what he was doing every step of the day. The whole thing was over in a flash. My sister barely felt a thing. It's been a couple of days and she's had some pain but it hasn't been too bad. Her ear looks good and there are no signs of infection. The tattoo artist wiped down the chair and cleaned the area right after piercing my sister. All the instruments used were steriled and/or new. Our friend had a similar experience when she got her piercing. The location was very clean and well organized. We came in contact with multiple employees who were all extremely friendly, professional and accommodating. We appreciated them taking us at closing time as well. I'm sure they were ready to go home. I'd recommend Downtown Tattoo to anyone looking for the services they offer. Read Less

To commemorate a whirlwind mini vacation weekend here I decided to roll the dice and try a walk-in on an early Sunday afternoon right before my flight home. Unsure how some people had negative experiences with the staff but the lovely woman at the front desk helping me out was a gem. She even called me about 45 minutes prior to my scheduled time to let me know I could squeeze in a little earlier since she knew I had a flight to catch in a few hours!I had a fairly simple script piece done by Brandon, who was awesome (and easy on the eyes, eeyyyy!) with a light touch and really easy going demeanor (which i think is important when you're getting inked!). All in all, I was in and out in about an hour with a beautiful new forearm piece! I'll definitely return when I'm in town visiting again and I cannot recommend this place enough. even though it's in the heart of tourist town, they're a quality shop with very talented staff. clean, professional, friendly/funny, and chill AF, what's not to love?also pro tip: they accept credit cards which is so clutch/rare for a tattoo shop! you'll have to pay a touch more for tax vs. ponying up hard cash but for the convenience it's worth it! Read Less

My boyfriend and I decided to get tattoos while on vacation in New Orleans. We walked into this shop on Frenchman street. The shop is super clean with really friendly people working there. The girl at the front desk set us up with An appointment to get our tattoos done the next day. She was very nice and set us up with someone that she thought would do great with the style we were looking for. Great customer service :) JOE is awesome!! He is super friendly and talented. He drew up an amazing traditional panther for my boyfriend and rose/snake/girl for me. My boyfriend and I absolutely love our new tattoos. Definitely recommend checking out this shop if your in NOLA!!!We had an awesome experience here :) Read Less

I got the urge for a new tattoo and my friends raved about Downtown Tattoo. They thankfully had time to do my walk-in. Placement is perfect, quality is great. It's a small tattoo, 6 inches wide at most and cost $150.  From walking in to walking out took less than 45 minutes. Will definitely be coming back for my next tattoo... and the next... and the next...I will say that if you can, pay in cash - no sales tax if you do it that way. There is an ATM across the street if you want to go that route. Read Less

Absolutely don't go here they charge you way too much I got a tiny tattoo done that took 5 minutes... $120. Take your money elsewhere. Not worth it. Don't waste your time seriously. The artists are decent but it's way too expensive and they don't negotiate at all. I seriously got the smallest tattoo and they charged me $120 it's extremely arbitrary Read Less

Yay for this place! I wanted to get a tattoo to commemorate my trip to NoLa and came across this shop by recommendation of a friend- and I'm so glad I took his advice!I emailed the shop to let them know what I was interested in, and stopped by the next day for a consultation. The guys working were friendly, and got me in for an appointment that night. Jason did my tattoo who told me he recently became permanent at the shop a few weeks ago- and I can see why! He did a phenomenal job and executed the line work perfectly on my tattoo. I was the only person in the shop getting anything done, and the guys made me feel comfortable even with all the crazy people walking in (it is Frenchman St. after all).Highly recommend! Thanks again guys. Read Less

This is by far the best tattoo shop I have ever been able into, everyone was extremely professional and they did great work (mine, as well as my Mom and sisters couldn't possibly look any better!) I highly recommend this place. If I lived in NOLA this would be the spot I come to for all my tattoos. See you guys next time I'm in NOLA! Read Less

Chris was the most competent piercer I've ever been to. He was friendly, and took his time to explain each step from how their machine sterilizes the jewelry, to how and when to change the jewelry. I will definitely be back for any future piercings. Read Less

I'm a visiting bartender from Chicago for Tales of the Cocktail, and decided to get a pineapple (the symbol of hospitality for our industry). DT Tattoo was suggested to me by a colleague, and unbeknownst to me, it's the go-to shop for every bartender's pineapple tattoos every year! Not only did Chris draw me up a perfect tattoo, but the flow and hustle of all of the staff there handling a rush of bartenders all trying to get flash was amazing. It reminded me of the best of us behind our bars when we're slammed. Thanks you guys; I'll be back next year (hopefully sooner)!! Read Less

Myself and my wife at all but decided on getting tattoos on our trip to New Orleans. Unfortunately the counter staff was too rude for us to even bother staying. To be fair the shop looked very clean and very cool. Read Less

This is my second New Orleans themed tattoo from the great staff at downtown tattoo.  G the French guy from California did an outstanding job, a real professional.  I would highly recommend G and downtown tattoo for your tattoo needs while in New Orleans. Read Less

On vacation with the girls in NOLA and came here. It was clean and staff was friendly. They charge about double than tattoo shops at home. It was a simple tattoo that took him less than 10 minutes. Quality isn't great either. If they're going to charge top dollar, I should have gotten a great tattoo. Read Less

They do excellent work. By far the best shop in New Orleans. Every artist is extremely talented and knowledgeable. Their prices are very reasonable and the art is well worth twice what they charge for it. If I could rate higher I most definitely would. Read Less

I visited this establishment on June 7, 2017, and after my visit, I must say that I highly recommend this tattoo and piercing shop. The staff was friendly and professional. I chose this shop based on other reviews. I had to see the piercing technician, Jared, and he was wonderful. He was very professional, and he is knowledgeable in the area of piercing. A definite plus for me, too, was that the shop is very clean and their practice of keeping instruments, etc. sterile are very good. A thumbs up for me! Read Less

If I could leave a ZERO rating I would.  God awful service. Their "hostess" and let's go ahead and call her a HOSTESS when in actuality she was just a straight up BIIIIIIITCH.   I was sitting waiting for my friend's tattoo consultation when I heard the "hostess" full on holler at some guests regarding their voices and how loud they were.  Ummmmmmmm I'm standing right next to them and couldn't understand what in the world her problem was.  Ok.   Well since she was certainly having a day where she personally vented on paying customers.  They actually looked at me in disbelief wondering what in the world?!? Yeeeeeeeeah I dunoIt's definitely HER not you guys Which I told them such.Okie dokie ....So let's get to my personal situation I decided to get a simple tattoo on my fingerSuuuuuuuuuper simple5 letters to be exact YupPicked the script(Simple once again)WaitedWaitedWaitedThe artist finally finishes n goes on breakThen the relief "host"Decides to tell me since she's gone ummmmmmm yeeeah she doesn't want to to your tattoo.  Really?!?So the entire time I waited here she couldn't hv said something???? Or you for that matter???  I mean isn't that your job?Ok waitWhat is your job other than to be rude as fuck to paying customers???With the sub "hostess" trying to explain to me possible reasons as to why she may not want to do the tattoo.....I look at him and sayI don't need you to explain a thing to me. I have more tattoos than both of you combined....So I'm not a newbie that doesn't understand tattoo placements.  Low and behold salvation comes in.  A gent by the name of Paddy walks up to me and says hey I'll tattoo you.  I know you have plenty of tattoos so I'm not going to go over anything but if you want a tattoo I'm going to give you the best tattoo possible.  YessssssssTHANK YOUisn't that how it's supposed to go???Kudos to you my friend.  Not only did u salvage the moment but u did a phenomenal job.   Your personality made my experience great.  What a SHAME your co-workers score an absolute ZERO on customer service and professionalism Read Less

Three of us decided to commemorate our annual New Orleans trip with a fleur de lis tattoo. We chose Downtown Tattoo because of the close location to where we were staying and because of all the great reviews. The reviews were right! We had a great experience here. We made reservations ahead of time by filling out the Google survey on their website. They got us in on time and gave the three of us the same artist because we all wanted the same design. Joe was an awesome artist! He made sure you were completely comfortable, asked questions to make sure you were getting exactly what you wanted, made sure you knew the correct healing procedure, and wasn't overly chatty but was personable. He kept it light hearted and was a real trooper about doing the same tattoos three times in a row. I will definitely recommend this place to anyone looking to get a tattoo in NOLA. Read Less

I have gotten two tattoos from Brandon. I just wanna say, thank you, thank you, thank you.   you are awesomeBrandon does not just great work, but exceptional work. you know what's great about him? he cares. he cares about your choices, and he WILL tell you if he doesn't agree. I am not a newbie to tatts. I have several, and I can honestly say that Brandon has been more honest and cares more than any other artist I have gone to (elsewhere, not at this establishment). He is great with small detail, which is very important to me, because I prefer small, feminine style tattoos.  I would recommend him in a heartbeat. don't hesitate to trust him, just let him do his thing. Read Less

My wife and I went on a swamp tour while visiting NOLA and decided that we wanted to get a couple gator tats before we departed.I'm torn between 3 and 4 stars due to the receptionist. On our first visit we were unlucky enough to be helped by the rude blonde working the desk. She needs to work on her communication skills and learn how to provide options.On the actual day of our appointment we were lucky enough to get the super nice brunette. She was friendly, outgoing and patient. To make an appointment, a $50 deposit is required. Tax is also applied to the deposit. Matter-of-fact, tax is applied each time a credit card is swiped. The deposit is applied to the final tattoo price as well. Discover is an accepted form of payment.Our artist was Kenny. Kenny was patient, honest and friendly. We both left really pleased with the work Kenny did on us. Read Less