I live in Milwaukee and was in town visiting my best friend. We made an appointment in advance to get realistic moon tattoos. We came in for our appointment, and the artist (Bobby) wasn’t even in the shop —they had to call him in from his house. He didn’t introduce himself to us, be basically made it seem like he wanted as little to do with us as possible. He proceeded to give us the WORST tattoo, which he clearly improvised since the line work isn’t even straight, and it is VERY far from being a circle. I emailed the shop owner, Ian, for compensation since the tattoo and the experience sucked. He cared about as much as Bobby did, which is not even a little. He told me I would have to come to the shop, which I get is the regular protocol for tattoos, but I live NINE HOURS AWAY. It really sucks that I’m SOL simply because I made the mistake of getting a tattoo out of town at a shop that I thought was going to be great. Customer service is a big part of tattooing, and they have dropped the ball on this from the moment I walked in there. Read Less

I drove up from Columbus to visit Ian, that's about 2:20. I had been really frustrated with my current artist in Columbus and on the recommendation of two good friends I made the treck. It was an awesome experience, Ian put my mind at ease about the issues I raised with the previous art and formulated a plan on what to tackle first. While getting the work done we watched Rogue one and episode 6 (star wars tats). Cannot recommend him enough, I'm driving up in September for my next appointment. Read Less

Fast and friendly.Nicole the piercer was awesome I got a double helix piercing and my friend got the snake bite we were done is less than an hour.Nicole was quick and clean. Gave us good advice (it didn't hurt that bad at all). I'll be going back for more piercings soon! Read Less

I met Ian at a horror convention recently and had him do a horror piece on me. At that time I knew that I'd be having him do all of my horror portraits which there will be quite a few!! My daughters and I just made a 5 hour trip to his shop, which I had Ian work on me all day and one of my daughters had Nicole do a spinal piece on her! I felt extremely comfortable from the time we walked in til the time that we walked out 8 hours later!! The whole staff is awesome and more th...an happy to help with ideas and quick to make u feel comfortable! Ian and Nicole are both not only amazing artists but also awesome people!! My daughter and I love our work and will be making quite a few 5 hour trips out to have more work done!! I've been to quite a few shops and have quite a few around me but to find quality, professionalism, great personality, the feeling of comfort and belonging, and also a great price all in one shop is not easy!! So like I tell people, if Bitter Hearts Tattoo wasn't truly worth it, I wouldn't make the long drive out!! But they are!! Thank u Ian and Nicole and the entire staff for an amazing day and I'll be seeing u all again real soon!!! See More Read Less

I would of never gotten ink on my arm if it wasn't for ians art . I have had all my work done by him and it's going to stay that way. I always give him some ideas of what I'm looking to have and he always creates something so much better then what I even pictured ! Read Less

I've gotten 95% of my tattoos here and we'll continue to get all my work done here. The shop is inviting and everyone that works there is genuinely nice. I recommend this shop to anyone looking for some of the highest quality tattoo work around. Read Less

This is the BEST Tattoo shop in the United States. The irony is that it is Youngstown , Ohio. Talent is talent and the owner of this shop Ian Simon is by far one of the best artists you will find. And since it's Youngstown you are quite lucky because you won't have to pay NYC , Los Angeles or San Francisco prices for this type of quality tattoo art!!!! Read Less

Absolute top notch artist! Ian did tattoos for both my husband & I last year. We were blown away by his talent and get comments all the time about how beautiful the work is. He did an amazing job honoring our fandoms by being spot on in his interpretation of our visions. My only regret is that we don't live closer to his shop ... although I might be poor if I did ... his work is that addictive!!! If you want someone to bring your vision into vividly colored life ... this is the shop for you! Read Less

Great staff! Fun environment and plenty of things to stare at when I'm trying to ignore the pain lol. I could say something like "The artwork is top notch etc." but listen, these artists actually listen to you, and put effort into drawing out the thing that is in your head and give you something you can be proud of. Pro tip: don't walk in here asking about "deals". Good quality work is worth the price, but they very reasonable so don't be scared. Undeniably the best shop in the city.Read Less

I have sent so many people to Ian and his amazing artists. Every single one of them have been more than satisfied. Ian has done new pieces and cover ups on me and I am in love with everything he has done. I'm at the point now that I tell him to do whatever he wants because I trust him completely and I know he knows best. I don't go anywhere without people complimenting the work he has done!Read Less

I had my leg done here and I'm going back for the other leg and both arms. Ian is phenomenal. He makes recommendations based on his professional opinion, he's not just in it for the money and going to blindly tattoo you with some foolishness. He makes the experience comfortable and I now consider him a friend. I mean he would have to be after 5, 5 hour sessions �. The atmosphere is great. I wouldn't go anywhere else and we drive over 2 hours from Columbus to go here. The other artists there Nicole and Zech are great as well. Zech did my husband's leg and it's really amazing and unique. My friend Kyle went on my recommendation and he and his wife loved Nicole. Can't say enough about this shop or group of people. Read Less

Ian is my go to guy! Always does amazing art and an absolutely great person to sit for hours with. I moved out of the areas of over four years ago and still will only let him tattoo me. An 8 hours drive for me is worth a beautiful piece and an afternoon of great company. He is always very accommodating with working me into his schedule when I come into town. His staff has always been extremely chill and fun to hang out with and from what I've seen does great work too! Love this place and can't wait for my next trip home. Read Less

This is the best place to get tattoos in Youngstown! Every artist does amazing work!When you walk in they are so friendly, they don't intimidate you or make you feel dumb for your tattoo ideas, and they help you out a ton with what you want. I love it here and I will never go anywhere else! Read Less