Never again,..i had ink done by Que. he was in a hurry,god I dont even know how many times he had to go do his cig breaks. I felt i was rushed and the fact after my ink was done weeks later it started fading, and puss came out in a small area on my arm. I have ink on my back from a different place and never had any issues. i had stuff to take care of my tats. trust me i know how to care for my freshly done ink. i pay a lot to get nice work done. But this place, i never will go back. Bad work,rushed,and to much cig breaks. And a infection on my arm. i have an appointment at Laughing Buddah to fix his f****d up work. Read Less

Q himself does some outstanding work.....very skillful and patient with his designs and not to mention funny dude! Actually great service pretty good prices!!! Great Place I’d recommend Union Ave Tattoo to anyone and everyone!! Read Less

Had a bomb ass experience at union ave tattoo.Q himself did some awesome job. He took his time, and still finished in a reasonable time. He staid after he closed to finish my husband and two friends tattoos. Will definitely be coming back for other tattoo work. Thank you Q for helping us out. Read Less

I had an appointment with my sister who i was visiting. DK was able to fit both of us in . Hes an awesome person and a very talented artist! Will be getting another tattoo next trip i make to WA! Wouldnt see anyone else! Plus the shop is a cool heritage shop! Fucking love it! Read Less

The atmosphere was amazing and the shop was neat with amazing character. My tattoo was done by DK and it is perfect. Both the men have an amazing attitude and are great at what they do. I will definitely be back. Read Less

Overall the piece isn't too bad but I waited for over an hour for the artist to print out out the stencil while I was the only person in the shop the entire time, and the work felt super rushed while the piece only took less than thirty minutes on the table he charged me a few hundred bucks for really simple line work and I hate to say it was over priced because a tattoo is a huge thing that takes a lot of practice but my lines are super uneven as in some places its thick and others it's super thin while it wasn't supposed to be. Lots of details he said he was going to put in after the stencil free hand he didn't add. I know I could have asked him to keep working but he was so quick to take my money and push me out the door it was way too uncomfortable. The shop was cool but my piece was rushed, overpriced and uneven and the artist seemed annoyed the entire time just because I asked him once to redo the overall circle of the stencil. Not a great experience for me at least Read Less

Classic shop. I never thought I would get a tattoo outside a military base, but when I walked in I loved the atmosphere and the work being done. If you're considering a tattoo, this place should be on your list to go check out. Read Less

Union Ave Tattoo is a great place to get a tattoo, best one I've been to by far. Got my tattoo from Q and his work is amazing. Q and the other artist were very professional and friendly, the shops atmosphere was very customer friendly, as long as your respectful to them and their craft. I recommend this place to anyone and everyone looking to get a tattoo in this area! Read Less

Mara did an AMAZING custom tattoo for me. She was incredibly helpful and friendly from the time I called to ask questions until we finished my tattoo earlier this evening. I felt very comfortable the whole time; she paid great attention to detail and made sure it was perfect. Stunning work. Clean, comfortable, and incredibly friendly people who work there. Highly recommended this place for any work you need done. Read Less

I completely mixed up my appt time as well as thought it was for a consult, but Q was understanding and a professional, I got a smaller piece done, but absolutely love it!!! I cannot wait to start the bigger piece we have been in discussion about!! Thank you!!! Read Less

About two years ago I walked into this shop before they relocated a few buildings down the street! I was thoroughly impressed by the work DK did on my arm... I was hesitant at first because it had been just a few months since my father had passed and I didn't think I was ready to tattoo it on me yet but I'm so glad I did. Thank you DK it still looks beautiful to this day! Picture in comments Read Less

Union Ave is an ace shop with a classy group of professionals bangin' out superior tattoos. I had the previlige of collecting a tattoo from Steve Q, the owner, a real gentleman with a creative eye for traditional style artwork. He's polite, efficient & his work speaks for itself. Folks always compliment the owl he did on my arm & I feel honored to wear it. It was a great experience & Union Ave is hands down my new shop. Read Less

Best tattoo shop in Washington! Veteran owned and ran which means they hold themselves to a higher standard. The ink I had done at this shop is hands down the best tattoo I have ever had done and most complimented. I highly reccomend Q and his shop and I can't wait to go back and get some more ink done. Read Less

Union Ave Tattoo is amazing. The owner, Steve Ross, has done all my tattoo work for years. That's because I can trust him to deliver on exactly what he promises and do it with excellence and professionalism. I will never go to another tattoo artist. His experience and dedication to the art shows through in every piece of his work and can't be beat. I highly recommend them for your next piece. Read Less

A good friend of mine  went here to get a new tattoo on her forearm and the owner did it. She showed them a picture of a forest and wanted it wrapped around her forearm. In the picture the trees are black and fully colored in... what she got looked like something my 3 year old niece could have drawn. It looks like sharpie streaks on her arm. Other than the fact that the OWNER ruined the tattoo, he continues to ignore her when she tried getting it fixed. She reached out to them on Facebook and they won't reply. It's one thing to mess up a tattoo, but at least own up to it and fix it. All it needs is to be filled in and it wouldn't be that bad. Read Less

I'm completely bummed out, I don't usually leave reviews period mostly just use this for others reviews but the shop was clean which is a plus. Nice place considering it's near a military base. I went in to have the bottom of my naval pierced as well as touch up a quarter sized tattoo and add one this was all communicated before and when I arrived there, so no all of a sudden decisions here and it was a go, by both pierce and tattoo artist. I had called ahead for availability; technically starting yesterday when I Fb chatted someone asking if they had a piercer, the response was "No, not currently". So when I called again tonight mind you YELP says they close at 10pm. So the person answers says the close at "8:30" and is like, "Wait oh that's now nvm well if you come right now we can get you taken care of." Perfect! I rerouted my gps and was 4 miles away. When I got there the piecer and tattoo artist both greeted me. I told them what I wanted and we started with the piercing! The piercers name was TYLER (this review is not reflecting him or his work) as he was and is completely professional, calm and very easy to click with personality wise. However I noticed a sign saying then "CASH ONLY". I'm not sure if that's even listed on their YELP but who doesn't take at least VENMO these days it goes right into the checking account let alone debit card. So I had to walk across the street now; it's later in the dark, in a neighborhood I'm not familiar with and doesn't look "the best" mind you I'm 112 |5'3 (But will stab someone if need be). I get back after I had to talk to the bank because the ATM was suspicious activity on my account. When I returned it was to a shut down , lights off, closed facility. I'm lucky I took my purse as my water was still inside and I do have medical issues that require medication to be taken at certain times. I then stated "Soooo are we not doing the tattoos now or what"? Very confused by this behavior" and whom I presume is the shop owner said "No we close at so and so" still have no idea WHAT TIME THEY ACTUALLY FUCKING CLOSE; ( if you close at 8:30 update your page false advertisement is not only a lie it misleads patrons as well as CASH ONLY) I'm pretty pissed I was not tattooed as I came in before anyone closed a thing and the tattoo artist had agreed with both of my wishes. Then this turns into make it up as we go along?! Doesn't sound like a well or properly ran business or shop (One thing if it's an emergency) but rather than I just want to leave when I want, which don't we all in the real world, unfortunately most jobs don't work like that if you continue to treat your customers this way you won't have one. Anyways; loved the piercer he's New again his name is Tyler and awesome and I go back in a week to get new jewelry. Which puts a bad taste in my mouth to have to deal with the people that completely ruined my experience,  which is pretty unfortunate because the reviews seem to be exceptional and I wish I had a tattoo to thank and compliment them on but I do not as he didn't hold to his word and that's really all a man has in this world. Loved the environment little trinkets in the shelves were cool, music was awesome. The last issue I had again with that tattoo artist for some reason I have had this tattoo touched up 4 times pink and red I wanted it purple because I'm so tired of it not healing properly I was about to make it black. It has a huge significant meaning to me and I let him know I wanted it PURPLE. He said "No I'm going to do it red for you it's going to look great and you won't have to ever come back." I then replied , "BUT I DON'T WANT RED I WANT PURPLE! He then basically shut me up by saying we will talk about it when we sit down. HUGE ISSUE HERE , One, THIS IS MY BODY, tattoos are permanent I will let you know if I want red but what i want was and is the COLOR I ASKED FOR (red or pink +blueA=purple) not like it's an out of the question it can't be made scenario! Secondly, giving someone who came in earlier whom also called Etc your word and when they come back from a hot rinky dink convince store ATM (which I also NEVER USE, as these put your cards at high risk for identity fraud to drain your account) they will be tattooed and then closing shop on them is completely tasteless and as far as I'm concerned this needs and should be righted. Idk what kind of customer service or business this is; I thought a good one from the Fb and everything else apparently my experience just sucked because of the Artist for a lack of a better more colorful word I have in mind. I may look nice and sweet but the one thing I hate is shady people, liars and I will completely call you out on your shit, period point blank. PIERCING 5 stars as for the place 1 because I don't have time to waste on people that WASTE MY TIME and act like MY MONEY AND TIME isn't of importance or value. Thank you, Tyler see you in a week. Oh and just so everyone knows THEY NOW HAVE A PIERCER ON STAFF!!! Read Less

So I got a tattoo from here yesterday and I have to say they were very polite and respectful I kept getting compliments on what I was getting done. DK did my work and it was very good work I'm very glad I chose to go here the only reason I didn't give 5 stars was because it was a bit expensive but like I said before the work was very good and they were very professional and very polite. Read Less

So I was very hesitant about going to a tattoo place near any military base. I've been to Korea and here. I work with 3 people and Q tattooed all of them. I was very impress with his work so I thought I'd give him a try.The shop is very surprising when I waked in. It's location isnt the best of locations but Q's made the inside of the shop look very clean, neat, and professional. Q is very professional. I gave him my idea and he came back with an even better sketch. Q listened to what I wanted and he even threw in his opinion. The price is fair and he can work with you financially. I'll recommend Q to anyone who wants a tattoo. Read Less

I have had random shit on my arm for about 10 years. When I went in and asked them to help me fill it out with a sleeve with robots and aliens Q took the time to draw it all out on my arm and then spent 10 hours just working on it.  The price at the end was awesome. This place is great for classic style tattoos and a good time while getting them done. We watched alien videos and talked conspiracies. It was a great relaxing environment for the 10+ hours I was in there very clean shop too. Read Less

I received my first large, colored tattoo yesterday by DK. I loved the atmosphere and cleanliness of the shop, which was honestly a surprise when you drive through the neighborhood. But don't fear, the sketchiness ends the moment you walk into the door. My piece is beautiful, vibrant, and exactly what I wanted. DK was incredibly nice and welcoming, and made me feel totally at ease in the shop. I will definitely be returning and would not hesitate to recommend this shop. Their portfolios are incredible, pricing is fair, and the beautiful taxidermy and art in the shop doesn't hurt either. Read Less

UPDATE: Still love these guys. They've moved to a new building down the street (the old building was torn down). Their new address is 14718 Union Ave SW Unit D, Lakewood, WA 98498. Its just past 92 Yankee and McDonalds on the left.Two things you can count on with UATC is pride of ownership and pride in their work. This is a clean shop staffed by awesome, friendly, professional, creative people. The owner, Q, did my tattoo and worked with me on the design until it was perfect. And DK is super friendly and helpful even though he wasn't the one doing my tattoo.I will be back here. Their work is worth the money. Don't go cheap and let an amateur scar you for life. Go to a real shop. Especially UATC. Read Less

While I was stationed at Lewis this shop was by far the best do I've been to. The owner Steve or Q as most people call him did all of my work. He always did an amazing job and would work with you for the price. He is very loyal to his clients especially the ones who always get work done. I would always recommend him to someone who wants to get new ink. If I could I would fly him out to Mr to get more ink. Read Less

I came in for a nice piece and what I got was my money's worth, and more. Steve (Q) did such a great job that I came for another piece and the quality was exceptional! The whole shop has a charisma about it that just makes you want to come back and chill with them. Q, Brett, Dk and Kam just make you feel at home and are really knowledgable on their stuff. Read Less