True Tattoo

super happy with my tattoo
Miles did an amazing job!
im always getting compliments!
so i recommended this place to a lot of my friends and coworkers

This is one of those reviews that for me, was a long, long, time coming. Why so long? Well, to be honest, I just couldn’t assemble the right amalgamation, (take that $hit folks), of praises to appropriately describe the unfreaking-​believable awesomeness this shop embodies.
First, let me preface this by saying that I’ve had a little bit of ink work done over the years and I have been in more than a few shops, so I’ve got a decent dataset from which to compare. True Tattoo epitomizes, (at least to me), what a tattoo shop SHOULD be.
Let’s start with the vibe. Walking into this place has become more and more like the «Cheers» of tattoo shops. You’ll be greeted instantaneously with a smile and what can I do for you? There is no other way to say it other than the place just feels right…
Ian, Miles, Dave, Christina, etc., all know their craft and they know it well. There’s plenty of guest artists that regularly make appearances and can be seen by appointment if need be. One just needs to check and see when it is that they’ll be in town.
Wanna talk styles? Oh yeah baby, they gotcha covered here. American traditional, traditional Japanese, photo realism, black and grey, portraits, new school, lettering, surrealism, Sailor Jerry designs… You name it, they got it, they can do it, and boy oh boy can they do it right!!! Want a custom piece? Just talk to an artist and you’ll get da kine hookup. Plenty of «out of the book» pieces available as well if you like to go that route.
Each session /​piece will be finished off with a hot towel compress that will surprise the absolute hell outta you, especially, if you’ve never had one, lol. (Sorry folks… I’m not giving that one away).
But, (and it’s a BIG but)… What really sets this shop apart from others is the way they treat their customers. This is the first shop I’ve ever been associated with that treats you like family, whether you are or aren’t. They hold multiple special events throughout the year like «Customer Appreciation Day», «Friday the 13^th», The «End of Summer Bummer» bash, etc., just so they can show YOU, the customer, THEIR appreciation to both you and the community in general. That my friends, is the absolute shizit!!!
Other items of note… It’s a spacious shop, located smack dab in the heart of Hollyweird on Cahuenga Blvd., in between Sunset and Hollywood Blvd’s. On weekends, the VM next door opens up a bar in the alley behind the shop for those that care to indulge in a libation or two. (FYI… it’s oh so easily accessible too).
Street parking is available on Cahuenga but heed my warnings… One must be wary of the pesky ass meter maids /​parking Po-​Po, ‘cuz they’ll tow your $hit in a New York second if you don’t feed their hungry little meters in a timely manner… That said, there are plenty of parking lots available in the general vicinity so you can spend a little extra time with the guys and gals in the shop or just roam around in the neighborhood!!!

Got my first tattoo here bc many friends with a lot of work get it done here. Ian Jones was my artist and he was super rad. The whole experience was excellent and comfortable, not to mention a good time. I knew this shop is excellent but my experience really exceeded my expectations. My husband even ended up getting a piece done on a whim bc why the hell the not. Both our pieces look great. Thanks Ian!

I came around 1am to get in line for Friday the 13^th tattoos with a group of friends. There were a lot of people and only four artists tattooing so it took a while to get in. When my name was finally called, I met Miles and he got started right away on setting up the placement for my tattoo. Despite having already been working for five hours straight, Miles was still really nice and upbeat while making conversation. I had to lay down for the tattoo so I couldn’t watch him do it, but he finished it pretty quickly and I was all set. It’s a simple small flash tattoo but the lines came out perfect and sharp. It was a great experience and definitely worth the wait. Thanks Miles!

Been here twice in the last 6 months for pieces by Ian Jones.
First was a fully custom piece that he completely exceeded my expectations on. It was a dead Saturday night, and it was just Ian, Little Dave, the shop helper, and me in the shop watching the Mayweather/​Pacquiao fight while I got tattooed. Felt like I was hanging out with friends.
Last one was a classic Sailor Jerry design with a couple mods that he knocked out of the park.
Both healed beautifully and will look good in 20 years. Not something I can say for all of my other work from other artists.
I am 100% sold on this shop.

After many years of searching I have finally found my home town tattoo shop! What an amazing place! My brother, best friend, and I all went to get tattooed by Ian and each one turned out so well! Such a comfortable and great environment with great work. Dave was there too doing some killer work. If you want some amazing work this is the place to go!

I made an appointment with Christina Ramos. She was so kind and informative. She sat down with me for 45 minutes to discuss my first tattoo. After I was super confident that was what I wanted, I made the appointment. When my appointment date came around, I showed up early, and super nervous. The staff made me feel comfortable, and when Christina came out to show me the drawing of my tattoo, I was floored. It was so gorgeous! I couldn’t wait to have it. The tattoo space was clean and sterile. All my worries went away. She made me feel so comfortable, and we took as many breaks as I needed. She was very professional, and caring. The thing I really enjoyed most was the fact that the rest of the staff that evening, came to check on me. Asked me how I was doing, offered me water, and candy to keep my blood sugar up. I seriously had such a wonderful experience, I already made my next appointment!
Thanks guys! See you soon!

Came in here a few years ago to get a ¾ sleeve from Little Dave Parker. I was so pleased with his work that the tattoo evolved into a full sleeve. The people that worked there were very cool and laid back. No attitude and very helpful. I highly recommend this place to get tattooed. Especially with Little Dave. His work is very clean to say the least.

After numerous stops at numerous shops, we dropped into True. It was a calm kind of Saturday and we were able to walk in and sit immediately. The shop was spacious, organized and clean. All in all, a comfortable surrounding. Looking to have a souvenir laid out on the skin, Ian «Jonezy» Jones was happy to oblige and quoted us very fair for our designs. Friendly and efficient, as well as laid back and humble. The steamy wipe down and the super Dermalize at the end, had to be my favorite part! So, to say the least… a very good experience. Would I sit there again? Absolutely.

My girlfriend and I had toyed around earlier in the morning with getting tattoos somewhere around her area in Hollywood. She having several already and me being a first timer. She first walked into a joint on Hollywood boulevard but we both decided it was a bad idea as most of these place seemingly cater to drunk tourists. We found true tattoo and walked in around 9:15 and within an hour we were finished. The artist, Miles, who worked on us both was a total bro and evidently cared deeply about the craft and didn’t seem like the kind of guy that would fuck up. Needless to say we both left incredibly satisfied with true tattoo. If anyone is looking for a place to get ink in the Hollywood area this is undoubtedly your best bet.

To the gentleman that gave the shop a 1 Star The other day, Im sorry but your pathetic attempts at tarnishing a shop with such a great history and talented artists will fall short of what you hoped. This shop has been a staple in the Hollywood community for years and Its previous and current customers will be sure to let Everyone know just how great they are. Artists like Cristina Ramos, Little Dave Parker, Karen Costleigh and Paul Stottler carry themselves and their craft with conviction and professionalism. If you need work done, this is def a shop that i would recommend to anyone who asks me for work and or recommendations

Really friendly. Very quick tattoo done on walk and it looks amazing. My friend came with and has had loads of tattoos done and said he’d wished they’d done all of them! Really pleased.

Aaron runs a great shop!!! Oliver, Kicker, Little Dave, Gabe are the best period!!!

Went in during the weekend expecting to pay a lot for a simple piece and I was totally blown away by how cool they are here. Dave helped me out and told me the piece I wanted wouldn’t look good because it was too much for how small it would be. He then SUPER quickly drew up another piece for me which I fell in love with immediately. Overall, I spent about less than an hour and a half in there and he did my tattoo beautifully. I couldn’t have asked for a better artist! Totally recommend them here.

Best tattoo experience i’ve had yet — they really know their stuff, are talented and don’t have any attitude — I did a walk in with Ian and he did stellar work even at the end of a long day. I have never been so impressed with a tattoo artist both in passion, skill, and personality. Will be coming to ian ‘jonzey’ for all of my ink from here on out!

Everything was great about this place. Fortunately I was able to get work done same day, even better! I did my research and knew Karen was the perfect person for my first tattoo.
She did a phenomenal job. I love how it came out. She was so nice and explained everything. She had everything drawn out when I arrived. She eased any worries or concerns I had. Will definitely come back for more.

No frills low overhead so you pay for excellent tattoo and great care.
My artist was Christina Ramos and she created a custom tattoo for me, she took my idea and made it cohesive with my existing tattoo.
Even though I live in Montana now I will find a reason to come back to Hollywood when I want my next tattoo!!!

I went in to get a tattoo of a drawing that I originally made. Christina promised to translated as well as possible onto my skin, as a tattoo. I cannot express how happy I am with the overall outcome and service. Christina made sure I was comfortable and in not too much pain. It was definitely scary but the outcome is sublime and she nailed all the details. Really great service, really friendly, and very professional. 5 stars!!!
And make sure to follow Christina on Instagram: cristinasramos — might be a bit biased here, but she’s one of the best tattoo artists out there!

I was referred to this shop from another shop that didn’t have any available appointments for a while… I’m so glad I ended up at True! My artist was Damien and he was awesome! I explained my vision and showed him some pics that were close to what I was looking for… but he listened to me and came up with something BETTER than what I had in mind. I’m very very happy with True Tattoo’s cleanliness, staff, and amazing artists!

Came here with my cousins to get matching tattoos based on all the great reviews.
Called a day or two in advance and told them it would be small, they said they don’t do appointments for those, just walk-​ins and it should be fine. The guy on the phone was really sweet.
When we came in there were some people being worked on but wasn’t extremely busy that we had to wait! The guy at the front I think the same one I spoke to was the one who greeted us. When we got there he was chatting with us for awhile and made us feel comfortable. We had to give ID’s for scans, although one of my cousins forgot hers we were able to have my brother send a picture of her passport and that was acceptable! YAY for that!
Anyways it was my first one & I was kind of nervous. My two other cousins have a few tattoos so they knew what to expect. The reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 is because I didn’t get so much of a friendly vibe from our tattoo artist which scared me. I think his name was Camren. (the one with the really long brown beard) Yeah he may be good at what he does but he was the only one in the shop that decided to not really start up a conversation with us or feel comfortable. Everyone else was even asking us about stuff or starting a conversation with us!
Maybe he wasn’t interested in the small tattoo he had to do/​excited. I’m not sure, but a customer is a customer. And there were 3 of us, we also tipped very well. I plan on getting a couple more tattoos, but not sure I’d want to come back here because of that experience. Yeah he did a great job on the artwork, but not making us feel welcomed or calm is also a factor I take in as a whole.