Paprika powder, a bottle of pálinka, and maybe even a shirt from the famous Hard Rock Café – are typical souvenirs the average tourists take home with them. Why not buck the trend and get something more offbeat, personal, and permanent? You might have already figured it out. We’re talking about tattoos.
As a flourishing tattoo scene characterizes Budapest, there are countless tattoo parlors all over the town whose artists are eager to get their artworks under your skin. To ensure the majestic turul bird you want to be placed on your thigh won’t end up looking like a plucked chicken, we created a list of the most reputable parlors in Budapest.
Invictus Tattoo
Established in 2008 by the experienced tattooist Gyula Szilvasi, Invictus has become such a popular tattoo company that another studio was opened five years later in Berlin, Germany. Always focussed on enhancing the reputation of Hungarian tattoo art, only extremely skilled artists get the chance to work at Invictus, which is also why many of them are graphic designers. A customized tattoo tailored to the client’s wishes is a matter of course! Nevertheless, picking a predesigned motive is another option, especially when you’re short of time and want to get inked in a walk-in session. Other services Invictus offers are piercings, permanent make-up, and tattoo removals.
Specialties: Since there are currently 12 different tattoo artists working at Invictus, you can go for many different styles. No matter if you’re into realistic, old school, new school, or geometric tats, there’s always someone whose style matches your preferences!
Dark Art Tattoo
Suppose you want to decorate your body with tattoos in an authentically Hungarian style. In that case, Dark Art Tattoo is your place to go, as its founder Zsolt Sárközi is said to have invented it with his skilled team during the 90s, thus laying the foundation for Hungarian tattoo art in general. At Dark Art, tattoos are conceived as the most ancient form of expressing one’s individuality. Thus, the team of nine talented artists always gives its best in designing a motive and tattooing it onto a client’s body. Their concept proved so successful that Dark Art Tattoo was able to go international in 2015 and enrich Germany’s tattoo scene with a premise in Düsseldorf.
Specialties: Although you can also get colorful traditional or artsy watercolor experiments, Dark Art is especially famous for its hyper-realistic tattoos. If you feel like honoring your beloved pet, actor, relative, or even significant other with an ink portrait on your body, you know where to make an appointment!
Westend Tattoo
Feel like spicing up your shopping tour at Westend shopping mall with a tattoo? Good thing they got Westend Tattoo! At this parlor, you can get inked or pierced or even both! Naturally, you can present your ideas as the foundation of your future tattoo, but if it doesn’t necessarily have to be a unique motive, you can also pick one from their gallery.
Specialties: All three Westend tattoo artists are particularly skilled in realistic tats, whether black and white or colorful. Adam Balogh, for example, has been working at Westend for more than ten years, thus being familiar with almost every tattoo style. Although realistic tats are his favorites, you could still ask for cartoon, Polynesian-style, or network artworks.
Tyutyu Tattoo
Named after its founder, István Alattyáni, aka Tyutyu, Tyutyu Tattoo can pride itself on a competent team of renowned tattoo veterans and emerging artists. Your motive of choice can be a wanna-do previously designed by one of the tattooists or a custom design tat. Whatever you decide, be aware that you might have to wait a couple of weeks until you can finally get inked – there are usually many clients on the waiting list!
Specialties: As the contemporary Budapest art scene highly influences some tattooists at Tyutyu, lovers of comparatively new tattoo trends such as minimalistic linework and geometric motives will get their money’s worth. Nonetheless, their realistic tattoos are also definitely worth showing off!
Renegade Tattoo
Represented with two premises is Renegade Tattoo, one of the most frequented tattoo parlors in Budapest. Customers are drawn in not only because of the studio’s design in the style of 50s Americana and its welcoming atmosphere but also because of the extremely skilled artists working there. Currently, Renegade employs six tattoo talents specializing in different stylistic fields, catering to every target group’s needs.
Specialties: As mentioned above, the Renegade team consists of six tattooists, some of them being gifted all-rounders, others true experts of a specific style. Traditional old-school artworks, realistic tats, dot works, minimalistic or geometric motives – it’s all possible here.
Queen of Hearts Tattoo
Who runs the world? Girls! Our final pick is Queen of Hearts, a tattoo parlor with an all-female tattooist squad, all of them being highly talented and having their particular style. Before actually getting inked, each customer will be advised properly by the chosen artist concerning the size, design, and placement of the tattoo to guarantee outstanding results. If you want to get your first tattoo, check them out and make an appointment – you’ll be amazed by their gentleness during the process and the artwork itself!
Specialties: Each tattooist has her style, so their skills cover every existing direction. If you want a colorful traditional, check out Florina. If you like delicate linework, Mimi should be your choice. Kata is an amazing all-rounder. Just like Eszter, Barbi’s tats are simplistic and artsy simultaneously, and animal motives are their specialty of Alexandra.
