Silver Lake Tattoo

As great as always. Tom help me and the wife mark our anniversary with a beautiful ribs tattoo. He also gave me a great tattoo design for my chest tat. Always a great experience to work with Tom. We been customer for over 15 years and will continue to get some art work done from Tom in the future.

Tom is the best. I’ve been going to him since 2002, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013 and finally completed my entire body last year 2015. It was a wonderful experience. I’m going to miss it all. All the fun and pain. My last session down to the last hour I knew our journey together was over. I’m sure when I go to LA and I’m in his area I’ll drop in and visit. Tom doesn’t say much. It’s okay though because he doesn’t have too. His work speaks for him.

Very pleased with Tom’s work. I showed him a photo of the design I wanted via MMS and asked how much it was going to cost. I could hardly believe he was charging way below what I was expecting to pay for.
Tom was not satisfied with just the photo of the tattoo I wanted. He asked me to send him images of the actual flower in the design. I’m very happy with the results.
Silver Lake Tattoo was recommended by my sister who got hers done by Tom. My brother in law also had his sleeves done by Tom. I would definitely recommend him.

Tom did a fantastic job on my husband’s tat. He won’t stop talking about happy he is with his latest art. He said that Tom is friendly, very professional in his work and affordable. I’m sure he is going back for another one in the near future. Thank you, Tom, for the job well done!

Got inked last Sunday. He’s a quiet guy, doesn’t talk much but has an amazing hand. Keeps working on the needle, very careful and detailed.
Gave me good tips to take care, tattoo healed really fast, didn’t have much pain. Was recommended by a colleague and would totally recommend this guy.
Has some nice music playing in the background, helps nervous first timers like me. So it’s a great call !
Reason why I didn’t give 5 stars was that nothing was digital, he had to draw out the tattoo and could not edit or reshape or resize the drawing using any simple scan device and photoshop software.
Also, takes only cash, which is a bummer, there is a Wells Fargo ATM and a Bank of America ATM on Sunset, so be sure to withdraw first!

Thanks Tom! Got my last tattoo before you retire! Again another amazing job. My third tat with Tom and I like each one better than the last.

Tom is the MAN! He means business and is very dedicated to his art. Took his time and answered all my questions. Definitely coming back.

Tom’s work is awesome! I’ve been having tattoo with him for three times now. He never disappointed me. He kinda have heavy hands but I’m used to it now lol.

this is coming from a tattoo virgin.
Tom is a total pro, he knows exactly what he’s doing.
He was even gentle on the first strokes. During my appt, a young man dropped in.
He was elaborating on how he wanted to complete his sleeve. There I was waiting for him to complete my simple Chinese characters lol. I was feeling like my choice was a bit modest and minimal in comparison, but it’s not like everyone is meant to have the same tattoos :)
You know a place specializes in oriental/​asian styled tattoos when they have a specific charge for dragon tattoos [badass scales, details]
Tom charges reasonable. He’s been doing this for a LONG TIME. I wouldn’t say cheap as chips, but his work speaks for itself. The chinese characters were fantastic. Don’t get them anywhere else. yeah he IS the guy for them :)
Want a dragon? I wouldn’t go any place but here.
This is coming from a non speaking chinese girl; don’t be shy to let him know what you want.
Parking: I recommend parking in the neighborhood down alvarado. I actually went to Montrose-​Alvarado to park and took a short trip walking trip heading north to Sunset and then making a left.
If you’re on the side where Pizza Buona is, you need to cross the street.
This visit was totally worth it.
For me this was pretty personal, and he made absolutely sure about everything.
i was sitting on the idea of getting a tattoo from him for 2 years. Glad I waited because I chose something that was more meaningful rather than if I were to do it spur of the moment.
Totally will recommend him to everyone.

I just started a Unilocal account so I decided to write about this place. I currently have three tats, and all of them I’ve gotten here. I don’t go anywhere else. Tom’s the man! He’s great with free-​hand, drawing dragons, and absolutely great with Chinese characters! I recommend him to all my friends that wants a tatoo. I haven’t gotten back in awhile now. Thinking of getting another tat-​so yes I’ll be seeing him again.

The best old school tattoo artist in LA. Tom has been here at this location for 30 years! Experience is everything. Don’t go to some new tattoo hop and end up regretting it.

came here to get my friend a tat. dude was supercool and laid back. my only gripe is that it didn’t feel very… uh… what’s the word, proper? he had my friend sit on a swivel chair to do her back tat. Ok, so I guess not every tat artist needs a proper chair?
yeah… but I guess it was better than the high bed… which looked like it came from a garage sale… in the 50’s.
Look, basically I’m saying the place didn’t look /​feel the most hygienic. I mean, honestly, the guy was supercool and the result was fantastic, not gonna lie. I just wish the place felt /​looked /​was more clean is all. I’ve gotten ink in a couple places now and each place they make it HUGE point to unwrap the needle in front of you, place a sheet of paper on their work station where you lie, etc. this guy didn’t do that and I gotta admit that it skivved me out.
BUT on the brightside, the finished product does look pretty awesome and he took the time to really fill out her concept and idea through to a good place before starting work. easy, breezy, no other complaints.
Anyway, I think I’d let this guy do a tat on me if I was crystal clear about what I wanted and I felt like taking a gamble. otherwise, I kinda feel I could probably find a number of other nearby places that would make me feel a little comfortable before PERMANENTLY INKING MY SKIN.
Ok, done. =)

I made my first tattoo at here. It is a great job. I love it so much. Tattoo artist is very professional and the price is very cheap. He finished his work very fast. The two people of husband and wife is a Chinese his wife is very kind. My friend also in that getting a tattoo, she has her own name, just spent five minutes. I love my tattoo so much.

Was recommended by a friend, and haven’t had ink done since I was 15. The piece I wanted to get was sentimental and something to remember my best friend by. I’m half Chinese and white, being able to communicate with Tom and his wife in mandarin made it more comfortable. They both are very nice. Tom is legit! Professional, by the book, no bs. Great insight as well on what to get. Highly recommended. Definitely going again!

I’ve gotten ink from both Tom and Jacob. I wouldn’t go anywhere else. I don’t know if Jacob still works there but i’m planning to go back for more. Great price.

Alright ladies and gentleman, Tom doesn’t have his own style of tattoo really. However, if you bring your own art work he’ll do it exactly like the art work if not better. The only problem is sometimes the tattoo isn’t clean and you’ll see littl mistake marks he’ll make on your skin, but dont get me wrong he’s very talented at drawing. Good Luck ahahahaha

Tom is absolutely the best tattoo guy in town. I brought the picture in and showed to him. I even didn’t say much about how the way I want it to be… he is just the one I was looking for all the time. when he started to draw the picture on my arm. all my worried were totally gone. the result comes out just as perfect as you can imagine.
he is quiet. but very friendly. and his wife is a sweet woman.
some people said Tom is not good at social. he is an artist. he does fantastic job. that’s all you want from him, rite?..

Tom is the best artist around. I first went to him when I was 17 and had 3 huge tattoos done by him. Today, after 18 years, I came back from San Fran to get my tat done by him again. After all the persuading by my friends to go to various artists in San Francisco, I refused because Tom is the very best, period. I seriously recommend him. His style is original, detailed and extremely unique. Price is perfect. Make sure you call for an appointment though. :-):-):-) THE BEST!!!

I was recommended to this place & to Tom several years back. I wasn’t even living in LA at that time. But it took me a while to figure out the big back piece I wanted and I looked him up– now I know why I was referred.
I came in with a very specific concept, but I needed someone’s artistry to draw it out. It’s taken me so long to truly find someone that’s able to illustrate on paper/​on ink, what my vision was. Tom is truly an artist in that sense where he took my vision and was able to translate it into a piece of art… and proceeded to freehand it on my back until I approved and them BOOM.
Finished 1 of 3 sessions and couldnt be happier.

Recently got work done by Tom @ Silverlake Tattoo and despite what some people have said here, I had a very good experience from the place (the wife included).
Not very chatty people but I personally preferred it that way. It’s a no BS environment and a clean/​sterile place.
Tom free-​handed my whole half-​sleeve with an original irezumi design that just blew me away. I simply gave him an idea of how I wanted it to look and he took it to another level beyond my expectations… I can’t wait to complete the second session.
It’s a different experience, in my opinion, when artist is able to free-​hand something on your body because you know it will be an original piece (biggest plus in my book). Having had work from other places before, I can tell you that the level of artistry that Tom brings to the table beats anyone who uses stencils — it was more personal.
Highly recommended…
UPDATE 5÷2÷2011: Just completed my shading yesterday and the end result was spectacular! Tom took his time and made sure all of the details were completed. Definitely going back again.