I'm not from Albuquerque and stayed the night at a local hotel when I spotted Happy Tattoo. Wow…read morewhat a cool 1900s building. I looked it up online to see what their hours were and figured that I would be able to get a tattoo or at least talk to somebody on Monday morning. Unfortunately they were closed. I looked for other tattoo shops in the area defined one open on a Monday. Not very impressed I figured I would not be getting a tattoo in Albuquerque. However, on Tuesday morning, I walked into Happy Tattoo not really expecting to get one. I walked in spoke with the owner Chris, who is generally booked up all the time. Just so happened to have an opening for a couple of hours and squeezed me in. Chris has over 33 years experience, old school tattoo artist that knows what he's doing. Chris loves his work still after all those years. You could also see it in his shop. I've been in many tattoo Studios since the late 70s and I tell you hands down, this is probably one of the coolest shops you'll ever go into. The styling, buildings architecture, effort that was put into it, DAM, everything was cool, inviting and on point. Getting back to Chris, he immediately was accommodating and started on my tattoo right away got me in and out quickly. Just a short time that I was there and conversing with Chris. I would be comfortable to say he is my guy from now on. Or at least when I pass through Albuquerque and need another tattoo. keep up the great work and "I'll be back" PS. Don't be pushing me around

Amazing experience and Chris is awesome :) we were two walk ins and he had no problem taking our…read moremoney! But we're glad he did! Very happy with the new ink. Traveling from Oregon and now we have some new souvenirs. Will be back next time we're in town!

Porky is amazing! He did a beautiful tattoo on my right shoulder years ago. I moved to Dallas from…read moreAlbuquerque, and got work done from a Dallas artist and his work was a fail. I messaged Porky and asked him if he could fix my rib tattoo on my next visit to NM, I asked him if he could create something I was looking for...and without hesitation, he said Yes! I'm in love with my tattoo. He is truly talented!

I came in asking for a continuation of my current tattoo, and was literally told that he was wary…read moreof doing it because my current tattoo looks incomplete and he didn't want his name on it. This is my current tattoo

I got a few small tattoos from Ray. He was nice enough, but he didn't disinfect my skin before…read morestarting, which I've never experienced before (and I have lots of tattoos), so they didn't heal super well. The one on my arm didn't come out nicely at all (the lines are wobbly and the shading looks amateurish), and considering the final quality I feel like I was way overcharged. I reached out to him to see if I could schedule a touch up, which he'd offered to do during my appointment, and he never responded--so now I'm paying another artist to basically fix this tattoo. Also, when I went in, he and another male tattoo artist were shooting the shit in a way that made me sort of uncomfortable as the only woman in the room (and they didn't stop at any point, considering how it might make a customer feel). Overall, just weird and unprofessional vibes from this place and I wouldn't recommend them.

Have your design ready before you come thru!!! Lots of artwork in the design books located atop…read morethe surfboard/table, but it can be confusing & time consuming (as you peruse the designs). One of few places in the area that takes walk-in clients. Seem strange to me, consider the overwhelming number of tattoo parlors & number of tatted up folks, but hey that's the law of the land. At any rate, I journeyed in to get a tattoo & was appointed to Abe to get me inked up. He did a good job & I must admit although there's a needle carving in my skin, he was gentle enough & allowed me time to make the adjustments for the pain. I was very tense, but his gentle hands helped me to relax during the process; he had a borderline sensuous touch that, ehhhhhhh ok I'll keep it clean, that made relaxing much easier. Seems like they charge more by the hour & not necessary the size of the tattoo, as is in some other places; go figure, tomato, tomato. After the art work was completed, there was a minor adjustment to be made, but that was done a week later to allow for scarring etc. But once that issue was corrected, all was good in the hood.

I deal with pretty bad social anxiety and can be a bit awkward, so I've had some rough experiences…read moreat other tattoo shops where the artists were overwhelming or just too much. That was not the case here. Everyone at this shop is professional, friendly, and genuinely welcoming. Stacy is an incredibly talented artist. He did a full back cover-up for me, and the result is beyond anything I imagined--I'm extremely grateful to have such a stunning piece of art on my back. He's chill, patient, and never pushy about anything. I was so impressed that I've already booked my next project with him. I can't wait to get back in the chair for another amazing piece.

Had a tat done by a guy out of state. But something was missing to complete it. I talked with Stace…read morefrom ERA at the Tattoo Fiesta and he had some great ideas and we agreed to meet. I arrived at a bright, clean modern shop. Noticeably absent was the incessant buzz of tattooing machines. After signing my life away we got started. 3-1/2 hrs later I couldn't believe the results. Stace added what was missing, cleaned up the lines, redid some shading - essentially doing a brand new tat. I was impressed, the work was excellent and the price for as much work as he did was reasonable. ERA was a nice place to get the work done & Stace was an excellent artist. No hesitation to have him do my next one!

Everything went well! I was with Johnny and we did a fairly simple tattoo of the Canadian flag, but…read morehe nailed it and he kept me calm and the atmosphere at the parlor is amazing and relaxing. If you're in Albuquerque and you need a tattoo go find Johnny at aesthetic Inc.

I am so happy with my Tattoo; Johnny did an amazing job. I sent him a few pictures of what I was…read morethinking, and then he turned it into his own work, and I couldn't be happier. It looks better than what I had envisioned. The shop was amazing; everything was extremely clean and well-kept, and the atmosphere was very chill and comfortable. I'm already planning my next tattoo.

The studio has a friendly environment. Set an appointment for a specific celtic band. Got to the…read moreappointment artist didn't have anything ready for me. I made the day ahead and sent a pic. He said he would have to draw it, and that would be a couple of hours before he could even start. Then he said $500.00. I said no thanks. Then, the owner said she would do it for 350.00. That was a mistake on my part. You would think the owner would be one of the best artists. Since it has been healing, I have noticed a number of mistakes, and it only slightly resembles what I sent. Should have stopped when she couldn't get the stencil on straight. Now, every time I look at it, all I'm going to see are the mistakes. She offered to try and correct it , but I fear it might end up even worse.

Awesome Artist, Makamae!!! My first tattoo experience was…read moregreat!!! Would recommend this place and his expertise to anyone

I did go back and get another tattoo from Rabbit since my first review here, and it is pretty cool…read more Only problem is, now I live in Iowa. When my friends ask me who did my tattoo, I tell them, but they typically can't book a flight out to ABQ for a tattoo. Thank you so much for your time!!!

There is no one i trust more to permanently ink my body than Danny at 71 Tattoo! He has perfected…read morenumerous tattoos for my daughter, some friends and countless tattoos for my son. His work is art perfected and his talent is amazing. My first session with Danny was to cover up a 20+ years old tattoo that did not age well. Danny listened to me and came up with a design that still makes me smile. My second session was the "Leo" sign that represents my July birthday. I fave him the design that i had found and he softened it up and made it more feminine. I LOVE it! For my friend, he added the initials of her nieces to a design representing suicide. Her nieces had lost their mom, and her sister, to suicide a few years ago. It was her first tattoo but she is already contemplating a second. I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to do this. Danny is incredibly talented!

I got a tattoo here in September 2025 by Tam and really liked the work…read more Communication afterward was very disappointing. I was told a free touch-up was included with the cost of the tattoo, but after reaching out multiple times over about six weeks to schedule one, I didn't get a response. This was surprising because her response to my original tattoo inquiry was pretty quick. When I did finally hear back, I was told to find another artist with no attempt to honor the touch-up, so I will be incurring additional costs for fixes to her work. I'm happy with the art but dissatisfied by the artist. After posting this review, Tam emailed me at 1:20 AM and told me that my touch-up is not a priority, accused me of not tipping (I did), and said that I should go to another artist so I don't end up with more "upside-down tattoos." The "upside-down" tattoo she's referencing is the one SHE did for me, and it's a memorial tattoo for my sister that faces me because it's important to me, which we talked about at my appointment. I recommend you go anywhere else for your tattoo due to Tam's total lack of professionalism.

I get all my tattoos here.Mostly best service quality and vibe is immaculate .I've gotten from any…read moretattoo shop.Some people are more into the image and the merchandise put down here.We're all about the customer and satisfaction.