Ricky is amazing . My first tattoo I got from him is a Phoenix on my left forearm , covers about half of the forearm and took him only 25min. Cost me $80 and to my surprise that  Is so cheap and he did a really awesome job on it . It was my first time getting tats and I don't know how the tipping works but I have him an extra $20 and he was really happy about it . Great deal , good tattoo and he works really fast . Highly recommended and ill be back soon for my 2nd tats.
Review Source:I got my first tattoo here, I came with my own design drawn by my girlfriend and he did it in about 15 minutes. He even threw some color and shading in for me. He's very nice, quiet, and he does good work. This shop is very clean, new needles every time, etc. I'm very happy with my new piece.
Review Source:Came here for the first time not thinking of getting a tattoo yet, but got one anyways. When I first stepped into this place the surrounding looks pretty plain, there was a granny wandering back and forth behind the counter, makes me think that this place could be a Chinese mafia hideout or something so they have a granny on watch to cover up..... Okay I am wandering off too far with my mind!
Anyways, no appointment needed, just walk ins, first come/decide first serve. If you got a picture for him you should print it out first or else he will ask you to print it out at a nearby printing shop.
Ricky is friendly but he's a quiet guy, he works fast and the price is cheap. I got my tattoo done in 8 minutes and it only cost me $30. Now my tattoo is fully healed and it looks great!
If you don't want to socialize too much and wants someone who gets the work done fast Ricky is your guy. Â :)
First tattoo and love it!
My brother had been going to Ricky's for many years, and in memory of him, I tracked Ricky down and got my first tattoo.
I was afraid at first, because not all of the reviews were good, and the place does look a little plain. Â But if you didn't get inked here, don't post your stupid reviews.
Ricky is fast and his free style is amazing. Â He did a dragon fish with 2 lines from a poem on my left leg, between knee and ankle in less than 30 minutes. Â I was simply stunned at how much detail was done in that short ammont of time. Â
To compare price, a relative had a flower, which was smaller than the dragon I got, inked on her waist. Â It cost her $400. Â I got my tattoo, which had more detail, lines, and shading for $100.
Simply put, Rick is not only fast, he is good and his price is the best I've ever seen compared to how much work he can do in that ammount of time.
Only downside, Ricky is not a social guy. Â Tell him what you want, and he'll work his magic. Â This suited me just fine.
Ricky re-inked a floral ankle tattoo for me. Â He was quick and efficient. Â However, he didn't ink *all* the various colors of the original tattoo. Â It lost some of its nuances. Â Bummer. Â
If you want a simple tattoo, Ricky can do that.
If you want warm and cuddly, Ricky is *not* your man. Â He's a bit abrupt.
I have gotten 5 of my tattoos done by Ricky and they're not that bad
8 min: $30
15 min: $50
30 min: 100
1 hr: 200
He is fast and his needles hurt but then again, it's not that bad. It's better if you bring something in yourself because his freestyle are sometime not straight.
REMINDER: No Neck Tattoos & CASH ONLY
I've had all my tattoos done at Ricky's. It's been 12 years and all my tats still looks good (Haven't had to redo any yet). All my family and friends also got their tats at Rickey's. His prices are better than most  of the other shops and his work is also better. He recognizes his work, so if you have a problems later on, Rickey's got no problems fixing it. I highly recommend Rickey's for his work and prices. Like the others said, weekends are usually very crowded, weekdays before 5pm is best.
Review Source:I got my second tattoo here and it rocks. It was quick and cost a whopping 20 bucks the shop was clean and pretty legit all I got was a simple name and Im not sure about complicated designs. Ricky was pretty chill and seemed to know exactly what he was doing. I'm for sure going back to get more tatts
Review Source:Ricky is an OG, he's been doing his thing for a minute... A few of my boys had some work done by him. Â IMO, shading is not his strong suit, but he gets the job done. Has a quick hand and his prices are inexpensive. Skillful at oriental asian art, ie: dragons, tigers, cherry blossoms - like they say you get what you pay for.
Review Source:This place is okay if you have a very simple tattoo design that you want to get done for cheap, so long as you insist that he doesn't free-hand it. I got a tattoo here and it came out less detailed than the image I showed him. He did it very fast too which I think made it hurt more.
You get what you pay for.
Ricky turned a tattoo nine years in the making into a simple twenty minutes procedure. Â I walked in thirty minutes before closing on a Monday night and walked out with a tattoo before I could finish the sentence. Â Kudos to Ricky for making the process efficient and practically painless. Â I will be back.
Review Source:Ricky is known for being fast and his prices are very affordable. A majority of my friends got their first tattoo at Ricky's tattoo studio. I myself got my first tattoo at Ricky's as well. My first tattoo which was a cross cost only $65. Â
I have to admit that he was very fast in tattooing a cross on my left arm but after it healed up I noticed a few spots were left unfilled. In my opinion, he is not very good in shading and composition. However, he specializes in free drawing dragons and other Asian style tattoos. He freehanded a dragon on my friend's back and the result was beautiful.
I noticed that the tattoos a majority of his customers gets are very simple. Many of his customers either get stars or their kids name tattooed on them. It's either very simple tattoos or Asian style tattoos like dragons, koi fish or tigers.
Ricky is a quiet guy but he is very friendly. From what I've heard he's been tattooing for almost 20 years now. He is a veteran in the game and he is exceptional in certain art pieces.
FYI, don't smoke weed before you get your tattoo, Ricky doesn't like the smell of weed and don't play drums on his counter. It's really busy over there in the weekends but business is slower on the weekdays.
I wish i could rate this place "0" Stars.
I WILL NEVER COME BACK HERE! EVER AGAIN!!!
I got a tattoo here yesterday, a simple YING YANG sign...I thought it would turn out really well, granted most of his art is nice, and my friend has gotten 5 pieces done here....boy was I wrong.
My circle, looks like a circle, but it looks like it was done with a very unsteady hand. this is ridiculous considering he is supposed to be a "professional" this is the place i would come to if i was looking for something cheap and shoddy...this shop is very ghetto, despite the fact that it is in alameda. I wish i would have gone to a nice, upper scale place instead of coming here. and i am so glad i didnt get my other tattoos here.
My tattoo hurts soooo badly, and now I have to wait till it heals to get it fixed.
DONT TRUST RICKY!!!
I've got 5 of my tattoos here already & obviously I like the results because I keep coming back. I especially appreciate how Ricky is no nonsense and makes sure exactly what you want before he starts a tattoo. I really like his handwriting and how he can reproduce an artwork on paper. He's actually very reasonable. I went to Zebra's for one of my previous tattoos and paid $200 -- I got something similar done at Ricky's for $85 & i was much more pleased with the work I got done here! I also got another one that took 15 minutes and Ricky only charged me $40. And he's super fast, without sacrificing for quality -- me & 3 friends got out of there in an hour and a half.
I would suggest going early in the day, because it gets super crowded in there, even a random day like Tuesday or Wednesday. As soon as can think of another tattoo that I just must have -- I'll definitely be back to give Ricky some more of my money :)
This place is hands down one of the worst shops in the entire bay area. Ricky can not draw worth a damn if his life depended on it. Â His dragons tigers and especially his kois suck. Â I got a some lettering from him years back and i regret it till this day. At the time i did not have any knowledge on how tattoos and stencils were to be properly to be applied onto the skin, Now i know but its too late now. Â I am now in the process of lasering off my tattoo that i got from him. Â The only reason this shop gets business is 90 percent of the people who go here are underage w/ fake ids or whatever. Â do yourself a favor and save some real money for a nice tattoo otherwise you will be sporting a really ugly tattoo. If you dont believe me take a look at the gallery posted above and see for yourself.
Review Source:Ricky is a true OG.
I know dozens of buddies of mine (whom are much older than me) gotten their first tattoos from this guy. I, myself, gotten some ink done here back in 2008. All I can say is Ricky works FAST and is very affordable but to compensate for that, the quality is lacking.
If you just get something small, like Chinese characters or words, then you can't go wrong. Just make sure the stencil is accurate! For large pieces.. well, I would recommend to go somewhere else. Not bad for a first tattoo spot I guess.
As of 2011, the work done at Ricky's looks faded and well over aged considering It's less then 3 years ago. Guess it's time for a well needed touch up ..somewhere else.
I have seen some of the shittiest, most pathetic excuses for tattoos come out of this shop. Anyone who says this is the best tattoo shop must either be an 11 year old or living under a rock their whole life. This place sucks ass go to berkeley or oakland and find a real tattoo parlor. wtf kind of shit tattoo you think your gonna get for 20 bucks?
Review Source:* No longer 1.5 stars. Just 1 star *
I stopped in here again a few months ago to ask how much they charge hourly, you know, just for fun (because I just had to know what a place like this would charge people.... Thinking it better not be more than $10/hr HA!)
As I looked around I noticed that the place looks just as nasty as the first time I'd walked in about a year ago.
There were random little groups of people milling around on the inside, two in front of the counter and one behind it..... So I asked the group behind the counter how much they charge per hour....
No reply....
So, not knowing who to ask, I looked around perplexed...
Then a teenage looking dude in one of the two groups in the lobby said, "It's $200 per hour."
Yeah. Wait, what?!?!??!!?!?!
Did this kid even work there? Or was he just passing on the information to me being as he knows no one working there will actually answer a question of a person who just walked in?!?!
And TWO HUNDRED an hour????? For that dumpy place!!!??!!! That gave me a good hearty laugh. Anyways, this place most definitely still gets 1 star, but loses the original extra half star.
(Actually should be less than 1 due to the fact that they're a blatant rip off on TOP of everything else!)
P.S. There are elite, critically acclaimed tattoo shops in the Bay Area that are clean, professional, high profile, and amazing. NONE of the ones I looked into charged $200 an hour. The most I saw was $180. What does that tell you about RTS?
HANDS DOWN. Best Tattoo Place I've Been TO.
You already know Other Shops charge how big you want your tattoo, hourly or just out the ASS!! But when i went to RICKYS he only charges for how long it takes him to actually finish the tattoo ! Â AND trust me he is QUICK! Â
15mins = $50
30mins = $100
1hr. = $200
(if you have a picture on your phone he tells you to go down the block to print it out at FEDEX So be prepared )
Didn't expect my tattoo to only be done in 30 mins because another shop i had my tattoo done at took over an hour and charged me 165 and hour for a small  heart on both my wrist, i totally regret it !! (SOUL PATCH on haight,sf)  And if i probably went to rickys in the first place my tat from the other shop would of been so much better !! FML!! Lol.
Ricky will  I.D you no doubt hes professorial and only takes Walk-ins..
(look at my tat picture in the photos area..  the sleeve picture is mine . Rickys  WET!!)
i've gotten all of my tattoos done here. None of which were similar to the other ones; i've gotten a flower, tiger, cupcake, word & a cross w/stars that i brought in to him. His prices are GREAT. he charged me 75 for a tattoo that another place was going to charge me 200! all my family goes to ricky for their tattoos. It is a little bit extra for color or shading, but its nothing crazy.
My tattoos always come out way better than expected. I told him what i wanted, or i pointed out a picture that he had on his wall, and he added shading and everything to make it look really good.
What i really like about ricky also, is that he always makes sure your okay after the tattoo. He asks if you feel lightheaded or anything, and tells you to relax before he lets you go. He also tells you the DO'S & DON'TS of fresh ink.
I recommend people to go there all the time. he is cheap, fast, and accurate.
I've had one of my previous tats touched up by ricky and he did a great job. then some time later i decided to come back here to get a new tat, and i sure wasn't impressed. I'm not gonna lie, he has the best prices out there and he's definitely negotiable, but def not the best artist. his own artwork, on the other hand, is really good... but if you bring in a photo or sketch of what you want, i'd suggest going to someone else.
Review Source:Got one piece of artwork done here.
It was a typical snake wrapped around a dagger (seen the picture on the wall and thought it was cool), and Ricky tattooed it on my left arm for $65. Decent size for that price. Not popping out of my skin like how my other tattoo artist left my pieces. It basically looked like an outline (he didn't do much shadowing), so for a year, everyone who asked about it, I lied and said it was just an outline, an "unfinished piece." Though recently (my arm in my picture), Darius from underground tat in San Jose did all the touch-ups as you can see, and made it look WAY better.
The place had a smell when I walked it which kind of bothered me. Smelled like fish or something.
I've had a little ink done by Ricky. He is held in high regard within the tattoo community (my current tattoo artist, Chuck E, knew well of him). However, I've read several poor reviews for Ricky.
My response to those is that I've had my Ricky Tatt for 15 (or so) years. My lines are still clean and clear. Beware that there are more artists at Ricky's than Ricky himself!
3 Stars for the actual shock value
4 Stars because Ligaya said she'd die laughing if it was true...
2 Stars for the erratic schedule Ricky keeps
5 Stars for being a dive ink joint in Alameda
Caveman is... well, exactly that. Â He is color blind and does not like to wear Big Boy Clothes, even though he was a male model *BLUE STEEL*! Â I still give him shit about that.
Caveman is also 1/2 Austrian and 1/2 Choctaw Indian, so he's batting 1000 to wear his heritage on his skin. Â
Right after the one of the Elite Events we attended together, he swiped my Kim D. ID tag... and SURPRISED me with an absolutely insane new tat - my signature from the Elite Event in his "mankini" region. Â
After the initial shock, I had to ask, "Is it REAL? Â That's not written with a SHARPIE? Â Why would you ink my name there?!?!?!"
I could wrap my head around "If found, please return to Kim D." Â But nope; it's just my Yelp Moniker. Â He was totally sincere and replied, "I wanted to show how much I love you." Â I heard: Â "I wanted to demonstrate how clearly insane I am."
I know my own name... Â Sometimes love makes you to impulsive and crazy things. Â No question: the freak flag is flying high.
12/18/09 - Â I forgot to mention that this is also where Caveman got his wedding ring inked on, after he lost the first one. Â He was 230, 6'4" Â when I met him... very football + Brazilian Jiu Jitsu body. Â
He runs more now, doesn't lift as much, and is probably around  205 lbs. I kept warning him that he was going to lose his ring.  And I was right.  Our rings are black titanium... nothing expensive at all - it was the sentimental value that made me want to shoot him in the kneecap when he admitted he'd lost it. Â
So his solution: ink on the ring... and buy another one that fits. *sigh* Â Another trip to Ricky's...
after getting my newest tattoo which is half sleeve.. i realized that ricky could have never pulled something off like that. i always went to him with designs and i never asked him to help me come up with one. The last tattoo i got from him was my leo sign and it came out alright but the lines seemed a little crooked and i do plan on fixing it with another artist. If you want a simple and small tattoo come here but if you want something that has more detail go somewhere else.
The prices are cheap and he finishes really fast but i've noticed that when him and dad (i think) pinky who owns dragon tattoo.. tattooed me it hurt a lot. I thought that's just how it was suppose to feel but when i got my half sleeve done i laid there for 4 hours and it didn't hurt as much as getting tattoos from them! =T
Ricky's is a historical landmark, during the 1970's he was the hottest artist in the Bay Area, there was always a long wait.
Perhaps he is lost in the 70's, but, his prices are fair, his environment is relatively mellow for a tattoo parlor, Gawd some of the places have head banging music on volume 10 with a bunch of idiots using profanity.
For us more mature patrons, it's a more acceptable not being subjected  listening to "Teenage Enema Nurses in Bondage" blasting through huge speakers.
If you want a good tattoo at a good price (minus all the drama of the walking "pin cushions" drones loitering around).
Ricky's is the best place to get asian characters. He has lots of experience doing many things, but I've come to realize Dragons and Asian Characters (Chinese/Japanese) are what he does the best.
The shop is more of a mom & pops style shop. Real basic. For the cost and how efficient he is, I would recommend this place as long as you don't have anything majorly intricate in terms of design.
I've been to Ricky's to watch a friend of mine get tattooed last year at and I've kept him in mind for this entire time for a tattoo. Â My friend has several tattoos from Ricky hence I felt very comfortable getting one done by him...
Cousin Ashlee and I decided to celebrate our new found freedom with a shared tattoo. Â I found a gorgeous photo of birds in flight, digitized it, and hand-picked my favorite birds and formed them into a pattern. Â Ricky simply traced what I brought and freestyled the birds. Â
I won't deny my nervousness of the outcome, just because the print out of my idea that I brought was now being freestyled on my skin rather than being used as a direct copy.
Ricky completed my tattoo in under 20 minutes. I stood up and looked at the mirror and gasped in amazement... Not only did he complete the task exactly how I wanted him to but he MADE IT EVEN BETTER! I was amazed at the feather details and I COULDN'T STOP THANKING HIM.
Cousin Ashlee repeated the same birds and design, except hers is located in her upper left back.
RICKY THANK YOU for this beautiful tattoo.. You can't even begin to comprehend exactly what these tattoos mean to the both of us!
Came here 'cause my friend got her tatt done by him and he did a pretty decent job on her stars.. that and his pricing for just an outline is cheap.... But....
1. He didn't even copy my tatt the way I wanted it. He was pretty much rushing for no reason since the place was EMPTY when i got there
2. I've gotten 3 tatts before the one I got done by him and his hurt the most... wtf?
3. I got a cherry blossom. Â After looking at it when I got home I had noticed an extra mark that looked like he made on accident a branch that wasn't even connected all the way
Luckily I just got the outline and didn't get any shading done. I think if I did then i really would have been disappointed.
If you want something simple... like REAL simple (i.e. outline of some stars, your name above your asscrack) then go to him... Â but if you want something intricate like a CHERRY BLOSSOM dont even bother
when i have enough $$ saved up i'm DEFINATELY NOT going back to get my cherry blossom finished by him!
I did not have a good experience with my first tattoo here. I think he was drunk when he did my tattoo. I have a fairly simple tattoo, and one part of the tattoo is very noticeably far away from the main piece of the tattoo. Also one line of the tattoo is darker and thicker than the rest of the tattoo. I would NEVER go back there again or recommend anyone to get their tattoo done there unless it's NOT by Ricky.
Review Source:I love Ricky's tattoo studio.  I got my 1st here.  I went to get a tat to cover the tattoo I tried to do on myself. LOL.  He did an awesome job. I just showed him what I wanted covered and told him I wanted a butterfly and he just drew it on there with a rose and it came out beautifuly and amazing.!  And the priceses are GREAT!  it isn't ghetto, the place is great  Its just the ppl that go there are a bit ghetto.  Ricky is a great tattoo artist and he does check I.D and yes Cash only.
Review Source:He did a freehand of two dragons and two flags on my friend's back and turned out really sick, so I figured that doing a tiny star on my wrist should be a walk in the park.
Ricky is a nice guy and very professional. Checks your ID to make sure you're 18. I liked that there's a sign saying that he won't tattoo  you if you're drunk or high, and to please not smoke pot near him. (Or he did have that sign when I went a few years back.)
The only reason why it's so few stars is that my star come out lopsided and the inking was uneven. Sure, it only cost me $20, but you really do get what you pay for in this case?
He did do a fantastic job on the guy before me. He free-handed a tiger that turned out really fantastic. He's probably best for more complex designs and not simple weenie stars.
man i came here three days after i turned 18 yo to get my first tattoo. and now being 25 yo he's inked me two more times! this place is ghetto! he has a lot of typical flash on the walls and in his portfolios. he's fast and precise. he accepts only cash. he checks everyones id. so don't try to pull one on him. no smoking. street meter parking. and he gets straight to the point. come during the mid week never towards closing or the weekends it's full of freshly legal 18 yos trying to get inked.
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