Whenever a friend mentions they want to get a tattoo, I always recommend this place. I got my first (and so far, my only) tattoo here with my best friend about two years ago. It's in a sketchy part of town, so be sure to go earlier in the day and bring a friend. Pat, the tattoo artist, was great, and wouldn't even accept my tip since it was my first ever tattoo. I gave him one anyway, but I thought it was a nice gesture. It's a simple "let it be" tattoo on my ribcage, but he made sure the lettering turned out perfectly, and even two years later, it looks like I just got it done. They get busy, so be sure to make an appointment, and keep in mind that the bar opens later in the afternoon if you're planning on any pre-tattoo drinks. My same friend went back to get another tattoo here about a year later, and the experience wasn't quite as positive as the first time. His tattoo was more complicated, so the sketch had to be modified a few times, which I don't think the artist was too happy about. Both he and the other artist (who was working on a different person) seemed annoyed with us, and we felt uncomfortable sitting there while they bantered back and forward for what seemed like 45 minutes. Despite this, I would still go back if I decided to get another one. I love how mine turned out.
Review Source:About 5 years ago a few of my girlfriends wanted to plan a group tattoo outting. It was to be my first ever and Iwas a bit nervous. We asked a big time TV tattoo guy who he would reccomend in San Diego and without hesitation he said Dewayne at Tower Tattoo so we set it up. I brought in my very simple idea for an ankle wrap piece and Dewayne came back a few minutes later with a beautiful piece... better than I even imagined. While working he asked if he could add a little more and some color...though nervous I totally trusted him and said go for it...the end result was perfect. To this day I continue to get compliments on his work...all the lines are still crisp and clear. I couldn't be happier... Planning my second piece now and was looking up reviews to try and decide where to go... nothing but positives about these guys and their shop...I will for sure be going back very soon!!
Review Source:Love, love, love this place! My boyfriend and I got some work done by Steve and he is fantastic! Very kind and as gentle as a tattoo artist can be. I got a large tattoo I designed on my lower back and my boyfriend got a scorpion on his shoulder/collarbone. He kept asking us if we were okay, if we needed a break, he was very kind. I will definitely be going back to him for more.
Review Source:I heard of this place by word of mouth, so I was a bit skeptical.  I checked out another tattoo place on 30th, and they wanted a consultation and deposit, and the whole thing just felt forced, so I left.  I called this place on Saturday and asked if I could come in, they said come by at 5.  I went in at 5pm with a postage stamp showing the design I wanted.  Adam, the tattoo artist got really excited because I wanted it in grays and blacks and lot of shadowing.  The place was small, but it has this Tennessee bluegrass feeling to it and everyone is really friendly, but not overly in your face friendly.  The music was awesome, I felt completely at ease.  I also liked that Adam called the other guy over to come check out how awesome his work was coming out. The process was easy and  the results were amazing.  I love my tattoo and the whole experience was one I will never forget.  It was my first tattoo, and I will admit its a bit whimsical and nerdy, but they respected me and treated me like if it was my 100th. I hate to actually be yelping about this place, cause I like the underground feeling it has, although its up in a tower! Highly recommend this place!
Review Source:I have gotten my last 4 tattoos from there. Dewayne, Adam, and Pat are super cool and do outstanding work. Â I am currently finishing up a sleeve with Dewayne and its turning out to be a masterpiece. Â The shop is super clean and set up nicely I recommend this shop to anyone and everyone.
Review Source:Got a wrist tattoo from Pat and I love the details he put into it. Â I came in with a couple of ideas of what i wanted and he drew something up for me that had everything I wanted. Â This was my first color tat and was kinda bummed when the color was a bit off. Â I came back 3 weeks later to get the color redone (no extra fees) and its still off. Â Prolly won't be back for any color tats here but might try another artist next time. Undecided at this moment. Overall a cool spot.
Review Source:Late review but timely in the hope that I can track down the artist responsible for my favorite work and get it expanded and refreshed. Â I was in twice in early 2006 and was extremely happy on all counts despite the sketchy neighborhood. Â Got a small single orange lily on my right shoulder turned into a cluster of fuschia tropical flowers with foliage the first time, then returned to get a palmetto on my left thigh reworked/finished/colored after an aborted work at a to-remain-nameless PB place.
Now I just want to get more--would like to expand the shoulder cluster to bring in more foliage/florals and a hummingbird if it's not too gaudy. Â Will see if I can find the original artist or get another Tower pro to help me out!
I was a walk in last night and I will agree this tattoo parlor is not in the pleasant part of town. But as soon as I walked in I was put at ease. This palor is not only spotless but an amazing atmosphere. I was first greeted by Adam. He had just finished a beautiful tiger lily on a girls upper left shoulder. He was super friendly and set me up with Pat. My personal advise if your going for your first here ask for Pat. He is steady, focused and quick. I had brought in a quick sketch of the tattoo I wanted. (Im not an artist so it was pretty rough looking.) Pat took my sketch and turned it into a masterpiece! I will definitely be asking Pat to do my next piece.
Review Source:A sleezy tattoo parlor in a sleezy part of town, with some extremely amazing tattoo artists. Not to mention they are located underneath the historical City Heights Tower! (ha)
Have gotten tattooed by Pat a few times, and he's fantastic. Every time he does a new tattoo, you can see how much better he has gotten. He is constantly improving. I highly recommend him. Plus he's super niceand isn't super heavy handed.
I can't say much about the other tattoo artists, since I don't have any work from them, but I do have a lot of friends who go to Dewayne and love his work.
Ps- You gotta walk up the stairs to the left (facing the bar in the parking lot) to get to the shop.
these guys are professional and great at what they do, simple as.
my friend and i got text on our ribs and the end result looked exactly like the print-outs. while ours weren't incredibly detailed, the other work i've seen from these guys is fucking good.
highly recommended... also, cash is a better option that cards.
I no longer live in San Diego, but when I did, Tower Tattoo was the only place in town I'd even consider being tattooed. I've been tattooed by Dewayne several times and it's always a pleasure. Dewayne's style and talent is obvious when you see examples of his work either on the walls of the shop or in a tattoo. His script and lettering skills are unparalleled as far as I'm concerned. Everyone who catches a glimpse of  the script he did on me is in awe (as I was when he free handed it in about 5 minutes flat!)
 The shop itself is located at the top of the historic "Tower" building in City Heights and the atmosphere is great. It's clean, professional, and comfortable. After your tattoo, make sure you stop in downstairs at the bar and treat yourself to a drink...
While I do agree with Danielle W, that this is the best place to get ink... bar none, I actually have to take the last part back, because there is a bar downstairs. I'm kidding... but seriously.... there is a bar.
The first time I got work done by Adam was maybe 8 years ago or so when he was down in IB. I, of course, have had work done elsewhere before and after, no regrets, no complaints, but I always end up coming back to him for more. Â Not that I have ever been unhappy with any of the other work I have, its just that nothing has ever been comparable to what he's done. To take a patch work quilt of thoughts and ideas and then turn it around into something tangible is one thing. To do that, but with the style, attention to detail, and expertise he possesses, is f*n amazing.
Having never had work done by Dewayne, I can only attest to what I've seen on others, and all I can say is that between the two of these guys, there isn't any style, they don't excel at. From Old School to New School, Traditional to Bio, Portrait to Black and Grey, bright vivid colors or intricate shading highlighted by the slightest accents of white, it doesn't matter if this is your first tattoo, your last, or if you find yourself somewhere in the middle, THIS is the Parlor to go to.
I haven't had work done in a while, but the time is coming and my ribs are eagerly awaiting their turn. What to do, what to do... So much ink, so little time.
L8r
Another tattoo shop I scoped out when I was looking for an artist. Although I've already booked with my other artist, I will be coming to Dewayne for some work in my near future!
I was a little tricked because I thought you had to go through the bar to get to the top, oops, I was wrong. Lol, there's stairs. All the guys that work there are really helpful, and Dewayne's work is flawless. So intricate and clean. (And he drives that sick ass car parked outside) Big sense of humor in this joint, I will be coming here for my next ink!
My sister and I both came here with a friend who wanted to add to a small tattoo. The work was done by Laura and was very clean and detailed. We asked Dwayne about getting a tattoo but he seemed uninterested until we had asked him like 3 times about getting it done. After that it was smooth sailing. Set up an appointment and came back the next day. Laura did  on my arm and my sister actually got one of Adam's painting on her shoulder. Excellent price and excellent company. No problem sitting in the shop all day just kind of hanging out. I will definitely tell everyone about Tower Tattoo.
Review Source:The moment I pulled into the parking lot of the tower I knew it was the place for me. I hate tattoo parlors that are in strip malls down by the beach and tower is miles away from the beach both literally and figuratively. I have 8 tattoos so far with many more to come and all of them but one are from Dewayne at tower. The other  is by Adam also of tower. Not a day goes by I don't get compliments on my ink. These guys know there shit, If you are looking for traditional work in San Diego there is no better place.
If you are looking for a shop to get some quality work done at a fair price head to Tower!
I had been contemplating a tattoo forever! I finally found the perfect thing I wanted a few months ago! I knew that the tattoo had to be a) meaningful and b) in the right place. Using the initial design for Ollin- the aztec symbol for movement, Â I redid part of the design and then made it more decorative and pretty. I decided to go with Tower tattoo after I saw my friends tattoo, and loved the style, she told me she had gotten it here. When I went in to Adam, he told me that the tattoo might have too much detail, but he would mess with it. About 20 minutes later, he had a really great version of it, which included all of what I had wanted, just slightly simplified. I don't know what other people were talking about, Adam was super friendly and funny. He initially quoted 130 or so. When he realized It was my first tattoo he made some jokes but then told me I would be fine, Â to just breathe normally and relax. Thats just what I did, and an hour later, I had my tattoo, just like I wanted. It was on the inside of my right wrist and wrapped around to the top. He then told me it would just be a 100 since he took less time than he though- YAY! I totally recommend Adam, he rocks!
Review Source:The shop is always super clean, and prices are always fair. I have a few tattoos from Laura, including the very first tattoo she ever did. They are all awesome. Nice, crisp lines, perfect coloring, and just overall really good looking tattoos. My wife has several by Laura as well, that are all super. I also have a tattoo by Adam that includes three portraits that look as good as photographs. I would definitely recommend Tower to anyone wanting to get some ink. They have a very talented staff, and a clean, friendly atmosphere.
Review Source:I've seen some of Dewaynes work on a couple of my friends and loved the way it looks. I've been wanting a large back tattoo for a while now. I went in last night and got my pheonix. I LOVE IT!!! It such a work of art, it turned out way better than I had ever thought. Dewayne takes his time and details it to the dot. If your're looking for a true tattoo artist that will work with what u like and add his magic touch, I highly reccommend swinging by the Tower Tattoo and geting some ink done by Dewayne.
Review Source:One of the cleanest shops around. All of my work has been done by Adam, besides 2 terrible ones I had done in Orange when I was 18, and actually Adam fixed one and covered the other quite well.
His own style is unique, but he is very talented in ALL arenas (Portrait, black and white, traditional) and uses the best colors. I still have people ask me if I just got work done because the colors are so vivid.
Another great thing about Adam is that he moves very quickly while maintaining sharp and clean lines, and when you are paying by the hour it is very nice to have someone who moves quickly. Good for the tolerance and the pocketbook. Not ONE blown out line on any of my work, all fresh, clean and quick.
Dewayne and Jackie are also quite good, though I have not had any work done by them I've seen what they can do. They also have an apprentice who is learning quick and pumping out some cool pieces.
The overall experience is pretty much what you would expect at a tattoo shop, minus the "too good" attitude but not minus the smart ass remarks. Its a tattoo shop, not a nunnery! Nice comfy vintage chairs that were once dentists chairs. TV, Tunes, bathroom. All the staples to make your 2-3 hour sit comfy.
Make sure you go in and have a mini consultation before hand or know what you want coming in, no one likes a time waster who sits around and looks at flash for hours before deciding on a butterfly above their cooter. Especially these guys!
5 stars for the shop, too bad the downstairs bar couldn't keep up with them.
Best tattoo parlor in my opinion. I had them tattoo my sons handprint on my leg and I receive compliments on it all the time. Adam did such a great job it looks exactly like the real thing.
Went back again and got my daughters handprint done. I think he did a better job than the first one. If you want a tattoo head here. Plus there is a great bar underneath the shop.
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