Tattoo shops in Waterloo
Thinking about ink in Waterloo, Ontario? Start with the studios: 19 are mapped here. All 19 are mapped as tattoo studios proper, and each one is worth a portfolio browse before you commit — style varies more between shops than towns. A consultation costs nothing and tells you everything about how a shop runs.
This guide covers every tattoo shop we could verify in and around Waterloo (within about 40 km), built from OpenStreetMap's community-maintained data. Names you'll run into include Wonderland and Black Thorn Tattoo Co., plus Removery Tattoo Removal and Fading. If a studio's missing from Waterloo's list, it probably just hasn't been mapped yet — the scene is bigger than any single dataset.
The Waterloo tattoo lineup
19 mapped within about 40 km:
Wonderland
Tattoo studio
Wonderland — Tattoo studio.
Black Thorn Tattoo Co.
Tattoo & piercing studio
Black Thorn Tattoo Co. — Tattoo & piercing studio, found on 640 King Street East in Cambridge. Also worth knowing about Black Thorn Tattoo Co.: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-18:00; Su off; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
640 King Street East, Cambridge
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-18:00; Su off
Phone: +1-226-666-3573
Removery Tattoo Removal and Fading
Tattoo studioRun by Tu-Fr 10:00-19:00;Sa 09:00-16:00
Removery Tattoo Removal and Fading is Tattoo studio run by Tu-Fr 10:00-19:00;Sa 09:00-16:00 on 730 Belmont Avenue West, Kitchener. Removery Tattoo Removal and Fading also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 10:00-19:00; Sa 09:00-18:00; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip; it has a website with more detail.
730 Belmont Avenue West, Kitchener, N2M 1P2
Hours: Mo-Fr 10:00-19:00; Sa 09:00-18:00
Phone: +1-416-504-9494
Modern Customs Tattoo
Tattoo studio
Modern Customs Tattoo — Tattoo studio.
Patron Heart Tattoos
Tattoo studio
Patron Heart Tattoos — Tattoo studio.
So Kool Tattoos
Tattoo studio
So Kool Tattoos — Tattoo studio. Also worth knowing about So Kool Tattoos: it has a website with more detail.
True Ink
Tattoo studio
True Ink — Tattoo studio.
Steel N Ink
Tattoo studio
Steel N Ink — Tattoo studio.
Nighthawk Tattoo
Tattoo studio
Nighthawk Tattoo is Tattoo studio.
Frazzle Kat Tattoos
Tattoo studio
Frazzle Kat Tattoos — Tattoo studio on 36 Snyder's Road East. Also worth knowing about Frazzle Kat Tattoos: the map lists its hours as Mo-Su "on appointment".
36 Snyder's Road East, N3A 2V5
Hours: Mo-Su "on appointment"
Gauntlet Tattoo
Tattoo studio
Gauntlet Tattoo is Tattoo studio on 150 King Street West. Gauntlet Tattoo also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
150 King Street West, N2G 1A6
Nostalgia
Tattoo studio
Nostalgia is Tattoo studio.
Polka & Volt Tattoo Studio
Tattoo studio
Polka & Volt Tattoo Studio — Tattoo studio, found on 340 Woodlawn Road West in Guelph.
340 Woodlawn Road West, Guelph
Yolo Tattoos
Tattoo studio
Yolo Tattoos is Tattoo studio on 369 St. Andrew Street West, Fergus. Yolo Tattoos also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Fr 10:30-17:30; a phone number is listed — worth a call before a special trip.
369 St. Andrew Street West, Fergus, n1m 2y5
Hours: Mo-Fr 10:30-17:30
Phone: +15199932803
Paulina Zaborska Tatto & Fine Art Studio
Tattoo studio
Paulina Zaborska Tatto & Fine Art Studio — Tattoo studio on 350 Highland Road East. Also worth knowing about Paulina Zaborska Tatto & Fine Art Studio: it has a website with more detail.
350 Highland Road East
Oak & Acorn Tatto
Tattoo studio
Oak & Acorn Tatto — Tattoo studio on 259 King Street West. Also worth knowing about Oak & Acorn Tatto: it has a website with more detail.
259 King Street West
Ink Den
Tattoo studio
Ink Den — Tattoo studio. Also worth knowing about Ink Den: it has a website with more detail.
Perfect Image Studio
Tattoo studio
Perfect Image Studio is Tattoo studio on 12 University Avenue East. Perfect Image Studio also notes on the map: the map lists its hours as Mo-Sa 10:00-20:00; Su 11:00-19:00; it has a website with more detail.
12 University Avenue East
Hours: Mo-Sa 10:00-20:00; Su 11:00-19:00
Spring Fever Tattoo Co.
Tattoo studio
Spring Fever Tattoo Co. is Tattoo studio on 10 Carden Street, Guelph. Spring Fever Tattoo Co. also notes on the map: it has a website with more detail.
10 Carden Street, Guelph, N1H 3A2
What the map tells us about tattoo shops in Waterloo
5 of the 19 list their opening hours on the map, which is genuinely useful — tattoo studios often work by appointment, so posted hours can be more of a guideline than a promise.
8 have websites listed. Studios with websites usually show portfolios there — the fastest way to tell if a shop's style matches yours.
1 of the studios are also tagged for piercings, handy if you're after both in one visit.
The Waterloo tattoo shop tour
The efficient Waterloo tattoo shop tour strings these together: Wonderland, Black Thorn Tattoo Co. on 640 King Street East, Removery Tattoo Removal and Fading on 730 Belmont Avenue West, Modern Customs Tattoo, Patron Heart Tattoos, So Kool Tattoos, True Ink, and Steel N Ink — 19 stops, one logical order. 11 more are listed below.
Tattoo tips for Waterloo
First tattoo or fiftieth — the rules don't change in Waterloo:
- Be honest about your pain tolerance at Wonderland. Ribs, feet and inner arms hurt more. A good artist will tell you straight and plan breaks.
- Eat before your session at Black Thorn Tattoo Co.. A real meal, not a granola bar. Long sessions on an empty stomach are how people faint.
- Ask about the deposit. Custom pieces usually need a deposit that comes off the final price. Ask how it works before you sit down, not after.
- Cover-ups need a specialist. Not every artist does good cover-ups. Look for healed cover-up photos in the portfolio, not just fresh work.
Good to know
We searched about 40 km around Waterloo — that covers the town itself plus the surrounding communities you'd reasonably drive to. Listings come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by local volunteers, so a brand-new tattoo shop in Waterloo can take a while to appear. Spotted a closure among the 19, or a tattoo shop we missed entirely? The map is the source of truth here — one OpenStreetMap edit corrects it for everyone.
We don't rate studios or artists, and we never list prices — those are between you and the shop. What we list is the where and the how-to-find, from places real mappers have verified.
If you run one of the 19 listed here and something's wrong — a closure, a move, new hours — the fix is the same: update the shop on OpenStreetMap and the correction flows through to this page on the next daily refresh.
Tattoo shop listings for Waterloo: 19 mapped from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL). Photos from Wikimedia Commons contributors; individual photo credits appear in captions. Listing data was last refreshed automatically — verify hours before visiting.