minutes away —Tattoo Shop near Chinatown

A short walk from Spadina & Dundas

Toronto's downtown Chinatown — one of the largest in North America — spreads out from the corner of Spadina Avenue and Dundas Street West, with English-and-Chinese street signs, the Chinatown Centre and Dragon City malls, and the dragon sculptures twisted into lucky figure-eights at the Dundas streetcar stops. From that core intersection, our studio is a straightforward walk south down Spadina to Queen, then a short block to 499 Queen St W — roughly a 7-10 minute stroll.

So you can spend the afternoon on Spadina hunting dumplings, bubble tea and BBQ pork buns, browse the Chinatown Centre or Dragon City, then head south and walk in for a tattoo. We're open until midnight, which pairs nicely with Chinatown's late-night food scene. Start with our tattoo services to see what we do.

Because we sit right where Chinatown, Kensington Market and Queen West all overlap, we get a real mix of walk-ins — students from nearby OCAD and U of T, folks off the streetcar, and visitors making a day of the west side. You'll fit right in whether it's your first tattoo or your fifteenth, and there's usually an artist around who can match whatever you have in mind that day.

Meaning matters here — and in our chair

Chinatown is a neighbourhood where symbols carry weight — the figure-eight dragons twisting around the Dundas streetcar stops exist because eight is a number for luck, and the bilingual English-and-Chinese street signs are a reminder that language and detail are the whole point. A lot of the people who come to us from around Spadina and Dundas want tattoos with the same intention: a word, a symbol, a piece of lettering that actually means something, rendered correctly the first time.

Our artists take that seriously. We'll double-check characters, talk through placement, and never rush a piece that's meant to last a lifetime. If you're thinking about script, fine-line symbols, or something more illustrative, look through the styles we tattoo and browse the gallery first, then come talk it through with us. Meet the crew on the artists page.

Getting here from Chinatown

• On foot: From Spadina & Dundas, walk south down Spadina to Queen, then a short block to 499 Queen St W — about 7-10 minutes.
• By streetcar: The 510 Spadina runs right through Chinatown on its own dedicated right-of-way (fast, though busy at rush hour); ride south to Queen and walk a block. The 505 Dundas serves the Dundas side of Chinatown, and the 501 Queen stops directly outside our door.
• By bike: An easy ride down Spadina's wide lanes with bike parking along Queen West.

Because the 510 has its own right-of-way it's often quicker than driving, and parking near Queen West is limited anyway — most people from Chinatown just walk or ride the streetcar the last stretch. Want to plan before you go? Book a free consult or just walk in — no appointment needed, and we're happy to answer questions at (416) 364-8545.

Tattoos, piercings, barber and tooth gems in one stop

Since Chinatown is a make-a-day-of-it kind of place, it's handy that we do more than tattoos at 499 Queen St W:

• Piercings — lobes, helix, nostril and full curated ears with quality jewellery.
• Tooth gems — a fast, sparkly finishing touch.
• Barbering — a fresh cut to round out the visit.

It's a quick walk from Spadina, everything's under one roof, and we're open late — so a piercing, a trim and a tattoo in one evening is easy to pull off.

Grab dinner on Spadina, then get inked

Chinatown runs late and so do we, which is why the two go together. Work your way down Spadina past the Chinatown Centre and Dragon City, load up on dumplings, hand-pulled noodles or bubble tea, then walk south to Queen for the tattoo you came for. Since we're open until midnight, an after-dinner session is completely ordinary here — no need to squeeze it into a lunch hour.

Coming with a group makes it even easier: one of you can walk in for a tattoo while someone else gets a piercing, a tooth gem or a cut. It's all one stop at 499 Queen St W, a short walk from the Spadina and Dundas core.

Aftercare is easy from here too: pick up snacks or a bubble tea on Spadina for the walk home, keep the new tattoo clean and out of the sun, and follow the care sheet we send you out with. If anything looks off in the days after, call us at (416) 364-8545 — we'd rather you check in than guess. We want the work to heal as sharp as it looked the day you left.

One studio on Queen West — not a Chinatown location

Straight up: we don't have a shop in Chinatown. Yes Electric Tattoo has a single home at 499 Queen St W in Queen West. We're simply close enough — a short walk or one stop on the streetcar — to be the obvious choice when you're around Spadina and Dundas. If you're exploring the neighbourhoods nearby, we've also written up Kensington Market (right next door to Chinatown), Downtown and Liberty Village — all served from the same studio.

Questions first? Call (416) 364-8545 or see the visit page for hours and directions.