Tattoo Parlor in Shoreditch: Cloak & Dagger on Cheshire

Cloak & Dagger opens seven days a week at 34 Cheshire Street, London E2 6EH, a cobbled street that runs east off Brick Lane, and its minimum charge is £80. The studio has been in Shoreditch since 2013, tattooing Monday to Saturday from 11am to 7pm and Sunday from 11am to 5pm, and it states its walk-in policy in four words: we take walk-ins. If you are standing on Brick Lane searching tattoo parlor near me on a Sunday afternoon, this studio is open until 5pm and close enough to walk to in three minutes.

The FAQ lists traditional, Japanese, neo-traditional, black and grey, geometric, script and cover-up work, and the artists named on the site, Micky M, George Ksirou, Anna, who tattoos as Tiger Titz, Ben Ford and Daniela Picciallo, cover that spread between them. Browse their individual portfolios before you arrive and you can ask for the right person at the door.

Cover-ups are a particular strength worth noting. The studio runs PicoWay laser tattoo removal on site, so if an old piece is too dark to cover cleanly, it can be lightened with a few laser sessions first and then reworked by one of the tattooers, all under one roof.

There are two ways in without an appointment. On a weekend, when Brick Lane is crowded, that phone call is worth making.

For anything planned, consultations are free. A booking fee, the studio's term for a deposit, secures the date and comes off your final price. It is non-refundable, but you can change the date as long as you give at least seven days' notice, which is longer than many London studios require, so pick your date carefully.

Cloak & Dagger is unusually open about money. The minimum charge for any tattoo is £80, which covers most small walk-in pieces. Anything larger is quoted by the artist once they have seen the design and placement, so ask for that figure at the counter before the stencil goes on and you will know exactly what the card machine will show at the end. For large projects, most of the artists offer a day rate of £700, which usually means around six to seven hours of tattooing.

That day rate is the honest choice for a sleeve or a big back panel: if your piece needs a full day anyway, a fixed figure is easier to budget than an open-ended hourly count. For a small script or a single flash design, skip the day rate conversation entirely and walk in at the minimum.

You must be 18 or over and show a passport or driving licence as photo ID. The studio will not tattoo minors even with parental consent. Turn up intoxicated and you forfeit your deposit, so save the Brick Lane pints for after. Children are not allowed in the studio, even as onlookers.

Unlike several East London shops that are cash only, Cloak & Dagger takes Visa, Mastercard, Amex, Maestro and Apple Pay, which makes a spontaneous walk-in much easier. One access note: the studio is in an older building with a narrow entrance, which limits wheelchair access, so call ahead if that affects you.

Bring a clear reference saved on your phone, along with a rough idea of size: hold a coin or a bank card against the spot to judge it. The artist will draw or adapt the design, print a stencil and check placement with you in the mirror before anything starts, and this is the moment to ask for changes.

Eat properly beforehand, wear clothes that give easy access to the placement and allow time. Even a small piece, with consultation, stencil and wrapping, takes longer than the tattooing itself. After the session you will be wrapped and given aftercare instructions, so keep that sheet somewhere you will find it during the first two weeks of healing.

Sunday is when this corner of London is at its busiest and when Cloak & Dagger's 11am to 5pm hours become useful. Call when the studio opens to ask for a priority walk-in slot, then spend the waiting time on the surrounding markets rather than in the waiting area.

Get the tattoo done in the early afternoon, so you are wrapped and back out before the 5pm close. If the day's walk-in slots are already gone, book a free consultation for a weekday instead. A weekday morning from 11am also keeps you clear of the market crowds outside.

The Carpenters Arms, the small Victorian pub further along Cheshire Street that the Kray twins once bought for their mother, is the closest place for a quiet drink once your tattoo is wrapped. Brick Lane, at the western end of the street, has its Sunday market, its bagel bakeries and plenty of curry houses.

Columbia Road Flower Market, a ten-minute walk north, fills its street with plant and flower stalls on Sunday mornings, which makes an easy loop: flowers first, tattoo after lunch. The studio's own directions put Shoreditch High Street Overground about five minutes away on foot, with Liverpool Street and Bethnal Green Underground each roughly a fifteen-minute walk.

Cloak & Dagger Tattoo, 34 Cheshire Street, London E2 6EH. Booking enquiries through the website form. Open Monday to Saturday 11am to 7pm, Sunday 11am to 5pm. In Shoreditch since 2013. Walk-ins welcome. Call for a priority walk-in. Minimum charge £80. Most artists' day rate £700 for about six to seven hours. Free consultations. Non-refundable booking fee deducted from the total, seven days' notice to change the date. Cards and Apple Pay accepted. 18+ with passport or driving licence. No minors, no children in the studio. PicoWay laser removal on site. Narrow entrance limits wheelchair access. Nearest station: Shoreditch High Street (Overground).