1. Allegory

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San Diego, CA

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Allegory

4.8 (114 reviews)
ModerateTattoo
Closed • 12:00 pm - 12:00 am (Next day)

Allegory Photos

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Recommended Reviews - Allegory

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Reviews With Photos

Left leg progression.
Jessica H.

All the artists in this shop take great care in their environment. It is clean and hygienic. The music is always on point for my sessions. I have had four sessions with Kyler for a piece on my thighs. He has a light hand and his artistry is insane. My piece is still not quite done but I will post the progression and will update with the final product.

Narnia helped this Li'l guy happily sit on my wrist.
Vaani S.

I was in for my first tattoo. My birthday coming up soon, I wanted it to be done right. Like everybody even I saw a Groupon for this place and decided to shoot them an email. Withing few hours I got a reply from Narnia and she quickly set my consultation visit up as well. On my consultation she also suggested me to not buy the Groupon since my tattoo was small and I would only waste money. I really like it when people help you with stuff like this. She set up my appointment for two days after. I went in to get it done yesterday. I was freaking out because I'm not known for handling pain well and this was the first time I was getting it done. Took me 4 years of contemplating to finally be able to step into a body art studio. Narnia made sure that I was comfortable since I told her I am freaking out. She stopped in between lines to help me breathe, she got me a candy for my dizziness, she waited to ask for her payment until I said I felt better. I know nobody cares if I was scared, or felt dizzy or if it was my first. But these small things matter in places like these. Just because of Narnia, I might get a second tattoo someday. Brilliantly done. I am super happy with the whole experience.

An update a few years later - I have continued to go to Peter for all of my pieces and he keeps knocking its out of the park every time. You can come to him with a general idea (flowers and a snake, for example) and he turns it into gorgeous, unique art. I highly recommend their studio.

Marissa S.

Natassia was awesome! Very professional, quick, and did a perfect job for a reasonable price. Other shops quoted 4x her price. Had no trouble with my finger tattoo which other shops refused. Also did a great job on my forearm tattoo. Highly recommend!

The new butterflies :)
jordan m.

I had a cover up of an infinity loop done. It turned out beautiful! We changed the infinity loop into two butterflies. I will definitely come back!

Rachel J.

I've had over 25 hours of tattooing (2 tats) done by Pete (the owner). I've had tats done by multiple artists in multiple states, but needed an artist when I moved to San Diego. I went to him after I saw his work on a friend of mine. Pete immediately made me feel comfortable and confident in his ability. He doesn't typically do walk-ins, as he's usually booked out a couple months (the telltale sign of a wonderful artist!). I always walked in with an idea of what I wanted and a couple sketches of it to give him an idea. He has consistently surprised me with his artistic interpretation of my ideas (just trust him and let him do his thing.. I promise it's better than what you came in with!) He does wonderful color work and it has really held up over the past 6 years. In fact, I'm going to text him today to try to get a new one :)

About an hour after Pete finished up my 7 year old tattoo(not started with Pete)
Chris B.

So this seems like a strange way to get started with a tattoo artist, but I purchased an Amazon Local voucher for Allegory. I have a large tattoo that was incomplete from over 7 years ago and the voucher was my motivation to get into a shop and get this tattoo finished. It was a great decision, Pete is a very easy going artist, not pretentious or aloof, just a surfer from Carlsbad. Went in for a consult, Wednesdays are what Pete described as his "drawing" days so it was a good day to just chat with him. Showed the work I had up to that point, showed him some art I'd found and talked about next steps. Pete did a great job of bringing me down to Earth and encouraging me to finish the work that had been started and then going from there. We setup an appointment for that following Friday for 2 hours. The day of was no problem, got to the shop, got ready and jumped on the table. No fuss, no muss. 2 hours went by quickly, mostly shading work so it was being tattooed over old work and going over the same areas again which can be pretty painful. Not at all. Pete was using a rotary gun that really did improve the experience, less noise and vibration so the time went quickly and relatively painless as tattooing goes. I didn't squirm or have any rough patches, great hand Pete, thanks man!

Cherry blossom tree and brush stroke by Pete
Romina B.

LOVE this place and after my experience I can't imagine going elsewhere. Yesterday I got my second tattoo done by Pete. When I first submitted a message on their website, he got back to me right away and we were able to set up a consultation appointment within a few days. I had gotten my first tattoo a little earlier at another shop and felt like it was incomplete, so Pete and I discussed ways to make it better. I only had a vague idea, but he took it and ran with it and came up with something more beautiful than I could have imagined! He made me feel really comfortable from the start and it's evident that he cares about his craft. The shop is very clean and has a really welcoming, chill vibe. The other artists there were also super friendly and funny, and you could tell they all just love what they do. My session ended up being longer than we'd predicted, but we were troopers and he always made sure I was doing okay. In the end we were both so thrilled with how it turned out - it's a great feeling when the artist is as excited as you are! I highly recommend this place and can't wait for my next tattoo!

Beginning stages
Margot S.

I have been looking into different artist for a while to design a very specific tattoo for my first ink. I needed someone good with geometry and not afraid of color. I found Pete Walker from Allegory and fell in love with his work. He's proficient not only with the hard lined of shapes, but also with the organic flow of flowers, water, etc. I messaged him and right away we started planning what I wanted. He understood my idea and created essentially exactly what I had in mind. He was light handed and very helpful in getting me situated for my fist tattoo. I am so grateful I found him and allegory. I know I won't go anywhere else. I mean, just look at his work! Definitely will recommend allegory and Pete to all my friends.

1 hr sitting. I wish I wanted more color at the time!
Rae C.

Found out about this place via groupon. I will say, it's in the HOOD. I went to the gas station before getting my tattoo and I got a bunch of looks from some creepers. Not so awesome to say the least. But whatever, eff it! I'm not quite sure of my tattoo artist's name. But I'm pretty sure it wasn't Pete. I asked if the tattooist was the owner and he said No. nice guy, made me feel completely comfortable but he was on the quieter side. He offered to do color, and I wasn't so sure. With any questions I had regarding color (i wanted red) he was very informative and reassuring. My artist was very fast but also aware of me and my wishes of this tattoo. I mean, I told him what I wanted and he was very attentive. He even offerd suggestions, but was very insistent that decisions were final by my say so. Bathroom was clean. The parlor itself was very chill and clean. It wasn't typical with all these books/portfolios laying around or wall art of other tattoos. But it did have a weird goth feel, but I really liked it. 4.5 stars for service, cool ambiance, great service, and most definitely great work! I would deduct a 0.5 for location and parking. I'll be honest. That crap is shitacular. But I'm in a giving mood so I rounded up rather than down, besides... these guys deserve it. :)

Original work done by Narnia of a crescent moon, red poppies and Celtic knot.
Arricka L.

I've been searching for a reputable tattoo shop to get my first tattoo for my birthday. As I was talking about this to my best friend she said she had found a Groupon deal for Allegory in San Diego even though she lives in Sacramento. So I thought that is a good deal but I need to check this place out and see their portfolio of tattoo work. After reading all the stellar reviews from Groupon and Yelp I decided to go with booking my first consultation with Narnia. I was pretty confident that the work was going to be great as long as I got the design I truly would love and was original to me. Well, I was a bit lost on settling on a design and at first I brought in some shutter stock that I wasn't really in love with but would like for a tattoo. I gave it to her but knew this was so boring and unoriginal. The next day I sketched up some tattoo concepts that I would like and emailed them to Narnia. She responded pretty quickly to my sketches, as my appointment was only a week away, that she could come up with something I would like. At my appointment, she showed me her design based off of my sketches and I was amazed at how she got everything I wanted for my tattoo, it was a piece of art! The session was little over an hour but Narnia somehow got in so much detail and color, which I wasn't originally going to do but she suggested it. The finished tattoo was absolutely gorgeous, I loved it! The color and the design were exactly what I wanted without being able to say it exactly. Narnia is very intuitive artist. The Pain wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, it felt like a bad sunburn. And she gave me simple after care instructions, which I had all that I needed at home without buying more stuff. Bottom line I highly recommend Allegory for your first or 10th tattoo. The shop is clean, there is no pretentious atmosphere what so ever. I felt comfortable right away. I met Pete, the owner, and he was very cool laid back guy. Narnia was just the same, very nice and confident with her ability. I will definitely be going back for my second piece of ink.

Stephanie A.

Was lucky to get a groupon for this place. I was helped with Narnia, who was so helpful via email. I wanted to make sure the tatt i wanted done would be covered by the groupon ($140 value of 1 hour tattooing for $85) . When i went to Allegory i was set up and scheduled (luckily for me the earlier apt was the very next day) Narnia had the transfer ready and made sure to check the sizing if it was exactly how i want it. The shop is super clean! And a very chill environment not once did i feel judged or out of place. I got 3 pixelated hearts on my left shoulder. She had me laid down on my back while being tatted, which was a very comfortable position. I would definitely come back here for future tattoos !

Right leg done at allegory.

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Ask the Community - Allegory

Review Highlights - Allegory

“I have been going to Pete for over 10 years and I have sent numerous friends and family members to his shop.”

Mentioned in 67 reviews

Read more highlights

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Bruce Becerra is as absolutely amazing. I explained what I wanted and gave him free rein to design…read moreit based on what I've told him. It's an amazing tattoo, it's even better than what I imagined. Little details I never would have thought of. Also, the vibe in the shop was so chilled and comfortable. I've been to some shops that feel somewhat intimidating. Cynthia at the front was so friendly, even introduced me to the neighbourhood cat, Turbo, who is an absolute chonk. I highly recommend the place, the people are top notch, and the work is even better.

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