My wife and I both had an excellent experience at Golden Eagle! We visited while on a weekend getaway, and I got my first tattoo; my wife, her second. My artist was Grant, and he was patient, worked through the design process with me, and absolutely NAILED the design from the picture I gave him. Clean lines, minimal pain, and a reasonable price. I was happy to tip a little extra. He gave me all the after-care instructions, some more than once when I asked a bunch of questions. Highly recommend! read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Finished piece for my boys - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Tattoo artist Wolf did an amazing job on my tattoo! I am so happy with it; he did an exceptional job and I'll definitely be coming to him for all my future tattoos read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I always wanted a tattoo; however, I was never in a position professionally to get one. Since retiring and at the age of 66, I decided to do it!! Walking into unfamiliar territory, not knowing what to expect, I walked into Golden Eagle Tattoo and asked for Justin, based on a recommendation from a friend. A young man with a lot of tattoos walked up to me an introduced himself as Justin. I was SHOCKED!!! Justin had to be one of the kindest, most attentive, present, professional human beings I have ever met!!! Justin walked me through the whole process and the tattoo outcome was far beyond my expectations. Justin is AMAZING!!! and he will forever have all of my recommendations. read more

Love, love , love! Jason is extremely kind and warm. I came in as a walk in and the service from start to finish was incredible. I got a small tattoo of a name and wanted it to be fine line , and minimal. The shop is very clean and relaxing and my tattoo came out great. I had such a lovely experience for my Santa Barbara girls trip :) read more

Walking in on a whim and was helped by multiple staff members, very nice people with very talented work, Isaiah helped me with my tattoo and picking out a design and was very easy to talk about pricing and such with! Gave me a great souvenir for my vacation in the form of a crane! Price, service and product 10/10 read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Crane tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

wasn't a bad place at all like it was a nice place. but before they started they said it would be 215 dollars. when they finished my tattoo they changed the price to 350 because it took longer than expected so that was kind of bullshit read more

Great walk in experience here, my fiancé and I wanted to get matching tattoos before we got married. He got the king of hearts on his ring finer and I got queen of hearts on mine. Wolf was my tattoo artist and he had a light hand and was very pleasant. Hopefully I don't need to come back too soon for a touch up, but bandage off the next day and it looks great. Couldn't be happier! read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Terrible lines. Very disappointed. Went the next day in hopes to get the lines sharpened up but they weren't able due to Wolf working on a piece. I asked if someone else could clean it up (make it better obviously) and they said no. I'm from out of town so... yea. You can tell which one sucked and the other one that came out great. Props to the other tattoo guy. Wish he could have done mine. Hope to get a refund on this if the owner sees this terrible job and now I have a "C" tattoo. Smh. read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Do I need to say more! Look at picture. SMH - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

CASH ONLY! (ATM on site) I have stopped in here a number of times with my girl friend and her daughter, leading up to her daughter getting her first tattoo here last weekend. The staff has consistently been friendly with us and the atmosphere is laid back and chill. Décor is on the darker side and most of the example charts are in a pretty classic style (and many include nudity visible). They have artists available who can do just about any style though, and most if not all have art books for you to browse if the artist isn't there when you walk in. Reservations are required and a cash deposit is needed to make one. Minimum about $40 (depending on the project and how close you are to having the work done). Restroom available for customers. Hard, flat uncomfortable benches to wait on if you're waiting in the lobby. The artist that did the tattoo for my friend's daughter was very thorough and prepared the drawing first on a transfer so she could see how it would look, before inking it. She was extremely happy with his work. read more

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I won a $50 gift certificate from tattoo artist JJ Ortiz in the Santa Barbara Public Library summer reading challenge. I've never had a tattoo before so I was excited to get one! Golden Eagle is nice and clean and fairly approachable. JJ was professional and friendly and gave me the tattoo that I wanted exactly as I wanted it. I loved working with JJ. He was extremely helpful in ways I could place my tattoo and the design. When I walked in, I was pretty confident that I knew what I wanted but after meeting with JJ, I appreciated his knowledge and help. I didn't feel that he changed anything about my vision for my tattoo, but enhanced it. I would highly recommend working with JJ Ortiz. read more

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Quick double update for Juan! My best friend and I came by around January and he was so kind and communicative and made sure to answer all of our first time nerve-related questions. Two days ago, I came in during his walk in hours for a free touch up on a few light spots and he was awesome as always. I was in and out in under 10 minutes and I'm so thrilled I got to get my first tattoo here :) read more

I came by Golden Eagle Tattoo around 8 pm on a Friday night, I saw they had a sign out front that said "walk ins welcome" and already had an idea about what I wanted to get. The guy who greeted me at the front desk was super nice and friendly. I showed him some pictures of what I had in mind and he immediately printed out a copy of it to show to the tattoo artist. Signed some paperwork and was ready to go about 10 min after walking in. This review is for Grant. Even though my tattoo is obviously really simple, the line work Grant did is clean. He was extremely friendly and professional, wore a mask the whole time we interacted. My tattoo probably took 15 min, and he chatted with me off and on throughout that time. He made me feel comfortable and again he was super professional. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him because I had a great first experience. I've had the tattoo for about a week now and it's healing great. Grant gave me an aftercare sheet and everything. Really appreciated his knowledge with proper aftercare and all that good stuff. The shop itself was really clean, everyone there was wearing a mask, I didn't feel uncomfortable at any point despite being in the middle of a pandemic. Doors were wide open, plenty of fresh air coming through the place. I would totally go back here and I'm happy to see the shop have its doors open again after being shut down for so long. Thanks Grant! read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Got my nipples pierced and Tragus pierced by josh. He's super Knowledgeable and makes you feel very comfortable while making things as painless as possible. Highly recommend! Can't wait until I can get my nose pierced by him too! read more

Absolutely love this place. Justin is my guy and he makes the whole experience comfortable and fun.

Super cool shop. Grant Luckett killed my tattoo, check him out. especially if your looking for something traditional

Wolf goes hard and is a really cool guy. Relaxed shop with knowledgeable artists. Highly recommend!

For my 30th birthday, I was visiting my old stomping grounds, Santa Barbara, and wanted to get a very simple Tattoo that I had thought about for a long time. I did some research and after reading all the fantastic reviews, decided to go with this shop. I have a few other pieces and thought this might be a simple enough tattoo and any artist (especially a 25+ year veteran) would be capable of handling it -- though I do understand that circles are not always the simplest. He was very confident that he would be able to achieve what I wanted. Everyone at the shop was kind and professional, very clean from what I could tell -- though being greeted by what seemed to be a "half baked" dude, not so heartwarming, we took it as part of the experience. Regardless, after spending $80 plus tip, and following all post care instructions by the artist, this is the end results after over a month. As you can see the open circle is sloppy, the ink bled through, and the lines are now blurred. Seems that he punctured the skin way too deep, resulting in breakage and leaks. Overall, very sad and disappointed. Have to eventually turn this into something else or remove completely bearing additional costs. read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Great experience getting a tattoo with Kasey DuFour - super kind, professional, and did an incredible job! I love my new piece so much!!

Stopped by on a whim and end up getting a tattoo from Rocky. Everyone was exceptionally friendly and I walked away with a great tattoo. Thank you everyone. read more

I've been a customer at Golden Eagle for 9 years now.. I was on my way over to the shop on my skateboard to pick up some earrings upstairs but happened to run over some dog shit that splattered everywhere on me. I thought to myself that it was shitty, but what a lucky break considering I'm at one of the most sterile establishments on State St., a tattoo parlor. So I went in, and the first person who looked at me was Jason. I asked him if I could get a rag with alcohol on it and explained what just happened. He said okay and gave me one, and I began wiping myself and my skateboard off. I then placed the paper towel I was using down for a moment outside so I could go ask for a second. Jason appears to have thought that I was just leaving the shitty rag to go do whatever I was going to do in the store, and approached me pissed off to tell me to throw it out. I told him I was just coming in to ask for a second rag so that I could finish cleaning myself and throw everything in the trash all at once (I didnt want to have to walk over to the trash cans and back when there was still shit all over me I was more focused on getting clean). He then told me no, that he wouldnt give me a rag. I replied that I was just trying to get some earrings upstairs and asked if he could just give me a break and help out to which he said "go ask them for fucking help then." ... appalled, I responded out of anger and said "man what a piece of shit" to which Jason ran out of the store at me and began trying to square up and asking me to fight him and threatening me. I said "bro you are representing a business right now what are you doing" which made him tuck his tail between his legs as I closed the door to the piercing parlor to get separation. As I walked out I got the name of the owner, and tried to explain myself to the girl what had happened to which she rudely basically told me to fuck off and told me I was never allowed to come back even when I hadn't engaged in the threatening behavior, even when I was currently trying to explain myself. I'm pretty shocked and disgusted with the way I was made to feel like I had done something so wrong when all I had asked for was a little bit of help. I've never been treated like this at any store before. To be told I'm not allowed into a store I've given my loyalty for so long by some 19 year old looking girl on a power trip is just fucking sad. I don't leave yelp reviews... I just don't... but this was ridiculous. read more

Ok so I came out to California from Colorado to visit my fiancé who is current working out here and I was so determined to get my tattoo done that I called around and was put on a wait list. My fiancé took me to a romantic get away for a night over in the Santa Barbara area and conveniently it was within blocks of the tattoo parlor. Long story short after researching about this specific shop and speaking with Shea he was able to get me in within 48 hours with Juan who btw.... Did an awesome job on what I was thinking. WAY TO GO GUYS FROM Golden Eagle Tattoo!! read more

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Cool tattoo parlor! We walked into the parlor and were assisted immediately. A brief consultation with the artist discussing measurements and alignment was helpful. I felt very comfortable with the time and price quote. Vanae Rivera is very talented and knows how to make the client feel comfortable and relaxed. Of course, getting new ink hurts but I distracted myself with reading articles within my smartphone. Vanae did take small breaks and inquire if I was ok during the inking process. I will visit the parlor in the future. read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Counter at Golden Eagle - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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I was reffered by a friend to see Juan Ortega to fix an old Tattoo. I was very impressed by the vibe of the shop and Juan listened to my vision and by far surpassed any expectations I had for creating a beautiful tattoo. Truth be told I was very embarrassed of the old tattoo I had and was thinking about going through the pain and $$$$ of having the Laser removal. I am so happy that I went ahead and trusted Juan Ortega and his brilliant artistic abilities to create an exquisite piece of tattoo art. Thank you Juan and Golden Eagle Tattoo! read more

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My pup passed away recently so I started searching for a local artist on IG to have a tattoo of his paw print. I reached out to JMedina and we met up to discuss. I felt like we could work together to create a lasting memory of my Buddy. I was pleased with the tattoo, thought he did a great job and when I was paying him he stated that he guaranteed his work and to just let him know. After about a month of living with it, I thought it did need some minor finishing touches so I reached out to him via IG. He asked me to send a pic and responded by saying that it "looked solid" and if I wanted anything more that I'd have to pay. Mind you, I had already paid $200 for a 2"x2" print that he said was guaranteed. I wanted to make it perfect (in my eyes) and wanted the few spots filled in so I agreed to pay the extra $ and set up a time. When I arrived, he asked what was up so I showed him and told him what I wanted. After some dialogue he said that he was the artist and that he'd been doing this for years, the tattoo looked exactly like the picture (it didn't) and then said that I was too controlling! I was shocked and said it's my body! He then raised his voice and repeated what I had said way louder so the whole parlor could hear. It was obvious at this time that I could no longer work with him going forward. He got super defensive & angry over my simple request and then he said "there's the door" and walked away. Am I the first person who has ever had a tattoo that wanted it to their liking and had it escalate to this degree? What happened to customer satisfaction ??? Clearly not in this guys tool box. read more

My mother and I loved the tattoos we got. The artists are top notch. Felt comfortable, and welcomed, as soon as we walked through the doors.

Contacted the website about booking a tattoo. Was told to contact the artists directly. Contacted one, waited a week, nothing, contacted another, waited a week, nothing. Contacted a third, you get the story. Supposedly this place is good, but clearly they don't want my business one iota. Fine by me. read more

Well i'll start this with mentioning my artist Jason Bradshaw. He is absolutely amazing. We have been working on an entire leg sleeve on my left leg for about two years now. The piece has come out "speechless" amazing. The entire staff and artist there are always quick to chat up a storm and always quick to remember you. Tattoo detail is awesome and the artist all have amazing skill. read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

Andrew and Riley are the shit. My fiancé and I had been talking about getting matching tattoos for a while now, so while vacationing in Santa Barbara we decided to go for it. We randomly walked into Golden Eagle and they were so helpful and accommodating from the get go. Andrew not only did a great job on our tattoos, he hung out and shot the shit with us like we were old friends. Everyone in there was super chill. I highly recommend these mofos. Quality work, fair prices, good people. read more

I got 2 tattoos today from Johnny and he was incredible. Venae answered all my questions via email before coming in. Then when I got there Johnny and 2 other guys gave me great advice on what I wanted in terms what would look more aesthetically pleasing on the specific placements. I am incredibly pleased with my new tattoos on my once virgin skin! Low key obsessed now, might just come back in the future ;] read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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This place !! From the moment I walked in the vibe was different . The receptionist listened and was friendly. Have you ever walked into a tattoo place they're kinda snobby you show them your idea and they snub you off ? I went to 805 tattoo and that was that . I live in Sacramento I was coming to visit . I had tried three whole tattoo places which refused and didn't even work with me to add this on a previous tattoo for me. Golden eagle takes walk in I was there around 12. Two hours later they called me. I had just gotten food but sprinted over immediately. Justin !! He is extremely detailed and takes pride in what he does. 4 hours later right before closing time he was done . He was shooting ideas off with me at first he didn't just turn me down. He was willing to work with me and even got it stenciled . His stencils were so amazing . Like I said he really takes pride and has been tattoo for years. He's really focused and this was his last day before a day off . Look at the details !!! Trust me you want this place . I stayed there four hours and all tattoo artists were so amazing positive and taking pride in the workplace and their work!! I love this place - I honestly thought about getting another tattoo done on my second day here . This is the most detailed tattoo I've ever gotten and to think the main purpose was just a cover up. I'm so happy with it ! read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

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I live in San Diego and went to Santa Barara because my cousin wanted to get her first tattoo. We stopped at Golden Eagle Friday night at the beginning of our pub crawl. We came back at 2 on Saturday to get our tattoos. (her first, my third). Andrew was on time and worked with us both to finalize the artwork to ensure our satisfaction. He did my cousins first, then mine. The work was outstanding. I just keep looking at it impressed with the detail that he put into it. Andrews work far exceeded my expectations. Prices were fair. Shop was clean. Staff answered all our questions. I will be going back to get another one from him soon. I highly recommend this shop and Andrew in particular. Cool guy, great art, and tons if bars on State Street to drink the sting away. Go there and get one this weekend. See you there. (check my profile for pic of tattoo) read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Great Work by Andrew - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

gotten tattoos here and they're great. the piercing place upstairs however is literally the worst service i've ever received. i got a septum piercing a few years ago from them and they were fine. i went to go get a new septum ring for work and the guy working quite literally yelled at me for not reading the "appointment only" sign (didn't think a 30 second interaction of buying something counted) and was so insanely rude that i felt the need to write this review. i can't believe people actually live their lives that miserable. i asked i could make an appointment and he said no, and asked if he knew anywhere i could buy a septum ring and he cut me off to say no. don't bother with this place, absolutely terrible read more

Vanae did an awesome job on my cow tattoo. Such clean lines and great detail!! I sent her a picture of a tattoo I liked that I found online, and asked her to tweak it with some poppies and lavender. She did exactly what I asked :-) thanks Vanae u rock read more

If you decide to go here after reading all the bad reviews, make sure you get a price up front. After working on a piece for my brother for just 2 hours they told me the price was $700!!! I was expecting to pay $150 or maybe even $200 per hour. But $700 was ridiculous and the fact that they didn't mention price at the beginning didn't matter one bit. They said "sorry I dont know what to tell you" read more

Visiting Santa Barbara with a friend, I decided last minute to get a small tattoo on my wrist of a phrase in Russian. Golden Eagle was very accommodating and Justin did a quick, painless tattoo that has healed beautifully! read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I got my first tattoo here in 2015, so when I finally settled on something for my second, I knew that I wanted to work with GE. I worked with Katie who was very helpful especially when I caught COVID and had to reschedule. She connected me with Grant, and he did an amazing job. When I originally went in to get it, we sat down to go over my idea. I wanted a handful of elements in it including my cats. He asked for extra time to get the drawing right, and I'm so glad we delayed by a couple days. Not only was the outlining exactly like my vision, the final product is perfect. He got the fur on my cats right, and people can immediately tell which is which. (The smaller one with the tilted head is clearly my Noodle!!) He did a great job checking in with me and taking the time to get it right. I'd love to work with him again, and now my husband wants to as well!! Thank you Grant and Golden Eagle!!! read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California

I was so intimidated when I first came here. I had just moved to SB for school and within a month of living here I made the decision to get a tattoo. Oh, where have my carefree college days gone? Granted my tattoo is something I had thought about for a couple years and is just a single word, not as exciting as the beautiful pieces of art many others get, I would go here again. As intimidated and unfamiliar with the tattoo world as I was when I first entered, everyone at the shop made it simple. They were so accommodating and very busy - both are good for a shop to have. During my first visit, I explained what I wanted and they told me they didn't have time that day, but to come back the next day at a specified time. I returned and worked with Neal. I flipped through the script they had in the books at the shop and none of it really stood out. So I ended up describing to Neal what I wanted and showed him a mix of 3 or so different types of scripts and the qualities I liked from each. He was able to freehand an incredible font that they didn't have in any of their script books. I've received many compliments on the script and have no regrets. I've been thinking about getting another tattoo and would definitely return to this place for it if I'm ever in the area again. read more

I had a terrible experience at Golden Eagle. I came here for a small piece on my foot - a black and white anchor, about 2" square. The "artist" who worked on it clearly didn't care very much about it because it was such a small piece (therefore he wouldn't make very much money on it...) and completely rushed through the piece. The lines were completely blown out and it looked awful. It looked so bad I have since gone over it with another tattoo that I did NOT get at Golden Eagle. Don't come here if you're not throwing down for a big piece of work; they only care about the people who are there to spend $500+ on their tattoos. Oh and it's cash only, which is pretty inconvenient. read more

I don't have any tattoos... I came here specifically for the piercing studio, which is located upstairs. Now, I've had piercings done at really shitty places because I wanted to save some money, and trust me... that was probably one of the dumbest things I could've ever done. Not only did I waste all that money because the piercing wasn't done right and I had to take it out, but what if I had some sort of allergic reaction to the jewelry? Let me tell you that this place is legit. They know what they're talking about and if they think that your piercing isn't going to be a good idea, they won't do it. Every question I've ever thrown at them, they had an answer for and when you're in the studio, you are NOT ALLOWED to touch any of your piercings, regardless of whether they've been fully healed or not. Its CASH ONLY, btw. read more

Love Golden Eagle! I've gone there for all of my tattoos (and nose piercing on the second floor) and always walked away more than satisfied! My most recent tattoo was done by Vanae, who is incredibly talented and experienced! She was patient and supportive when I asked her to make small changes to the design several times. Vanae also mentioned important size and placement considerations for the best-looking and longest-lasting tattoo. The finished product (one word in cursive on my wrist) is beautiful and I love it! My friend also got a tattoo done at the same time as I and her experience with her artist was equally as positive. Highly recommend coming here! read more

Golden Eagle Tattoo - "Geliebt" means "loved" in German - Tattoo Near Me - Santa Barbara, California