manhattan’s Oldest
Tattoo Studio

Owned and operated by the Bakaty family since 1976

Generations of New YORK
ARtisans

Born in the midst of the underground atmosphere of New York City’s ban on tattooing (which existed from the early 1960s until the late 1990s), Fineline Tattoo NYC worked to establish itself from 1976 on as one of the very few underground / illegal / appointment-only tattoo parlors that offered professionalism in artistry, craftsmanship, and hygiene.

Amidst the trend towards boutique and attitude-heavy parlors, Fineline is a welcome throwback to the old school, no-nonsense tattoo studio of days gone by. Come see why Fineline has been the go-to place for those in the know on the Lower East Side for over 40 years now.

Testimonials

“Fineline Tattoo is an institution. Mehai has been tattooing me for the past few years, including creating and executing a full sleeve that is nothing less than spectacular.”

— Daryl T., Manhattan, NY

“I started a large back tattoo here with Mehai. He was very patient, professional and helpful with my newest piece. I have 2 friends that had gotten large Japanese pieces done by him and I found one I fell in love with and he was the guy I felt was best to do it. The tattoo came out better than I could have imagined especially being that my first session was nearly 4 hours for the outline alone. I'm already pleased and can't wait to finish the rest.”

— Tony A. L., Manhattan, NY

“For Father's day, my dad and I got tattoos together (highly recommended as a bonding activity). These were both our 1st tattoos and I was quite nervous but Mehai worked with both of us to get the right design for both of our tattoos.”

— Tara L., Woodhaven, Queens, NY

Fineline has always been a family space. 1. The Ang sisters honoring their dad's Chinese heritage with family name tattoos. 2. Family tattoo outing for Linda, Nick, and Jackson. 3. Husband and wife tattoos for Marnie and Shir. Thank you to @kren078
Happy birthday, Mike Bakaty. Mike would have been 85 today. #mikebakaty #newyorktattoo #newyorktattoohistory #tattoohistory #finelinetattoo #finelinetattoonyc
Had the pleasure to visit with the legendary @lalhardy @newwavetattoo north London. Till next time my friend🙏🏻 #england #legend #tattoohistory #tattoohistorybytattooers #englishtattoo #londonlegends #knightsoftheroundshader
Had the opportunity last night to catch up with a bunch of old friends and meet a bunch of new people, not to mention talk a bit about my family, tattoo family, and life in ink. Thank you @tribal_publishing and @kingsavetattoo for the consideration.
Sitting with our friend clayton Paterson @claytonles pouring over the new book “in the shadows the people’s history of New York underground tattooing” a lot of info here a deep walk down memory lane for me. Nice visit and thank you
Tattoo workstation at 295 Bowery 1993. This was prohibition era for tattooing in New York. The ban would be lifted just a few years later when we moved to the storefront on fist avenue where we operated for more than 20 years. We are once again back
So I know todays the Oscar’s are tonight and the Tony’s were a while ago but congratulations to the browday production of @takemeoutbway ! Here with the wardrobe department! thanks for coming in to celebrate go work team!😊🙏🏻 go empires
Man I miss my old store sometimes but still open and taking appointments at finelinetattoo.com link in bio. Back to the underground back to the roots check out the new site make and appointment lets do some work together! @mehai.bakaty #newyorktatto
Ran into Joe Coleman at his show at 212 Bowery. Really cool stuff. Check it out. #joecoleman #manabouttown