Dian Shi San (店溡三) is that rare place that is unequivocally hip but doesn’t feel like it. A combination coffee shop (the 38rmb Eisbock Dirty is the signature), bar (craft beers and Laiba cocktails) and tattoo parlor (ink from 800rmb), it’s centered on the personalities of the two tattoo artist / baristas who run the place. For me, that’s Jinn, who has been tattooing for eight years and has a lot of stories to tell while holding court at the espresso machine.

The store is on a rapidly changing stretch of Yuyuan Lu, once sleepy but now very hip. We’ve been here before. But unlike a lot of those stores that trade in aloof trendiness, Dian Shi San feels more genuine. It opened at exactly the wrong time — Chinese New Year 2020 — and promptly closed for the epidemic but now it, and Jinn are back. She dreams up creative things standing behind that counter: a tom yum Americano and a craft beer Americano are just two. If you’re in the area and need caffeine, alcohol and a permanent drawing lodged under your skin, go say hi to Jinn. Dian Shi San is at 1213 Yuyuan Lu near Anxi Lu. Click here for the full listing.