How can I find an excellent optometrist in the SF Bay Area?

June 27, 2011 3:08 PM

How can I find an excellent optometrist in the SF Bay Area?

I recently had an eye exam. I don't feel confident. Maybe it was alright -- I'm not qualified to judge. But it felt fast, breezy, and unthorough.

I really want to find the best person I can for this.

Any optometrist recommendations? Relatively reliable websites?

posted by eeby to Health & Fitness (13 answers total)

I go to Alex Leukens at Eyewise Optometry in Alameda, and he seems thorough and competent, plus I like his manner. He also gets good reviews on yelp, so there's a little more data for you.
posted by aubilenon at 3:16 PM on June 27, 2011

Dr Gooderman is the best. Be prepared for long appointments though.
posted by oneear at 3:16 PM on June 27, 2011

Btw: The SF Bay Area also includes San Jose and Novato - you might want to narrow it down a little, unless recommendations for places an hour away are still helpful for you.
posted by aubilenon at 3:17 PM on June 27, 2011 [1 favorite]

I'm a longtime fan of Dr. Ashby Jones in San Francisco (SoMa, near the ballpark). He practices with his wife at Mission Bay Optometry. He's very through, has a bunch of high-tech gizmos, and is incredibly knowledgeable about eye health and screening for potential problems in the future (he helped a family member with an issue that was baffling ophthalmologists). Staff is friendly and helpful too.
posted by zachlipton at 3:29 PM on June 27, 2011

If you are willing to go to Napa, Dr. Gregg Beach and his associates are fantastic.
posted by guster4lovers at 3:30 PM on June 27, 2011

I'm a huge fan of Dr. Melvyn Bert. He's right downtown, fast yet thorough, has an amazingly helpful and caring staff, and he's a nice guy. I've gotten the best glasses I've ever had from him.
posted by Pecinpah at 3:53 PM on June 27, 2011

If you're near Palo Alto, the eye doctors at PAMF are by far the best I've ever seen. They're expensive though, if not covered by your insurance. I found that out the hard way.
posted by jeffamaphone at 3:54 PM on June 27, 2011

I actually go to see an ophthalmologist for my vision exams. He also has an optometrist on staff who does the fine tuning of the prescription but he meets with you as well at every appointment. It is great having a relationship with an ophthalmologist should anything every go wonky with your eyeballs. He and his office finally got me contacts that worked after multiple attempts with optometrists. Dr. Dean Hirabayashi. He is in Union Square in SF - right next door to Macy's on Geary.
posted by Wolfie at 3:54 PM on June 27, 2011

Dr. Clark in Mountain View is FANTASTIC.
posted by prefpara at 4:55 PM on June 27, 2011

If you're looking for a thorough eye exam, I would go to the UC Berkeley Optometry school. You get an eye exam by a student and then by their instructor. I've had extremely thorough (like an hour long) eye exams there and they noticed things that no one else has ever mentioned to me. I highly recommend it!
posted by kms at 9:34 AM on June 28, 2011

Try Yelp for optometrists close to where you live.

If you're near Milpitas or Northeast San Jose then I recommend Dr. Ngo.
posted by Long Way To Go at 2:27 PM on June 28, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks for the help, everyone.
posted by eeby at 4:00 PM on June 29, 2011

Response by poster: I went to Dr Gooderman. Yes, he is excellent.
posted by eeby at 10:14 AM on July 12, 2011