Manhattan Eyeworks

Great glasses, nice people, no pressure. Frank, has a great eye and can can really help when you are deciding on frames, Ask for him if you get as stuck as I was, and he will come out and personally help you He is also very knowledgeable and can help you to get your lenses just perfect .I love this place. They are there for you until you are happy. This is my second time getting glasses here.

Dr. Chu is great. Obviously knowledgeable, but also approachable and willing to spend time discussing things with patients. The office also has a good handle on what my insurance does and does not cover so that I don’t have to worry about surprise charges.

Went in to get my Ray Bans fixed. Very nice lady did it in less than 5 minutes and when I offered to pay (since I had not purchased them there) she said no. Any business willing to take care of a non customer surely does much for their own. I’ll go here for any future purchases.

the best place in NY for eye care. Frank and Dr. Chu are amazing! Trust me no need to go elsewhere.

For many years, I have gotten my contacts from Manhattan Eyeworks. They have provided excellent service and the contacts always arrive in a couple of days. However, when you want to buy glasses somewhere else, they sure don’t make it easy to get your prescription. They won’t give it out over the phone or over email, only fax. So I went in person, only to be told that they only give out prescriptions that are up to two years old. I was frustrated because the person I spoke to over the phone could have told me this and saved me a visit. I will still get my contacts here, because I don’t want to pay for another eye exam somewhere else… but if you get an eye exam here, just remember to ask for your prescription on the spot and write it down! You never know where you might want to get glasses or contacts next.

Walking by, I saw the sign advertising $ 99 frame and lenses. As the frame on my computer glasses recently broke, I decided to try them out. In one hour, they had nice new frames for me (with the lenses from the old pair, because that was my decision)! Thanks to Yolanda at the counter for her help. A good experience!

I have been buying glasses and contacts from Manhattan Eyeworks for many years. The staff is warm and friendly. Dr. Chu is extremely knowledgeable and takes as much time as necessary to ensure that my prescription provides the clearest vision and most comfortable fit possible.

Came for contacts and glasses for the first time in… I would say 6 – 7 years. Everything was great and extremely efficient. I got in and out in about 30 mins.
One funny spot was when I tried on the glasses, mind you, I have a huge head. When I tried on one pair of the glasses the lady helping me laughed at me because I looked ridiculous. I’ll have to agree with her, since it felt like I was wearing my baby brother’s lenses. We came to a conclusion after many tries… and at the end and I walked about with a nice pair.

Been coming here for years and I love this this place! Friendly, fast and they always have the newest products.

Dr. Chu is so friendly, polite and makes you feel like she really has your best interest at heart. The woman behind the desk was also very nice and helpful. With my VSP insurance an eye exam for glasses was $ 20 and for contacts was $ 60. The place looks a bit run down, but it gets the job done so I have no complaints. I don’t think I would buy any new glasses here, as the selection wasn’t too great, but I will most likely be purchasing my contacts here since I get a $ 130 allowance with my insurance. If you’re looking for a good eye doctor and a place to get contacts in the East Village, this is the place for you.

I would have given this place 3 stars but am resorting to 1 for two reasons. Firstly, my credit card was swiped for and charged 82 dollars in the store, which happens to be what I signed for. However, the next day my bank account showed up as being charged 112. When I called to ask about it they told me that it was because an additional test done on me in the office. Of course, I understand having to pay for what’s being done to me but not having been told it was additional and then not having it on my receipt is not okay at all. While speaking to the receptionist on the phone I had to mention three times that I wasn’t told about it, to which she replied «so you think we owe you 30 dollars?» I answered by stating that I have no problem paying it but it upsets me that I have to call on my break from work to settle it. At this point it finally dawned on this professional to apologize for any kind d misunderstanding.
The second reason for the low score is the fact that they did not give me my prescription and when I asked about it I was told they could fax it to me (who has a fax nowadays?) or I’d have to pick it up in person. So now I have to take 2 hours out of my life to get down there and pick it up and go home, just great.
The original 3 stars would have been given due to promptness and cleanliness.

Staff is friendly. There was an error with the price of my glasses but they fixed it. So all is good now and I really like my glasses.

I just purchased my third prescription pair of glasses here. I always ask for the works, transitional, progressive etc. Each experience here has been flawless. The staff is patient and friendly, the selection is varied, the doctor thorough and the turn around time is fast. It’s a local business, which is always important to me. I highly recommend supporting this small East Village business — Thanks guys for giving me sight!

Came here to get my glasses prescription filled. Fast and friendly service. Great recommendation on the glasses. My glasses were ready within 48hrs. I would def recommend them. They take VSP insurance. After my insurance I think I only paid $ 74 for the frames I wanted.

I am not sure how this place was highly rated, but I found it interesting that Unilocal filtered 14 mostly negative reviews out of the overall rating.
Long story short, I am not coming back to this place and I would not recommend other people to come here either unless you don’t care about getting extremely pricey options pushed to you and very rude unhelpful customer service.
I came in November 2013 as a new NYC resident looking for an optometrist. This place took my insurance, got decent reviews, and was in east village, so it fit the bill.
The eye exam was okay as all exams are, but the dr. kept trying to get me to get daily contact lenses over the monthly ones I was wearing. Okay fine, they might be better, so I asked her a ballpark how much more it would cost, and she refused to answer, saying it varies from person to person (what?).
Turns out they cost roughly 4 times more, from $ 200 to $ 800 for a half year supply (at least for me). Lovely.
So here’s where things get bad:
–They say my parents annual insurance that has me covered has already been used this year and won’t renew until December 2014. Hello, it’s November 2013 for an annual insurance. They refuse to double check.
–They push and push me into buying my lens right on the spot. I’ve never had a problem before, so this is my fault for buying it without trying on the trial lens, but usually exams are pretty good at giving you a proper prescription, not this one. They refuse to give me a refund for a month.
–After many messages and a number of phone calls. I get an exchange after a $ 20 re-​stocking fee. I ask to use my old prescription (which has toric lenses), they claim they need a toric fitting fee of $ 30 because its special. I ask when can I come in. They say you don’t have to come in, it’s on your old prescription (so why is this fee warranted at all?).
–I finally pick up my lens in store, I ask for a reciept. They say they faxed it to me and refuse to give me a paper copy. I ask for my prescription, they refuse to give it to me saying they faxed it to me. I check my faxes, it is an almost illegible scribble.
–I ordered a half year supply with the intention of ordering elsewhere, but the only copy of my prescription is the illegibly scribbled copy. I am scared of asking them because I know from prior experience the owner is likely going to yell at me for an hour on the phone about why I am not allowed to see my own prescription and if I want to, I’ll have to pay an additional fee.
tl;dr don’t come here.

Dr. Elaine Chu is amazing! I highly recommend her. She was on time, knowledgeable and so so nice. Plus for a Williamsburger you can’t beat the location right off of the L train at 14^th!

Excellent service! I have purchased a pair of reading glasses and a pair of sunglasses from Manhattan Eyeworks. I’ve returned multiple times to have the frames adjusted and they do it for free.
My sunglasses broke and were still under warranty. I come in and they just hand me a new pair and say they will deal with the warranty replacement on their own.
You will not get this kind of service at one of the national chains.

I had the best experience. The staff was friendly and especially the guy working there. He helped me with my contacts and it was done in no time.
Will definitely go back there to order my contacts!

I’ve been going here for some 5 years. I moved to Texas about 2 years ago and couldn’t find lenses that they sold here so I sent my glasses and those of my son’s back to Manhattan Eyeworks to fill the prescription. They did it in record time and sent back the frames at no charge via Fedex. This is a great service to me.
The main guy who works there has a peculiar attitude to people, not exactly gushing with friendliness, a bit aloof, however if you overlook that and I do, it’s well worth using them.

Good service, reasonable prices, and friendly, patient staff. I’m a repeat customer.
Would have given 5 of 5 stars if they had some more Rx sunglasses to choose from. But I’m picky. Staff and service get 5 of 5 stars. Frame selection for non-​sunglasses gets 4 of 5, and for sunglasses, 3 of 5.