City Optometry

San Francisco, United States

3.7

Open now

20 reviews

By Appointment Only

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 415-291-8560
Website:
www.city-optometry.com
Address:
530 Bush St Ste 101, San Francisco, CA, 94108
b/t Chatham Pl & Stockton St
Chinatown, Union Square
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
180 ftBig Bus Tours Stop 17, China Town
0.2 miBig Bus Tours Stop 5, Union Square South
0.2 miBig Bus Tours Stop 16, Union Square North
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Bussiness info

By Appointment Only
Yes

Today

Today 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Open now
Local time (San Francisco) 1:52 PM Wednesday, July 2, 2025

Business hours

Monday 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Tuesday 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Wednesday 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Thursday 10:00 am – 5:30 pm
Friday 9:00 am – 5:30 pm
Saturday 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Sunday –

Description

Specialties

We are a full service Optometric practice that provides examinations from 6 months of age and up. Our office stresses customer service and our staff are some of the most highly trained in the field. We carry a wide selection of frames from affordable to top name designers and lenses that are 30%thinner than available just a few years ago. Our doctors have over 40 years of combined experience in fitting contacts of all designs… disposables, multifocals contacts, hybrid soft-​rigid, astigmatism correcting contacts, keratoconic lenses, rigid gas permeables as well as post-​surgical contacts. We are providers on all the PPO medical plans and offer same day appointments for eye emergencies ranging from foreign body removal to treating eye infections. Our office has the latest in diagnostic equipment that will help detect glaucoma up to 15 years earlier than before, monitor macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy.

History

Established in 1987.

Doctor’s Penza and Morioka attended UC Berkeley School of Optometry together. Upon graduation they opened City Contacts Optometry in the 450 Sutter building. In 1995 they moved to their current location of 530 Bush Street.

Meet the Business Owner

V P.

Business Owner

Doctor’s Penza and Morioka attended UC Berkeley School of Optometry together. Upon graduation they opened City Contacts Optometry in the 450 Sutter building. In 1995 they moved to their current location of 530 Bush Street.

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20 reviews of City Optometry

No registration required
Place rating: 1
Eugene, OR
They canceled on me before I got in the door and had no openings for rescheduling. Very short sighted.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Wonderful experience here! My uncorrected vision is really poor. Even corrected, there was still a slight blur. Other professionals had told me this was due to an astigmatism. Doctors Morioka and Penza were pretty relentless in getting me to 20/​20, finally suggesting that I add a relatively new prism technology to my lens. (They’re one of the few centers in the country that do this.) The change was dramatic, almost feeling for the first time ever I was seeing the world in 3-​D. Can’t thank them and their wonderful staff enough:)
Place rating: 1
Financial District, San Francisco, CA
Last week, I called your office, provided by social and insurance info, so you can check my coverage. You CLEARLY told me that I’m covered for eye exam + glasses. Today, Dec 26, I adjusted my schedule, woke up early, traveled all the way to your clinic only to find out THAT IM NOT ELIGIBLE FOR GLASSES because your clinic is NOT contracted to Spectara. First, do NOT deceive your customers by telling them FALSE information. It’s not a fair and honest practice in business. Cheating decreases your reputation. You shouldve told me upfront when I inquired via phone about what’s eligible or not so it wont waste my time. BEWARE of this CLINIC. If I could give you negative star, you deserve it.
Place rating: 4
San Jose, CA
Doctor and receptionists are awesome. They didn’t have as many frame options but I would recommend these guys. The doctor was able to find something wrong with my eyes that other doctors have missed. He’s awesome and really there to help you.
Place rating: 5
San Carlos, CA
I have been visiting City Optometry and Dr Penza for years and am FINALLY getting to reviewing them. I have always had great service but recently went in for my eye exam and Dr Penza noticed I looked a little off, not a big stretch, Not to get into too many details he found that I had Vertical Heteraphoria which has all sorts of side effects from headaches to anxiety in crowds. It was most likely caused by head injury when I was young and it causes one our both eyes, both in my case, to be out of alingement. After an exhaustive evaluation I got my new prescription and then my new glasses. The results were life changing. Many eye doctors are not trained on this but Dr. P went the extra mile and received training in this and I am greatful. As an update the supercool carbon fiber frames I bought started to fray on my vacation in mexico and when I went back in they swapped them out… NO Hassle
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Unrivaled!
Very efficient and thorough optometrist. I feel my prescription has never been so precise and the review of eye health was very helpful and informative.
The assistance with choosing the right glasses was inspired also. After just a few questions, she selected exactly the right group to choose from. She then gave honest feedback that made me feel comfortable that I was choosing the right pair on the first occasion I’ve done so without my wife’s perspective in the mix.
She and I both love them.
I’d give 10 stars if I could!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Best staff ever! I was in and out of there with a new prescription for contacts/​glasses and with all my questions answered.
Per my request, I was called and offered and earlier appointment because there was a cancellation for a Saturday. Immediately upon arrival, I was greeted by the girls up front who were very helpful and sweet. They informed me of my vision benefits in detail, provided me with an estimated cost of the visit and explained that it would be paid upon checkout after all the procedures were performed. Dr. Morioka was very gracious and efficient. She kindly offered to dilate my eyes and explained the benefits for doing so but i declined and she did not push the subject.
The office is open on weekends which is great because I do not need to take time off work. More importantly, they have an extensive selection of quality, trendy glasses — for every shape and size! Bye forever LensCrafters.
Place rating: 1
San Francisco, CA
Dr. Penza and Dr. Morioka are fantastic Optometrists. I’ve been seeing them for 10 years and couldn’t recommend them more highly to anyone looking for really great eye care in downtown San Francisco. Unfortunately, I’m leaving this practice now because after 10 years of dealing with their increasingly incompetent staff, I’ve had enough. Every single person in the front of the house – receptionists, billing, scheduling managers, eyeglass and contact lens specialists – are all rude, disorganized and don’t know the first thing about managing patients or customers. If the doctors can read this, I would seriously consider turning over your entire front office staff before you lose more patients.
Place rating: 1
San Francisco, CA
Unpleasant experience with the receptionist who was very informative and kept putting me on hold. She said she would call me back after she verifies with their health insurance specialist. Umm. Okay, I just told you I have vision coverage. Long story short, the impression I received was that they prefer you to «self pay». Will definitely not be coming here and found another optometrist instead.
Place rating: 1
Pacifica, CA
The first impression of your company is your receptionist. When they do a poor job it makes customers think that the rest of your business is poor.
I attempted to make an appointment. I called and got:
«Hello?»
Is this a business or someone’s personal line?
«I want to make an appointment»
«Uhhh, How are you today?!»
Fine.
«OK! I can help you with that…»
Clicking in the background and then
«Please hold! Hold on! Please hold!»
More clicking and talking and then someone actually presses hold and music blares in my ear.
Uhh??? No thanks. I’ll go somewhere else.
Place rating: 5
Atlanta, GA
I’m not a patient of this place and they treated me like gold. We were visiting from out of town and my wife had some trouble with her contact lenses. Saw their store and walked in to ask for assistance. Both Ruby and Karen were extremely friendly and accommodating. Not only did they let my wife wash her contacts they also gave her a lens case and a free bottle of saline. All this service for someone who is not a patient is amazing. Thank you for your generosity.
Place rating: 3
San Francisco, CA
I visited City Optometry last week for an annual exam and contact fitting. The office was very nice, as was the administrative staff. I was pleased with the visit and all of the appropriate testing that goes along with it. I felt I spent an adequate amount of time with the doctor, although I did feel that she rushed the portion of the exam where she evaluated my prescription. Either way, the visit was satisfactory.
Place rating: 1
San Francisco, CA
DO NOT GO HERE!!!
I was overcharged and lied to by the staff. I had to wait for a very long time, despite the fact that I had an appointment and filled my paperwork ahead of time.
To make matters worse, I was told to come back another time to finish the routine eye exam, and that no appointment was necessary.
However, when I called about coming in to finish the routine exam, I was told I had to wait several weeks for an appointment, and that I was going to be charged TWICE as much as the first appointment!
This place has:
— Poor customer service
— Dishonest employees
— Overcharging
— Attitude from staff
— Most glasses they sell are around $ 500
I’d strongly recommend looking elsewhere, as my experience at City Optometry is the worst doctor’s experience I’ve ever had.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Great doctors and staff! I made an appointment with Dr. Penza off of a friend’s recommendation and was thrilled with my experience. I have been putting off getting contacts for years but it got to the point where I was constantly squinting and my glasses were not cutting it.
Dr.Penza himself way very nice and thorough, he walked me through everything and explained the different diagnosis in each eye. Karen, the woman who helped me put in my contacts was great and so patient with me. I walked away feeling like I completely understood everything and was very happy. Also, I went during the work day and they were very cognizant of my time and helped get me in and out as quickly as possible without short changing me.
I would absolutely recommend to anyone who needs an optometrist in the city!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Dr. Pensa is terrific. He’s very thorough, patient and clear with explanations. I had waited too long to get a new prescription (seven years!) and he didn’t blame, «tsk tsk» or anything. It turned out after the exam, I had what’s called a binocular problem (eyes not tracking exactly together) and the subsequent exam to correct this was long and involved and he just calmly led me through it step by step. He’s a gem. Oh, and the front office was very professional navigating the usual insurance thicket. 5 stars
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Everyone at City Optometry has been great. I’ve had a bad outcome with lasik and they are working through it with me – thank goodness. In particular, DeeDee McMullin, the optician, made a couple of pairs of glasses for me that will get me through until I figure out what my options are. I really appreciated DeeDee helping find a solution when I felt like I was losing my mind. Even before this craziness, they have all been very helpful. Thanks to everyone there.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I’ve been a patient of Dr. Penza’s for 15+ yrs. i recommend him and Dr. Morioka to others because of their professionalism, expertise, and level of personal service they give to me. I’m not a «simple» case patient.
I have glaucoma, extreme dry eyes, astigmatism in one of my eyes, and had a retina detachment that left me with limited vision on one eye. I can’t even begin to express my appreciation for the amount of time Dr. Penza has spent to help me find solutions for all my vision issues.
We all have different needs and expectations, and I trust my vision care to Dr. Penza and Morioka.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Let me save you some trouble: if you’re bound to using VSP insurance, City Optometry is your spot! I did the arduous research — which included visiting the website of each VSP doctor within 5 miles of me — and can confirm that City Optometry offers the best frame selection. Some of my favorite frames are made by Tom Ford, Ray Ban, and Oliver Peoples, and these guys carry all three. I had my eyes on a gorgeous pair of Tom Ford frames that I liked so much, I purchased them in both black and tortoise! I also purchased a really cool lilac-​colored pair of prescription sunglasses (Oliver Peoples) for the first time, and I’m not sure how I previously lived without these life-​changers. VSP insurance doesn’t offer what I’d call a robust discount, but they do offer a deeper discount if you purchase multiple frames and lenses.
The staff is very friendly and accommodating with even the tightest schedules — and the turnaround time on glasses is pretty impressive (in most cases you’ll receive them within three days).
I think I’m good on glasses for a long while… next year, I’ll use my VSP discount to replenish my contact lenses supply!
Place rating: 5
Richmond, CA
They take VSP for ic-​berlins! If that sentence makes sense to you, TAKE Note because no one else in they Bay area does. I’ve called everyone. Great doctors, very helpful, charming staff, I couldn’t ask for more except for them to be in the East Bay too. Yes, they take VSP!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
After my current Eyeglass provider announced that they wouldn’t be working with the Google Glass frames, I looked around online for a place that would. Google Recommended City Optometry as one of a handful of preferred vision specialists trained to fill prescriptions for the Google Glass frames. 15 minutes later, I was fitted and out the door, and three days later, the lenses were complete and ready for me. They had put a rush on my order because I was leaving town and wanted to have Glass ready for my trip.
Thanks Guys!