European Optical Corporation

I rarely write reviews, but this place def. deserves one. I have been going here since 1. it’s close by my work place 2. it’s near my fav. chicken spot. (: The staff here is extra friendly and attentive, which is important to me when it comes to service industries. I have gotten a couple of exams done here, once a year for an annual check up and another incident where I had a cyst in my eye which was really bothersome. Dr. was able to provide me with caring advice and etc., and it was gone within a week! Also, the best part is that they accept my insurance which is an extra plus +. They recently relocated across the street from Third Flr and Turntable– which is convenient as well– I actually like the layout better than the last location.

The doctor is good at what he does… but I hate the customer service! Every time I walk out of here they piss me off!!!

I have been going to Dr. Kim for over 20 years for eye exams, contacts and glasses. I highly recommend this place. Great customer service, knowledgeable staff, a wide selection of frames and sunglasses (brands that you may not be able to find at your average optician). Usually I just drop by once a year and I don’t have to wait very long. I think if you give the staff an idea of the type of frames you are looking for they will not only help narrow things down, but they will also find the ones that fit best with your features; they do this all the time and have a good sense of what works.

I guess it’s a «love it or hate it» type place. I’ve been getting my contacts here for years and it’s always been super easy. I usually just drop in for the eye exam without an appointment (once a year or whatever it is) and then reorder by phone. Never had to wait long, and one time, while I was having my eye exam they were nice enough to adjust my crusty old glasses that had got all bent out of shape.

I have been going here for at least 10 years but probably more than that. For all those years all of the staff (some have gone in and out) have been consistently nice, without pressuring customers to buy anything that the customer didn’t come in looking for. They make very honest and practical suggestions if you do need to make new choices for corrective lenses. They try very hard to accommodate my schedule when I call in advance to make an appointment.
Dr. Kim also is great. First, whenever I went in to see him, whatever I went in for was resolved. He has prescribed me meds that made weird things on my eyes disappear, he has adjusted the lenses of my glasses to fit my needs (reading a lot at close range), he has recommended specialists when needed.
Insurance here was never a problem, even though many insurances are not accepted by everyone. I have had some insurances for which providers were hard to find but this place has always accepted my insurance, whether it was a private one or through school.
Lastly, an important aspect: everyone there is very friendly and efficient. Sometimes I will avoid an otherwise excellent business because they are racist or pushy or irrationally rude to me.
Their efficiency is great and it makes everything easy and timely. Sometimes I may avoid a place because it takes too long and my schedule sometimes just cannot accommodate a 1.5 to 2 hour chunk of my day. I have never had a long wait problem here. I can go in, take care of my business, then get on with my life. I don’t need to suffer the anger of waiting time exceeding the length of the actual meeting with the doctor /​interacting with reception.
Overall, highly recommended.

One of the lens popped out of my glasses. These guys fixed it right away for only $ 5. Nice people too.

I have been going to dr. Kim for years now. He has been most kind and professional. His staff members are very attentive and kind as well. I recommend this place for someone who is looking for long term relation with a good opthamalogist!

Ordered a set a new contacts from here and ended up not liking them (my eyeballs are weird). Staff was super nice and gracious about letting me test trial another brand before ordering that one instead. They let me return opened boxes of the previous one and even gave me samples of eyedrops and solution. It’s the small things.
Good communicators and followed up post visit regarding delivery of the new contacts.
Only gripe I have about this place is that it’s in the HEART of ktown and there are always so many people outside. Current construction on the block does not help.

They are the best. Super fast and helpful! When I needed my prescription sunglasses prior to leaving the country and the provider was taking long to ship the frames, they used a more expensive pair in stock and didn’t even charge me extra for the frames or to make it that same day.

This place is absolutely the BEST optical store in NYC!
First, the store has the widest selection of frames, which ranges from the more affordable, popular designer brands, to the most prestigious optical brands. Just let them know what features you are looking for and they will lay out options in different price points for you. The store associates are very kind. I tried on gazillion frames and they still looked happy to assist me find the right pair.
Second, Dr. Kim has over 30 yrs of experience that he understands patients/​customers extremely well. My job requires me to be in front of the computer for an extensive amount of time, so with contact lenses on, my eye dries and itches. But I can’t wear glasses for more than few hours either because it makes me dizzy and nauseous (I know I’m weird). (God bless) Dr. Kim found me the contact lenses brand that doesn’t irritate my eyes (which was TruEye in my case, so I switched from Moist), and wrote me a prescription for my glasses that I feel comfortable enough to wear all day. I couldn’t take my true correction as it made me dizzy and nauseous again. Somehow he found the balance between function and comfort. (This was my third eye exam this year, as others weren’t able to find this balance. Experience. Experience. Experience!)
I have been wearing my glasses and only glasses for the past 3 days. My eyes are enjoying their first vacation free from contact lenses in two decades — and I don’t feel dizzy and nauseous for the first time in my life! I also love how I look in my new frames!
Anyone who stays in front of computers for long hours, who are concerned about eye fatigue, or who are simply looking for fashion statement opticals/​sunglasses, should try out this place! Seriously!!!

Really wish I’d read Unilocal reviews before going here. Went in for a routine eye exam with a benefit voucher from work. Several times in the past, I’ve used the voucher at one place and bought the frames from another. This place held my own benefit voucher hostage until I: a) bought a pair of their ugly and over-​priced frames, or b) paid the eye exam out of pocket even though I’m covered.
The cost of their eye exam: $ 70.
And they were rude as hell. Stay away from this hole.

I went to this place to change my glasses frame since my old one was broken. The service was decent and efficient.
HOWEVER, the price of the glasses frame I bought from them was ridiculously high. I checked the retail price online and it only costed 139 US dollars, but they charged me 230 US dollars, which is 65% more.
I will never go to that place anymore, since I believe that a good business man should be honest.

!!! CAREFUL OF THIS PLACE !!!
Pros (if I have to say): Lots of eye frame selection, Dr. Kim is good enough.
Cons: WILL DO ANYTHING TO RIP YOU OFF.
I’ve bought a pair of soft contact lens. They charged me over $ 200 for them, and they also said it lasts a year so I need to change after that. YOU KNOW WHAT? THE CONTACT LENS ORIGINALLY COST ABOUT $ 20 AND THEY ARE ACTUALLY MEANT TO BE CHANGED EVERY 3 MONTHS. WTF? I understand that they gotta rip you off a bit for the service and the rent (esp since it’s in the middle of manhattan) but still, even taking those into account, $ 20 thing can’t be $ 200 with such LIES.
It’s not only for that contact lens, same thing for a different type of contacts. C’mon, get some conscience. If I didn’t contact the manufacturer of the contact lens and get second opinions of them, I would’ve been wearing that 3-​month contact lens for a fucking year. I can’t believe this place ripped this much off me over and over and could almost hurt my eyes.

After going through a bizarre and terrible attempt at attaining Rx sunglasses from Penn Optical, I ended up returning everything to them and starting over.
European Optical was (second) closest to my work, and has decent reviews, so I figured I’d give them a try.
They were helpful, knowledgeable, friendly, and most importantly, GOT THE JOB DONE RIGHT. My glasses were finished in 4 business days (sooner than they said they would be) and they were made perfectly. They did in 4 days what Penn Optical couldn’t do in over a month. Thanks, European Optical!
Bonus: Korean grocery next door has weird imported fishy snacks that I like.

I came here due to some headaches I was having and he did all of the necessary tests and told me I just needed to fix my prescription. I came back to try out new contacts twice and they were very nice about it. The new contacts are a different brand as my old contacts and I definitely don’t like them as much, but it was my fault I didn’t mention anything before buying a year supply… I do wish they stocked more brands of contacts though.

Seriously, this place is no joke. I don’t even wanna give this place a single star.
Worst optical place ever I’ve known to shop.
They are rude, and over priced Please, stay away from this place.

I’ve been coming here since I was in middle school. That puts me at a 24 year customer. Prices can be high, but so is everything on 32^nd St. If you want cheaper, go to a Lens Crafter in New Jersey.
Service will be similar to any Korean business, but being in retail, a lot of times its a result of how the customers are. If you don’t like or understand the Korean business, shop elsewhere.
You go in knowing what to expect, and I have not had a bad experience personally. My pockets might seem a little thinner, but there is always the option of going elsewhere. This is more than enough for me.

I really don’t understand the negative reviews here. I’ve been going to European Optical for years now & absolutely love it here. I travel over an hour via Metro North from my home to come here because I refuse to go to any other optometrist!
Dr. Kim is very knowledgeable & is also bilingual; so, if you have any questions or concerns he explains everything step-​by-​step.
Amazing selection of frames — designer or not — that you cannot find anywhere else in the city, and for great prices too!

Great service! Got exactly what I wanted. Clean and organized. The doctor was an expert.

I have been going to European Optical for over 15 years. When I was younger, for glasses and now for contact lenses. I have no plans to ever go anywhere else.
This place accepts most vision insurance plans (at least all of the ones I have had through my various employers over the years).
The staff is extremely helpful and patient (I am super picky with frames).
Dr Kim is a top provider. He is extremely thorough in his examination of the eyes and he explains everything in plain (and excellent, in case you had any doubts) English. He has always given me the perfect prescription and the best fitting lenses.
No wait times if you make an appointment in advance. Highly recommend doing so.
Good selection of frames. I would recommend going in with some idea of what you want as it can be overwhelming to choose on the spot. As previous posters suggested, you can order any pair through them. They carry all of the familiar (and unfamiliar) high end designer brands. They also have a great fitter who will adjust your new frames for your face.