Anthony’s Shoe Service

Gino at Anthony’s has been doing custom work on my shoes ever since I had a hip replacement that left one leg ½ inch longer than the other. He’s fixed my shoes so that I can walk comfortably with no damage to my back because of my uneven leg length.
Great personal service. I’ve been coming here for years.

Best case scenario, this place is far too expensive for very standard, hardly impressive work. Worst case, they try to manipulate you into very expensive upsells to which you didn’t agree in the first place, treat your shoes roughly from the get-​go (I came in to get a simple sole glue fix and watched them literally tear apart my pair of boots in front of my eyes, only to tell me it would cost me nearly $ 100 to put them back together), and eventually (days later than they first told you) send you home with shoes that have glue residue all over them, deep gouges and grinder marks in the leather, and polish stains on the soles. I would never take a pair of shoes I actually cared about here – I would not at all trust them to send them back to me in good condition. You’d be best served going elsewhere.

Trying to get to find parking sucks here!
But the owner is great. He refinished my Gucci bag and made a strap for it to match the color. Expensive but good work.

I brought in a pair of RRL Bowery boots made by Julian in LA for resoling. These are nice boots, originally in the $ 1,000 range. They needed the original Cat’s Paw heels replaced and I wanted new half soles. Gino worked with me to find the right vintage heels and half soles and the boots came out amazing. Gino is like one of those guys who works on fine watches — an artist with a distinct character who you don’t want to rush because he will give you something perfect in the end.

This is my first Unilocal review. I never felt inspired to write one before. He took my wife’s shoes in in October to fix a problem that he messed up when resoling them. It is now mid January and they are still not done and I have been there 4 times to try and pick them up. Each time he tells me he needs more time. Today my wife went in and he told her the same thing. He always promised a phone call but that never happened. She asked for her shoes back to take the to another shoe service and he tried to tell here the fix was complicated and that we hadn’t paid for the service yet. Well we have paid for the service and that was to fix what he didn’t fix the first time.
Done with Anthony’s Shoe Service.

Big THANK YOU Gino and Anthony’s Shoe Service for recently bringing back to life my archival OG Helmut Lang lace-​ups! Seventeen years old and still walking the streets. From your long-​time customer, David

So I took a few pairs of heels here for standard replacement of the little plastic ends on the heels (pardon my ignorance of the technical term) and they called me and said that a few of the pairs were done and I could come pick them up, but that they «noticed» a big stain on my $ 450 nude patent leather heels and wanted to know if I wanted to have them re-​heeled in spite of this stain that apparently had gone unnoticed by them and me when I dropped them off.
Side note – this is my ONLY pair of $ 450 shoes, they are my go-​to interview shoes and I got them on a killer sale/​price markdown mixup that was honored so I was pretty choked that it was THIS pair that there was an issue with.
Back to my story – so I am wracking my memory to try to remember if there was a stain of any sort on the shoe. He said that it was on the inner arch so I thought, okay maybe it’s like a scuff or something and because he is a shoe person he considers this to basically «ruin» the shoe (he said on the phone the shoes were basically ruined because of this stain).
I go down to pick up the shoes that are ready (they were all fine, but how hard is it to not screw up replacing the plastic thing – again, it might actually be, I don’t know but it doesn’t seem like something that is on a cobbler’s list of most difficult repairs) and to look at this stain. The stain was definitely absolutely not there when I dropped it off. It looked like black ink or dye (possibly things that could be found in a shoe repair shop??), and as I don’t go kicking around pots of ink or hand dye my own denim I was pretty certain they were the culprits and it was certainly something that I would have noticed. But again, it’s on the inner side of the shoe and on the arch so I was like well yeah I’m not going to throw them away but I’ll probably have to find a new pair of interview shoes. Go ahead and fix them. (Oh, there was nothing they could do about the stain… it was as if it had been baked into the shoe… also don’t go trouncing around on the surface of the sun post ink-​pot kicking, whatever.)
Anyway, SO. When I finally come back to pick them up, they tell me that my shoe is «wearable» but to be careful because the heels «WAS» cracked – as if this crack had existed prior to the visit to that shop. The guy swore that the crack was already there, and I counter-​argued that, wouldn’t a cracked heel be something that they might call someone for and ask whether they still wanted the shoe fixed prior to fixing it bc the shoe was «basically ruined»? And isn’t this crack something that the two of us would have noticed while examining the mysterious ink stain a week prior? Nothing doing. Talking to the guy was like talking to the bag I brought to put my ruined shoes in. He offered me $ 20 store credit. Ha! Thanks guy, but I know a few ways to ruin shit that is absolutely free.
Needless to say, if you want a simple task of replacing the plastic heel thing-​y to end up ruining your gorgeous shoes, this is the place for you. If you even mildly care about your belongings, I’d head to another shop.
I’d give zero stars if I could because I have zero tolerance for people ruining belongings I can’t afford to replace anyhow.

Mid December, I visited Anthony’s for a zipper repair on my leather jacket. The owner told me a new one would be $ 35. He then grabbed the jacket and said he would ask his zipper specialist ‘upstairs’ whether it could be fixed without a replacement. About 15 minutes later he returned, said it is fixed, and to pay him $ 20. I never consented to incurring charges. I paid it and tried the zipper. It wasn’t any different than before. I asked what the guy did? The owner said «here let me glue the bottom piece.» He took the coat over to his work bench and pretended to do something. Again, it wasn’t any different than when I brought it in.
I went to Larkspur Shoe Repair in Marin. This guy is honest. He laughed and said, «‘Anthony’ did nothing and charged you $ 20.» He fixed it for free.
Avoid Anthony’s like the plague.
Mark

Gino is the best. He’s always excited to help– genuinely help people. Hes a unicorn. Prices are the lowest I’ve seen in the city for ortho inserts and I’ve been to a few places (davies, thecobbler, chinatown underground). If anything goes wrong with your shoe after they’ve serviced it, you can always bring it back and they have always worked with me to fix problems, mostly free of charge. Ive been to places that have refused to fix my shoes if I’m not satisfied with the quality of the work, unless i pay the full service charge again. So it’s great that they are so willing to work with you and make sure you’re a happy customer

Decided to bring my vintage 2.55 Chanel bag for minor chain repair (on a small segment I pulled leather strap out of metal chain and was not able to place it back) and one small tear. Dropped it off on Nov 11^th, being told not to come back but wait for a call instead, If I dont hear from them by 20^th– then I can give them a buzz and find out what stage my bag is in. Paid half of a quoted price-​$ 40– as a deposit up front. Thought it’s little bit odd but went with it anyway.
Came in on Nov 30^th because of course noone called — bag is somewhat repaired but not really. Same guy who helped me first time — assumingly the owner — said he did all he can (like took the leather part out and rewove chain entirely) but it can not be fixed completely because leather is «too short» and small tear can not be glued because it’s a «bad cut», though he tried to glue it and it came apart. Basically my bag looked the same. We then had a small discussion where I said that leather strap is not short — it never was until I decided to condition it and pulled it out, plus it’ Chanel so I really dont think they would produce something even remotely that bad of a quality, and regarding the tear– I doubt it even was paid attention to because when I pointed at it, he had puzzled look on his face and it took him a second to realize what am I talking about. And even if, lets assume, he forgot about it, or his coworker did the job, how a small tear can not be fixed or glued? Really tho.
came home and glued it with no problem, chain will be left in it’s current state until I find better solution.
give them 1 extra star because I felt bad for the guy — like he could not articulate properly and whole discussion went very awkwardly. Some reviewers said he is rude or not very pleasant, but he stroke me as an almost socially awkward person, non of his explaination made sense really and he mumbled entire time with loud exhales in pauses. He genuinely seemed to be sorry, just could not express it verbally. Or so I like to think. I was very upset about my bag but suddenly felt sad for him. Not in a condecending way, but in a way you just get sad when you see someone struggle.
Objectively not a good reason for an extra star but let it be.
Also did not charge me remaining balance.
Their selection of shoe soles also looked pretty solid.

What a rip off! They damage shoes and don’t take accountability! DO NOT TAKE YOUR SHOES HERE

Anthony’s was able to save my burgundy Alden shoes. I needed to have one of the toe caps re-​dyed, but no cobblers where I live were able to match the original color. While visiting San Francisco, I took the shoes to Anthony’s, and they matched the color perfectly, making the shoes look just like new. I was extremely impressed with their work, and the price was more than fair. I would definitely take high-​end shoes there again.

Had a pair of beat-​up Alden 403s reheeled and couldn’t be happier. They took care of it in about 24 hours and had matching heels in stock. I’m very happy with the job they did. They offered to polish them, which I declined — I usually do it at home — but they did condition them, and they look great. They even cleaned up a scuffed spot where I let the heel wear down a little too far.
Plus, it cost about a third less than I expected to pay. I can’t recommend them enough and I definitely plan on bringing my boots back in six or seven months when it’s time to get them resoled.

Super disappointing experience. I went in to drop off a pair of $ 700+ Louboutins to get red sole protection on the bottom of the shoes. I told them I was nervous about leaving a brand new pair of expensive shoes behind and to write the brand and price on the receipt. They then added $ 10 extra to the receipt and when I asked what the «special handling» fee was for, I was told by the owner that this was the fee to make sure they took proper care of my shoes and didn’t lose them. I was surprised that I needed to pay extra for what should already be included in the general service. He also asked for payment upfront, which at this point I was not okay with doing, since I needed to ensure my shoes were done properly prior to payment. I naturally walked away and decided to give my business to another shoe repair place business that is honest and trustworthy.

Best shoe shine/​repair place around. I’ve come in before for a shine, but today just stopped in for a pair of laces before work. Their friendly staff could tell I was in a hurry and not only put my laces on for me, they gave the shoes a quick condition too — all in less than 5 min!
Friendly people and great customer service makes all the difference. Will definitely be back!

Wanted to check back in to say that Anthony’s saved the day, yet again. One of my favorite pair of Manolos broke a heel, and they saved them. I’m so happy to have these shoes resurrected! I will never have my shoes repaired by anyone else, and I even send them to Anthony’s from Santa Barbara.
Thank you, Anthony’s – you guys are the best.

Anthony’s was great. When I dropped my expensive J. Crew flats in, the guy thoroughly looked at them and made a recommendation for me. I agreed, and put down a deposit (pro-​tip, if you check in on Unilocal,you get 10% off).
A week later, I picked them up, and woah, did they look great. New soles, new rubber heel, nailed it.
Ye be warned, though: all new soles are not created equal. I had to scuff the bottoms up quite a bit to gain traction. I went sliding on carpet a few times.
The good: great work.
The bad: $ 70 for new soles was pricey. However, I couldn’t get a comparable pair of shoes for less than $ 70, so it was well worth the investment. I just wish I hadn’t waited so long.
Side note: I have a lovely leather bag that was losing its luster and color, and Anthony’s had the exact color shoe polish I need to redye it and buff it. $ 5 later and the purse is looking _​awesome_​.

I’ve never encountered any problems here. All my shoes are soled before I wear them. They always do a great job. They are one of the few places that soles Louboutin ‘s with red rubber too. They do a great job. They also fix purses and repair shoes or boots you can’t let go of.

I agree with all the BAD reviews. The main guy «tall white older guy» if his name is really Anthony, anyhow he was a jerk to me. Quoted me one price for my boots. Then when I came back to get the service done a few weeks later… he changed the price.
BAD SERVICE. Should’ve honored the first quote, instead he didn’t care to lose business! I went to the place next door which is also a nail shop/​key shop/​shoe repair. so much better

Service has gone downhill.
We used to be loyal customers of Anthony’s when it was on Geary St.
Now, the prices are just too high for terrible service.
One recent example: I brought my boots in on a Monday morning for pick up Friday evening. Plenty of time. Thursday afternoon, they called to get an OK for a new zipper — yes, I’d already said it was OK on Monday. Anyway, I’d already paid $ 44 for shine & repair. Another $ 20 on pick up. These boots are worth it, so I agreed. Intending to wear them to an event on Saturday, I called Friday morning to make sure they’d be ready… The guy said they’d be ready & don’t worry they’re a priority & he’d give me a call to let me know. Great.
He never called. They closed at 5:30 on Friday & I didn’t get my boots. For Saturday’s event.
Now it’s one week later & I still haven’t received a call back.
I want my boots back but I don’t want to go in & pay another $ 20 for the zipper. They failed to finish the job on time. Now I’ll be out $ 64+ for boots I didn’t get to wear for the event I brought them in for.
Fail.