Chester W Lim, OD

Dr Lim really deserves 5 stars. I went to check my eyes, because I want to wear colored contacts again. I got lasik 5 years ago in K Town, Los Angeles. It went successful, but I feel that my Rx is back little bit, esp at night. Also, when I wear contacts (I bought those Korean colored ones online without Rx) and whenever I put it on, my left side is bothering me. Something is wrong with my left eye. When I arrived, it’s nothing fancy. But, yes he’s a very smart doctor. He said, I don’t have dry eyes, but you have corneal abrasion from eye makeup. He’s on point!!! He said, he saw a shiny thing in my cornea like glitter… well, I don’t wear glitter high school makeup anymore (I’m 34, lol), but I know what he meant. I own a lot ofJapanese makeup that has lots of shiny reflecting things on the eyeshadows, like super shimmery mica, etc whatever you want to call it. Girls, you know what I mean. Those thing falls into my eyes. I do wear and love makeup. Anything powdery you put on your face can get into your eyes. So, my makeup artist friend rec me to just wear creamy eye shadows. Last time when she put Urban Decay Naked palette eye shadows, my eyes turn red non stop until I remove it. So, yes Dr Lim is RIGHT! He won’t give me Contacts Rx until it heals. Also told me to stop wearing mascara for a while, but this is so hard… eckkkk. Lashes is everything. lol. Another thing to mention: Stubborn me, I went to Site for Sore Eyes on Fillmore who has glowing reviews. The Chinese doc is in her 30’s. She gave me a different Rx than Dr Lim. She also let me wear contacts, but only the non colored. She said it’s better than colors. But I still wanted colors. She did ‘not’ mention corneal abrasion, she did says dry eyes. Up until now (couple months forward), I have not ordered any glasses, yet. But, today I have to. I can’t read well at night. I will use Dr Lim Rx instead of hers. I REALLY TRUST DR LIM fully now. I wished he opens on Wed, my off day. sigh…

Dr. and Mrs. Lim have been my favorite optometry group of all time. Keep in mind, I used to date an eye doc at one point in life, however remained loyal to Dr. Lim. Why is that? While his technology can be a bit outdated, his diagnosis has always been spot on! Also, Dr. Lim is not a salesperson, so he is not out there to up sell any frame/​optical accessories to you– as he’s just passionate about making sure your eyes are in good health. I would highly recommend this place for your vision needs.

In Dec 2014, Dr C Lim examined my sister late Friday evening with complaint of double vision and encouraged her to get to a clinic the next morning because he knew that her double vision was more a neurological opthamolgy situation and more critical medically! She had mention that she had one huge sneeze!
He was spot on and she was at UCSF Urgent Care to UCSF ICU the next morning.
He will continue to be our Optometrist and his awareness may have saved her from more complications if she had not acted on his suggestion. And I would like to mention that Mrs Lim is such an asset to his practice! She is a great listener. Plus I love how he explains things that we can understand without using complicated medical terminology.

I was visiting sf, and lost my glasses. Dr limited saw me the same day, fast, courteous service and got me contacts within the hour :)

Dr. Lim is the best! He and Mrs. Lim are very helpful and recognize me months after my first visit. Very friendly, honest, and knowledgable– Dr. Lim answered any questions I had regarding the eye exam, what type of lenses I need for glasses, prices, eye health, etc.
The place may not look like in tip top shape, but I don’t mind because of the friendly and excellent service. I will most def recommend this doctor to friends.

So, someone stole my PRESCRIPTION glasses from a USF residence hall bathroom (stupid, right?) and I had no other choice but to look for a new optometrist. I called my insurance (VSP) and they gave me a huge list of OD’s in the city. Dr. Lim happened to be right at the top and the closest to my school. When I called, they told me someone had just cancelled a Saturday appt (which was my only available day) so it was almost meant to be.
When I met him, I felt like Dr. Lim was an odd man, so I was kind of stand offish at first but eventually I realized he was the oldest practice in SF for a reason. He pretty much schooled me on everything I needed to know about my vision and even told me my prescription (which I had surprisingly never been told before).
I came in for a Saturday appt and my glasses were ready by Friday afternoon. I’m really pleased with how we handles his older customers too, very sweet man. I’d recommend him any day!

After avoiding an eye exam for some time due to my limited insurance, work finally decided to give me some choices!
After scouring Unilocal for a decent eye doctor near my house I settled with Dr. Lim and I’m glad I did. I forgot some of the Unilocal reviews and was a little taken back by the «décor» when I first walked in. It’s pretty messy and random… Like at the door there two old TiVo machines? And there was a random toddler shoe (just one!) on the counter? I almost released a loud huge sigh of relief when someone was actually in there talking to the woman at the front desk.
Dr. Lim was with a patient and so I was happy to wait and observe. I saw his interaction with another patient while she was testing out colored contacts. I’m very grateful for just that because it put me at ease.
Long story short, he’s pretty funny and very informative. Yay for me, I found a new eye doctor to make sure I don’t go blind!

Don’t judge a book by its cover. The office may be slightly cluttered but keep in mind, you are getting an eye checkup, not checking into a luxury hotel.
Dr. Lim is a very knowledgeable and meticulous individual who is very good at what he does. Besides from being quite funny, he also cares very much about your vision. Not only will be thoroughly explain your condition, he will actually take the time to draw out the explanation as well! Unlike many other doctors, Dr. Lim actually listens to what you have to say and does not brush it off with pretentiousness.
If you are like me and spend hours researching your doctor, look no further. Dr. Lim is the man in charge.

Dr. Lim’s office is a bit cluttered when you walk in, and that may scare some people off, but stick around and you’ll find that he is one of the most knowledgeable, caring optometrists around.
My exam was actually sort of fun (imagine that!), as he was very warm and funny, and took the time to explain everything I had questions about (yes I am one of those people that asks why everything is being done :) Not only that, he broke down all the options offered by my insurance and made sure I knew about options for various problems (i.e. «You have astigmatism, so that’s why your glasses give you a headache after you wear contacts. So, let me show you how it would look with and without the astigmatism correction in your glasses and then you can decide if you want to correct for that in your next pair.») Also, he gave me awesome advice about which frames to pick out (keep the width small) so that we can keep the lenses as thin as possible, while maximizing my field of vision. Because I then knew what to look for, choosing frames was done in 10 minutes, where before it would take half an hour since I had no guidance from the optometrist whatsoever. Also, he kept providing quarters and even set a timer so I would remember to go outside and feed my meter – TWICE.
He is so much better than my previous optometrist in the city that I can’t believe I spent two years with her! All in all, I got my annual exam, contact lens fitting, 8 boxes of contacts, and a pair of glasses (including frames, anti-​reflective coating and extra thin lenses) for $ 160! Obviously this all depends on what type of insurance you have too, but Dr. Lim made the visit so pleasant – I am a VERY happy camper and can’t wait to see my new glasses!

Dr. and Mrs. Lim make things easy. They know who you are right when you walk in. Off the top of their heads, they remember things like where you went to school and how long you’ve been a patient. My mom doesn’t even remember where I went to school sometimes.
Dr. Lim is alright. Sure, he really looks out for his patients. Sure, he’s super smart and patient. Sure, he educates you (REALLY educates you), takes great care of you, gives you all your options (along with the corresponding result of each of those options), respects your decisions, and gives helpful recommendations. Yes, I know, he is always looking out for your wallet — always trying to get everyone the best deal possible. And when I say best deal possible, I don’t mean best deal for both you and him — I mean really, just the best deal for you. Yes, he educates you about where it’s ok to cut corners and where it’s not ok. Yes, he tells you probably everything you need to know about your eyes and how to care for them.
So if that’s the kind of optometrist that you want, then sure, make an appointment with Dr. Lim. But try not to go on Friday afternoons okay? Because that’s when I go. And I don’t like crowds.
And if you really think Fridays are better for you, I just want to say, between you and me, really Dr. Lim isn’t that great… He’s just ok… really, trust me, he’s not that great… really… So just run along now… go see that other optometrist… I’m sure he’s just as good… really!
So in conclusion, Dr. Lim is alright.
Oh but I also want to say… Mrs. Lim is absolutely awesome! I think she’s just one of the nicest people you’ll ever have the pleasure of meeting. :)

Dr. Lim should get more stars!
Dr. Lim really looks out for his patients! I’m glad my mom has been going to him for years, otherwise I wouldn’t have met him. He goes in-​depth to what happens to your eyes and recommendations. It takes a while to see him because he really wants his patients to understand but he is worth it. He remembers your face and is always friendly. BEST OPTOMETRIST EVER!

I have been a patient of Chester’s for 30 years. He is outstanding in service, knowledge and quality of care. I am so blessed to have him as my optometrist. I have tried others and no one comes close to him.

Very friendly and knowledgeable
Quick appointment and on time
Great selection of frame to choose

Dr. Lim is a DELIGHT!
Went in for my first visit/​/​eye exam with him today. Didn’t take long, and it was a very enjoyable experience.
PROs:
+ Very friendly optometrist. There was another woman working there at the time. Not clear what her job was, but she was also friendly.
+ Good selection of frames to choose from.
+ He tells you EVERYTHING you might need/​/​want to know about all of your options and what’s affecting your vision.
+ One of the oldest practices in SF!