Timothy Tandrow, OD

I had a very good experience. The scheduling was very easy, and the staff were very helpful.

A lovely lovely man. I went there to see if I could get lasik and did a prescreening with him. Turns out my eyes have not been stabilized yet. Disappointing but he was very sweet about the whole thing. He has so much experience and it shows! The place is in a great location but is very small. Very charming actually. Definitely going to be my go to now.

Great doctor. Very personable & professional. Staff is friendly and knowledgable. Highly recommend.

Dr. T is the perfect eye doctor. Low key, good sense of humor and knows his stuff. His office is perfect for Financial District types and his staff is efficient and helpful.
One other thing — they don’t upsell and push things and treatment I don’t need like a previous doctor I saw.

Love this little office. It is small and has a pretty solid selection of glasses! it wasn’t overwhelming, like some eye doctor offices are. The staff was very friendly, I was in and out in no time. Dr. Tandrow is funny! he takes his time in explaining things to you in a way that you’ll understand. The staff explained my insurance benefits to me with full detail and helped me in using the insurance in the best way possible (I knew nothing about my insurance). I will definitely recommend Dr. T. to my friends.

Dr. Timothy Tandrow was amazing. He’s thorough with his eye exam, I found a perfect pair of sunglasses the staff was super helpful, Angel had answers to all my questions. Also the office was super cute and clean, super convenient area that’s easy to access. I’ll be going back for sure!

My eye exam was with Dr. Kurtz (sp) who I DO NOT recommend. He didn’t listen to me at all and so I ended up getting the wrong prescription and had glasses made that made me dizzy for a few weeks so I had to go back and get another exam, which he rushed was was not apologetic at all about.
Such a hassle, and this opto has terrible manners. Super uncomfortable exam.

This is a hard review to write as I’m not sure how to feel about my experiences here. Yes, Dr. Tandrow is very nice and polite and pleasant. But out of two visits for regular eye exams, I had a few issues that just don’t sit right.
I went for my first exam with him a couple of years ago. At that time I was only needing readers, and after the exam I ended up with my first pair of progressives since my distance vision was also starting to go. And yes, many add ons and the glasses were expensive. Both pairs I ended up buying.
As part of the exam he told me that I had the beginnings of a certain type of glaucoma that might need to be treated surgically, and referred me to a specialist. The specialist stopped the exam after an initial look and said it wasn’t worth completing the exam. Thank goodness she stopped, because that alone was $ 350 out of my hsa.
About a year and a half later I went back for another exam. He asked about the glaucoma. He said my condition hadn’t progressed and no need for a recheck by the specialist. However because of the condition, he’d have to use special equipment to complete the regular eye exam, and was I ok with the extra $ 45 charge. What was I going to say, I went ahead with it. Although I thought it odd that special equipment hadn’t come up the last time.
I’m 48 and have presbyopia, and really dislike glasses. I asked him about any and all other options including contacts and LASIK. He said LASIK would correct my distance vision but I would always need readers. He described various contact options but said he didn’t recommend any of them.
I decided to get a LASIK consultation to correct my distance vision, and the corneal surgeon that I consulted with recommended something called monovision. He said I was the perfect candidate as it corrects one eye for near and one eye for distance to give a wide range of vision, and in most cases people adjust and don’t need glasses anymore. He said Dr. Tandrow had written on the referral that he didn’t recommend monovision for me, but hadn’t even discussed it with me. Turns out it is one of the most common corrective procedures for people with my issues. I asked the doctor if he was sure my glaucoma condition wasn’t an issue for the procedure. He took another look and said he didn’t see any such issues.
Around this same time I started working in the east bay and switched optometrists to do my pre and post op checks as well as a test for monovision with contacts to make sure I could adjust to monovision LASIK. They also confirmed they did not see any kind of glaucoma or any other issues in my eyes.
I just had the monovision LASIK procedure done and am reading, driving and functioning without glasses or contacts. So happy!
Not sure what to make of my experiences with Dr. Tandrow…

I have been seeing Dr. Tandrow for several years. He is great. Very personable and carefully explains what he’s doing for each step of the visit. I cannot recommend him more highly.
The glasses selection is limited; they have small place. I have still managed to find a good looking pair every time I’ve needed one.

This review is for Dr. Tandrow not really necessarily the staff. Dr Tandrow is really personable. He’s very knowledgeable and has always been able to answer questions regarding my specific vision issues and in a way that i can understand.
Any how, this last time around my vision changed in a different way, worse i suppose and so we’re doing some trial contact lenses for a week and then i have another appointment to give him my feedback.
As far as the selection of frames they have its kind of meh, they have some but nothing really stuck out to me. They have some designer lenses.
Scheduling is fairly easy and they take VSP.

So I haven’t actually used their service before, but my one stop warranted a positive review.
I reordered a year supply of contacts through an online company whose name may or may not be an 800 phone number. The shipment got delayed and I found myself on my final pair of dailies and wasn’t going to receive my replacements for about a week. I stopped by and tried to buy my prescription from Dr Tandrow but unfortunately he didn’t have any boxes in stock. I explained my situation and he was able to find a sample pack in the back of his shop. He gave me a 2 week supply and refused payment for them. A minor crisis was averted. I started a slow clap for him but it didn’t catch on how I imagined so I hurried out before things got awkward. That last part isn’t true, but if you read this far you deserved some light humor. Hope it was worth your time.

Dr. Tandrow is like a wizard optometrist. He explained things to me that had never before been previously explained by my prior optometrists, made me aware of things that I had previously been completely unaware during my visits to prior optometrists, was very funny, and extremely efficient. He’s a real pro, knows what he’s doing, and, hence, did an excellent job guiding me through my exam and choices thereafter. He’s not always available, but if you can book him for an appointment, do it! You’ll be glad!!!

Dr. Tandrow is very thorough and patient about explaining every procedure he does — I definitely got the sense he sincerely cares about the health of my eyes rather than just going through the motions. Great personality and fun conversationalist. Highly recommend!
That said, this is an expensive shop. I would definitely get my eye exams here but if cost is a factor, I advise purchasing frames, lenses, contacts, etc elsewhere.

I love coming in to shop for eyeglasses here. Even though the shop itself is small, they have a great selection of designer eyewear. What I REALLY like is how helpful the staff is. They can help suggest eyeglasses that might look best on you. They are a VSP provider, so use your benefits when you see them if you have VSP!
Also Dr Tandrow is a really patient optometrist. really listen to your needs!

This was a hard review to write because everyone in the office is so nice. Dr. Tandrow does a great job– he’s thorough and everything he explained made a lot of sense to me. I understood a lot more about my eyes when my exam was over.
It wasn’t until I picked out a frame that things got a little more frustrating. The staff was really helpful assisting with picking out frames. Once it came time to pay, I was hit with a really expensive bill. I was under the impression my insurance would cover most of the cost, but they had added on so many things to my lenses that my bill came out to $ 335 (WITH VSP insurance!). UV filter, reflective coating, and something that makes my lenses thinner were all added. Perhaps in the financial district add ons like this are commonplace but I personally can’t afford to pay that much for glasses.
All in all, it’s my responsibility to have gone over the charges but I was just a little peeved that all these things were added on under the assumption that I wanted them and was willing to drop some major cash.
Also, it turns out I don’t even like my frames (my fault, obviously) and while most places give you a grace period to return your frames, Tandrows does not. So be sure you like them 100%!
I just kind of left the office feeling like I definitely should have skipped getting new glasses. Just make sure you take a peek at the things they’re adding on to your lenses if you’re on a budget.

I went in for an annual eye exam. Dr Tandrow was very friendly and efficient. I didn’t have to wait long, and the exam only took less than 30 mins. He didn’t tell me much about my eyes since he said they are healthy… so I guess it was a pleasant experience overall?

= THIS REVIEW IS JUST FOR MY GLASSES PURCHASE, DIDN’T HAVE AN EYE APPOINTMENT HERE =
So I came here because my regular optometrist didn’t have a huge selection of designer frames. I was looking to upgrade my look and wanted to spend some moneh on some glasses that I would love, especially since my vision now is pretty stable.
I did some Unilocal research and went to another optometry office (unnamed) before going to Timothy Tandrow’s and their selection still wasn’t as extensive. So here I was!
Walking in, it’s designer eyewear heaven (if you’re willing to spend the money, you’ll most likely find the perfect glasses for you here!)
Brad greeted and assisted me right away, and he wasn’t pushy at selling me glasses at all. He gave me helpful selection and tips on what glasses worked best but also kept his distance for me to try on a lot of glasses so I didn’t feel stuffy but would walk in at the right time to give me his feedback. Surprisingly, I ended up choosing the first pair of glasses he chose for me! Which were a pair of Tom Ford’s. I was actually on the hunt for some Oliver People’s and kiiiiinda wanted to stick to it but the Tom Ford’s were so damn cute.
Though I dropped more money than I wanted to, I didn’t feel disappointed at ALL and this office is definitely full service and worth the money. Also awesome because it’s smack dab in the middle of the FiDi where I work!

Wow what an awesome eye Dr. All procedures done with care and comfort in mind. Great guy and awesome space to boot.
Definitely letting my friends and family know!

I discovered this shop after I had an eye exam elsewhere. I was looking for a place that had a decent selection of designer eye ware AND still accepted VSP.
My search prior to visiting Dr. Tandrow’s office yielded only one or the other. I just don’t want to deal with all the paperwork, mailing and have to deal with an insurer. Who does?!
Tandrow’s shop is full service?.. eureka!
I dealt with an absolute pro named Mike. He understood my prescription (which isn’t common), totally knowledgeable and a super nice guy.
He fit me into a unique pair of Paul Smith’s that I hadn’t seen elsewhere. He educated me on progressives and even took me out onto Montogmery St to test them out. My intent going in was to buy two separate pair for reading and driving. He could’ve just sold me two, but recommended the progressives instead. Proof an honest salesman with your best interest in mind still exists out there!
Another big plus was when he put down on paper exactly what everything cost, frames, lenses, etc… What VSP would cover vs out of pocket and the bill in the end was exactly what he quoted. There weren’t any surprise charges after he got you to commit.
So,
1. Good selection
2. Amazing service (ask for Mike!)
3. They Deal with your VSP!!!
Great experience. Thank you Mike!

Update — situation fixed. Just a hassle. They called and were very nice.
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I hate being upsold on the most expensive daily contacts that they make.
I said I would try them — even though they are 3x the price.
I tried to go back to my regular brand when I ordered through an online site. The doctor’s office would not approve the perscription saying that my prescription is only valid for that brand.
Total crap!