Larry Harrison, OD

I have been a loyal Walnut Square Optometry client for years, and can’t recommend them highly enough. This is the best optometry experience I’ve ever had, and I was pretty happy with my last Dr., too (he retired).
Larry (no «Dr. Harrison» for him) is indeed extremely laid back, but that’s a compliment – he’s calm, casual, friendly, and has takes the time to focus on you and your eyes’ needs. He answers any questions honestly and openly, and doesn’t try to sell you services you don’t need (i.e., he’s not a big proponent of laser eye surgery).
The opticians, Donno and Royce, are the best. Very talented at what they do, with good advice on style, fashion, and fit. They are always friendly, even during rush times when folks come in without appointments to get free adjustments or style advice or just to say «hi.» They clearly love what they do, and have a good time at work. I love Berkeley.
I have never felt like WSO gave me the hard sell. I’ve had the same frames for five years, and am still happy with them. Donno and Royce are indeed sweet talkers, but I think that’s just their friendly style: genuine, old-​fashioned, glad-​to-​know-​you, honest-​to-​goodness customer service at its best. I wish every doctor’s office or shop I frequent could give me the same warm fuzzy feeling every time I visit.

So I can be pretty critical but I’m a bit taken back with some of the negative posts from others! I went to Walnut Optometry where Dr. Larry Harrison gave me a routine eye exam and he was/​the place is nothing less than phenomenal.
Dr. Larry Harrison is laid back, very approachable and friendly, which is conducive to a great patient/​doctor relationship! I got to express all my concerns however ridiculous they seemed (my eyes get so much worse at night! I think my R eye is nearsighted but my L is farsighted! I think I’m going cross eyed!!). Not only was he patient in listening to me but he took the time to carefully examine my «ailments» and assured that I was indeed, not going cross eyed ;) He even took the time to explain stuff to me on a random power point that happened to be on his computer monitor all in an accessible, non-​dogmatic sort of way.
The people operating the front desk were great too! I complained about my vision worsening at night and Royce simply said, «your eye is like a pinhole camera. In the evening when your pupil dilates for more light, there’s less focus. When it contracts in daylight, there’s more focus.» Duh! How did I not know that before?! He even helped me fix my old Gucci glasses that were slightly lopsided due to having been sat on numerous times by myself, and my bf as well I’m sure. Never were they pushy in trying to get me to try on glasses.
The glass selection, however, is NOT my style. It’s too eclectic and middle-​aged artsy fartsy farmer’s market mom for me, but hey, that may be your cup of tea. I do like that they have a great selection of Prodesign– this unqiue and well made selection of frames from Denmark. I will reluctantly visit other places to get my (Prada, Chanel, Georgio Armani, etc.) frames.
I most certainly would go back. I even urged my bf who has super man eyesight to go, just for the sake of visiting Dr. Larry Harrison.

I’ve been seeing Dr. Harrision for a few years and getting glasses from there for a little bit Longer. Dr. Harrision is always really good about explaing what is going on with my eyes and what all the exams are about. And yeah, his laid back attitude is relaxing, eye exams go quickly and efficiently.
Dono and Royce are awesome. They helped me find a set of frames that I probably won’t switch out of for a long time. They’re knowledgeable and friendly about their products and do stock some sweet frames. Also, if you walk in the store and they see something wrong with your glasses they fix ‘em for you right there if they can.
Overall a friendly place with lots of unique and stylish frames.

Dr. Larry is a laid-​back sort of guy who looks like he just came down from a long backpacking trip. As far as I can tell, he’s totally competent for routine exams and eyeglass prescriptions. I’ve been going to him for a long time and tend to show up once every couple of years for an eye examination.
The opticians are good at what they do. In particular, they’re good salesmen. They stock beautiful merchandise and have a wonderful eye for style. (This goes especially for Donno, who’s an ace.) They seem to have a loyal clientele; the opticians are always busy when I show up. They remember people’s names and always try to make customers feel comfortable and appreciated when they walk in the door. Their ploy with me is to tell me how much money I’ll be saving (via insurance coverage) if I get a new pair of glasses. I always fall for the ploy. After all my savings, I still have a big balance to charge to my credit card; one of the opticians (no longer at this establishment) used to tell clients that he was about to perform a «cashectomy» as he hit them up for their portion of the bill.
The office doesn’t always open up on time in the morning. Don’t plan on showing up at the opening bell, doing your business, and getting to the next place on a tight schedule. Budget more time than you might reasonably think you need. (If you’re through early, you can go down and visit Peet’s.)
I’ve gotten friendly with some members of the UC Optometry School and will try them the next time that I want to see an optometrist or an optician. We’ll see how that goes. I was there once for an appointment years ago. The appointment took forever, and I vowed not to go back. The word on the street, however, is that the Optometry School has modified their routine so that patients get in and out a lot more quickly than in the past.

I felt like i was being ripped off. Very sales-​oriented and i just dont have a good feeling about it. (my friend also feels the same way). I’ve decided not to come back. The only thing that i like is that they have pretty stylish/​unique selection of frames. But, other than that, i’ll pass.