Stephen R Chun, OD

Wide selection of glasses. Especially good for wide frames and Asian for frames. Service was enthusiastic and friendly.

Like another reviewer, I’ve been seeing Dr. Chun since I was a student, 20+ years ago. I’ve been very pleased with Dr. Chun’s care. He knows his stuff, and is more than willing to take the time to answer however many questions I have. And, when I have a question that doesn’t merit an office visit, he calls me back promptly and gives me sensible answers. The only complaints I have are that the front-​office staff seems a bit disorganized (inexperienced?) at times, and I’ve had a couple of problems with defective eyeglasses ordered through Dr. Chun’s office.
What prompted me to submit a review was my experience today. Yesterday, my daughter got hit in the face with a soccer ball, and was complaining of blurred vision and pain in her eye. Today (Sunday) I called Dr. Chun. He called back minutes later and asked me some questions about my daughter’s condition. He then told me that from what he could tell over the phone, her condition did not seem to merit emergency care, and I could bring her into the office on Monday to be examined. Or, if I preferred, he’d meet me in the office this afternoon to examine her. I was amazed and gratified that he was so willing to come into the office on a Sunday for a non-​emergency. We went in, he did a thorough exam, and answered my questions – as usual. For this I’m giving him 5 stars, even though — as noted above — the rest of the office operation isn’t flawless.

Well I hate to date myself, but I started seeing Dr Chun in college, and, uh, almost 20 yrs later, I still see him. He’s great, a clinical prof at UC, so he’s very up to date on the latest science and technology. And just the other day he was explaining how one of the instruments work, and how another test was looking at just the top layer of cells of the cornea. He has programs with China, and does lots of things outside of his field (Cal Acad of Sci docent, avid road cyclist at one time).
Personable and a starts off a little no-​nonsense, I think out of respect for his patients. But you can talk to him about anything of you feel like it. His office staff have generally been great, but sometimes they’re a little hit and miss at times, which is too bad (otherwise I’d give him 5 stars).

I had a horrible experience with Dr. Chun. He was not very personable and seemed distracted throughout my whole exam. In the middle of the exam, his phone was ringing really loud… He even had the nerve to start listening to his voicemails DURING the exam when I was choosing between lens 1 and 2… and so forth. I became fearful that my prescription would not be accurate and I was really tempted to demand a refund. I was very appalled by Dr. Chun’s lack of professionalism and needless to say I have found a new optometrist!!!
Despite the Dr.‘s behavior, the ladies up front were very friendly and helpful. I am surprised they still schedule out of a book.

I highly recommend Dr. Chun (and I’m sure his partners are great too) for a very thorough, professional and friendly place to have your eyes taken care of. The tiny little office has been around for 30 years and staffed with UC Berkeley optometry grads and faculty. Dr. Chun is very personable — among his many charitable endeavors (including setting up clinics in China), he is a volunteer story-​teller with the Asian Art Museum. And he’s just a heck of a nice guy — practically had me convinced to switch careers to optometry…
Their prices are reasonable, they take insurance (and from what I can tell, it looks like they take Medicare too) and they have a good selection of moderately priced frames — or you can take the prescription and fill it elsewhere — unlike some optometrists they won’t give you any grief about your right to choose. But you’ll probably want to stay right there and hang out with the friendly assistants who’ll help you find some cool Danish frames…