Jeffrey Lem, OD

Dr. Lem is awesome! I’ve been seeing him for the last two years for annual eye exams to get my contacts and glasses prescriptions. I called on Monday seeking a Wednesday appointment, super last minute I know, and he was able to fit me in — in fact, he was the one answering the phones since his receptionists were out! Because I had procrastinated and really needed a prescription to order new contacts, he hooked me up with some contacts to use in the mean time.
He’s super thorough, charming, hilarious in a goofy way, explains everything in great detail but you never feel like you are getting lectured, and just overall an extremely warm and easygoing person to be around, despite our disagreements about college basketball. Would recommend 100%, you might actually enjoy visiting the eye doc!

Dr. Lem is the best! I had a crises when I was trying to get more contacts last minute before a trip to China, and he totally came through for me! We texted on his personal cell and he spoke to the person working at Costco Vision to tell them my prescription while he was on vacation with his family. The worker at Costco said he never had heard of an optometrist like Dr. Lem before– and that I shouldn’t ever switch. I don’t plan to!

Highly recommend Dr. Lem.
Very friendly but more importantly great at what he does. I had a hunch that my previous optometrist gave me a wrong prescription, so I wanted to make sure I go to someone who will get it right and restore my trust. Thank you.

Very professional doctor, very courteous and thorough. I highly appreciate the eye exam that he did for me, and all of the tips and explanation.
I went out of my way to specifically get my eye exam from Dr. Lem because i wanted to make sure that the prescription will be accurate — if you get any random person to do eye exam for you who knows if they may make a mistake and prescribe you the wrong lenses, and make your vision worse… without you even knowing it.

Stay away from this place. I was unhappy that the exam was lightening fast as the doctor seemed in a hurry. I’ve been having my eyes examined for 30 years and the exam is never this quick. I requested trying new contacts and he refused and gave me «the cheapest» was his recommendation. Now, a year later at while seeing a quality eye doctor, she was appalled by the brand of contacts I came in wearing — she and her staff were all shocked to see contacts they agreed they are 10 years old, out of date and were upset that these were prescribed to me. Additionally, I was over corrected in my prescriptions and was having trouble reading.

Dr. Lem is a professional in every since of the word. He is very knowledgable, thorough, personable and courteous. He takes the time to explain things to you and make you feel comfortable during your visit. I would highly recommend him for your optometry needs.

I’ve never had glasses before and my vision started to get blurry, accompanied by headaches. I didn’t want to finally go deal with this, because I’m not happy about my deterioration… but after prompting by family, I did some quick Googling and Dr. Lem came up on Unilocal with great reviews. I emailed him through Unilocal and forgot about it, kinda hoping that I’d get no response, so that I could forget the whole thing and tell my family «Well, I tried.» I don’t want glasses! I want to live in denial of my worsening eyesight!
Dr. Lem responded to my email by phone that same day, not long after I’d sent the email. He had a cancellation which made the last appointment of the day available (argh, NOoooo!), so I said fine, I’ll be down, and just resolved to do it.
Dr. Lem saw me 5 minutes after I arrived. He’s really engaging, friendly, yet professional and efficient. It’s obvious that he’s very busy, but that he’s on top of that, and then some. I found his manner to be disarming and charming, distracting me from the entire checkup process.
Before I knew it, I was done, with an order for two pairs of glasses for the price of one, a special they were having that week, which I took advantage of. By the time I got a call from family that late afternoon, I was able to tell them «Hey, by the way, I took care of the vision issue; I just have to wait for the glasses to be made!» Yeah, that’s right, I took care of business, they didn’t have to nag me anymore. But the truth is, it was Dr. LEM who took care of it! His fast callback & leading me through the process was just what I needed. I definitely recommend him, no question.
Oh, and when he’s giving you the examination, you’ll likely note that he has very nice earlobes. He accepts compliments well, so feel free.

Dr. Lem is awesome, really good with what he does. The exam was fast, didn’t have to wait.

After my OD in Berkeley disappeared off the map, I was happy to find Dr. Jeffrey Lem in busy Financial District. I was recommended to see him by my brother and was pleasantly surprised. Dr. Lem is calm, caring, cheerful, and cool!
I arrived a few minutes early to my 9am appointment (first of the day. Dr. Lem was already there before the For Eyes people. During the exam, he was very thorough and explained everything he was doing. He also asked specific and insightful questions about medical history to get a bigger picture of my eye health.
I walked away with a clean bill of health and will gladly return for my future eye exams! Highly recommended and totally deserving of the five star rating he has accrued.
The For Eyes employees weren’t as amazing but I’ll rate them 4 stars anyway for saying good morning :)

Dr and staff are great. I’m a customer since few years and I every time get an excellent and friendly service. Dr. Jeffrey Lem will explain you everything he is doing and will make all necessary test to make sure you eyes are in good shape.

About two years ago I stumbled upon Dr. Lem’s office because it was conveniently close to my last job. Now I work in a completely differently location and I still go back to Dr. Lem because he is hands down the best. Dr. Lem is very thorough and engaging. For sure to be my optometrist for years to come.

Dr. Lem is an old school doctor, back from when they made them right. I would wholeheartedly recommend him to anybody!
Has a very modest office (old school, remember?) but very well equipped. He’ll take you through all the nooks and crannies of the diagnosis he’s doing, using very approachable language, and was able to sate my every curiosity. I wish all my doctors were this caring and competent.
Moreover, he’s seriously chill and courteous! It was a pleasure to pay him a visit.
¹⁰⁄₁₀ Will go back as long as humanly possible!

For my first ever eye exam, I wanted to trust Unilocal and go somewhere with great reviews. Unilocal did not let me down! The staff and Dr. Lem were very good! I was a little nervous, but the whole process was actually quite fun and Dr. Lem’s energy and enthusiasm made him very easy to talk to! My blood pressure is usually sky high when I get into a doctor’s office, but with Dr. Lem it stayed normal as I just felt at ease in his presence. ⁵⁄₅ stars for sure, I would recommend him to any noob like me: D
He’s also a Cal grad so Go Bears!

Great doctor, friendly staff, and good hours. Very thorough and he explains everything in detail. He definitely knows what he is doing. Unfortunately, they do not take VSP, so keep that in mind if you have it. Though, he does take EyeMed. The experience was so great, that I’m debating going back even though I have VSP!

Dr. Lem is the absolute coolest doctor I’ve ever had and even if I didn’t work nearby, I’d go to him for the rest of my life. I found him from a google search for «cheap eye exam SF» and the glowing reviews on Unilocal were backed up when my coworker also gushed about how «fun and quirky» Dr. Lem is. Big surprise: everyone was absolutely right!
He is a great doctor who really knows how to make a patient feel welcome and at ease. He cracked jokes and sang a little bit and didn’t yell at me when I admitted I’d been wearing the same pair of contact lenses for 2 years straight. He explained what he was doing and why for every step of the exam. He treats everyone (me, other patients, his staff– who are also great) with congeniality and respect. He even sent me home with a free pair of contacts in my new prescription so I didn’t have to wear the same pair out.

I decided that I needed to see a new optometrist because I wasn’t too thrilled with where I had been going previously. So, I saw all the positive reviews for Dr. Lem and was able to make an appointment without a problem.
Dr. Lem’s staff were very welcoming and professional as soon as I walked through the door. After signing a few forms, Dr. Lem was on time to see me.
Dr. Lem was very easygoing and even cracked a few jokes here and there. But, he also knew when to be serious. He was very thorough during my eye exam and explained things clearly and was open to any questions or concerns I had.
I was very pleased with my experience and will continue to see Dr. Lem from now on. His price for an eye exam was very reasonable, especially for someone like myself without vision insurance. I highly recommend Dr. Lem! He and his staff are wonderful!

Jeff provides wonderful service and knows his eyeballs. He’s funny, quick and very informative. His convenient location in Fidi made it easy to stop in during a work day.

I love Dr. Lem. He’s always so thoughtful and kind and informative. His recommendations are always earnest and useful. I’ve been going to him for 3+ years and am very happy to continue to. I recommend him frequently.

Please shorten your answering machine message. Such a waste of time. I have a suggestion; «Hi, we’re busy, please call back in about ten, thanks for your patience». Anyone can glean from Unilocal shop hours, and anyone sane can figure out if they are experiencing a medical emergency.

Dr. Lem’s office was professional and courteous. They took me in with minimal paperwork and almost no wait.
Dr. Lem was efficient, friendly, and direct in his approach. He answered all of my questions succinctly and with a sense of humor.
I would recommend this office, if you are looking to simply renew your contact and/​or glasses prescription.

I found Dr. Lem via Unilocal and after reading his incredible reviews, I reached out to him. I was in dire need of a pair of contacts as my last pair ripped and I ran out of replacements. Dr. Lem was so accommodating to set me up with a trial pair in a few hours’ time to save my day until he could give me a thorough examination a few days after. I was EXTREMELY impressed by his knowledge, care, and thoroughness with my exam from beginning to end. I have had many eye doctors throughout the years and Dr. Lem is hands down my favorite for all the aforementioned reasons.
He made me feel comfortable and educated me on not only what he was doing but also why he was doing it and the benefits of each part of the exam.
I HIGHLY recommend him to everyone. He is so personable and friendly with an equally great office staff. If you’re searching for a new eye doctor, stop looking and do yourself a favor and see Dr. Lem. You’ll thank me later. :)