Henry Miller Opticians

In a world where Warby Parker is trendy and handily taking over the eyeglass business, I am still going to come back for my next pair of glasses at Henry Miller Opticians.
Kirk Gerchberg is the optician. He is old school, a class act, and his parents owned the shop before him. The shop itself has been around since 1906. I recommend this shop 100 10 000% because their service, product quality, and expertise are amazing. I got a broken leg on my own frames replaced FOR FREE (Kirk offered, then insisted on the free aspect when I asked to pay). Kirk not only carefully found TWO PAIRS of legs that could fit my type of frames, but he then worked to fit the one I really liked to my glasses for so long that I felt guilty! And he told me to come BACK if they break because he would replace them again. Who does that nowadays? Not many people… in fact I had asked about 8 or 9 shops all over Manhattan and Queens before this. (Full disclosure, the opticians at Costco in LIC also offered to repair it for free but I just haven’t been able to make it out there before this). Kirk saved me a few hundred dollars and gave me such amazing service and humanity. The lady who helped manage the shop as well was a joy to speak to while I waited. She very kindly explained how to pick the best frames given my high prescription, and when I asked about pricing, explained to me that the frames in the shop go from $ 21 — $ 1000’s.
I urge you to give this wonderful, classic, and only in New York shop a try. They’re not hurting for business either. In the half an hr or so I was in the shop, four different long time patrons came in. They do not take traditional insurance, but will fill out any reimbursement forms you have and can write a letter for reimbursement purposes.
I read the other reviews because based on my experience I expect many people to sing their praises (and they do), and it seems the few low reviews were based on an experience with perhaps a less pleasant shop manager than the lady I met (who other people praised rightly), but I don’t think it’s fair to give such a bad review based on that one experience, although I do agree that his behavior was a big turnoff. In this business, 80% is service!

These guys are pretty close to the state of the art in eyewear! They have a great selection of hip, sophisticated frames and their provider for progressive lenses beats Zeiss by a long shot. The woman who worked with me was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable, answering every question in detail. Fantastic service and, given the high level of quality of the products they offer, reasonably priced. But don’t go here expecting Lenscrafters or even Cohen’s Optical. These guys are in a league by themselves. Maybe a tad quirky, but so what?

Bought a pair of Made in America
non RX sunglasses from them. They have a nice selection of RX eyewear and non RX sunglasses. Prices are reasonable. I will purchase from them again.

Avoid. I took my glasses to Henry Miller because I needed an essential repair. They changed me $ 96 for the same repair made in Florida for $ 25 (on the other side of the of the frame).

I’m from out of town, and had been suffering with new glasses that were digging into my nose and felt like they were cutting through one ear. OUCH!
I tried getting them adjusted at a big chain optician. It was worse.
As I was walking down Lexington, I happened on Henry Miller Opticians and stopped in. Amazing.
He took the time to really … REALLY work with my glasses, repeatedly working with the glasses and then trying them on me.
If I lived here, I’d be a loyal brand advocate and customer.

I strongly recommend this shop to anyone. Their selection was very stylish and appealed to me. The owner was kind and recommended many items that matched with me.

strange sales people with unpleasant attitudes. I went somewhere else and will not return.

I have very conflicting feelings about this shop. On my first visit a few weeks ago I wasn’t quite finding what I wanted on my own, so I ended being helped by a gentleman who brought out an excellent pair by Lindberg that wasn’t on display. I was taken aback a bit when he kept saying «it’s very expensive» — a subtle way of implying I couldn’t afford them. They actually turned out to be not egregiously expensive, and he gave me the make and model so I could remember them.
Today I came back to try them on again and found a much nicer lady working. She found the pair in the back, answered all my questions, and couldn’t have been nicer to me and my friend. I decided I wanted to buy them but wanted to shop around to see how their price checked out. She completely understood.
I called back later this afternoon to figure out the color of the glasses since I found out that the price of the frames is different based on their color. The gentleman that had originally helped me weeks ago answered the phone, and I gave him my name and asked if he could let me know the model and color. He responded, «I’ll give you the color, though I don’t think you’re coming back here» in one of the most snooty tones I have ever heard. Boom. Turns out that their price was the best I had found BY FAR, though I will not be giving them my business. Price isn’t everything.

Probably the rudest staff I have ever encountered. You are basically ignored for a quite some time while you are there until you forcefully ask their assistance.
I ended up purchasing a pair of glasses there. However, when I asked for some prescription information later on, they refused to give it to me and gave no reasoning.
This store truly lives up to the «snooty» Upper East Side stereotype and I would strongly recommend staying away.

Forever grateful for the expert adjustment made to my glasses. Went from having a constant headache to the glasses floating on my nose, not weighing it down. Wonderful people and an asset to the neighborhood.

As I didn’t have lenses put in here (I purchased the frames only), I’m holding out on the last star.
It is a small store, but surprisingly packed with frames (and quite a selection of boutique frame makers like Francis Klein and Anne et Valentine).
I have been here about four times over the course of 6 months and have asked to try on almost every pair in the store (okay, I lie, maybe about half) and have never been pressured into buying anything. I’ve even accidentally delayed the store from closing and the manager (owner?) just kept bringing down glasses for me to try. And, uh, by the way, the store closes at 6pm. Whoops.
Those in the search for a bargain may want to look elsewhere, but for art on your face seeking types, this is a good place to visit.