I rarely write reviews, but I felt compelled to share my experience. unfortunately, my visit here was disappointing and expensive. $240 for an eye appointmentI was given prescription contacts that felt uncomfortable and didn't seem right for me on top of that, the entire experience felt more like a sales sell than an eye care appointment. I was constantly being upsold on procedures and products I didn't ask for or need (ex: charged at the end for unnecessary eye pressure test I said I didn't want to do). it felt like their priority was selling rather than providing quality care. I expected a more patient-focused experience, especially when it comes to something as important as vision care. I won't be returning. Do not let them pressure you to pay for unwarranted fees at the end when you check out read more

Dr Kaplan was very helpful. Just went on Medicare and the new nurse practitioner I saw said I was getting cataracts. Told me to schedule an optometry appt. I even clarified with her. So I went on the website zoc doc. Dr Kaplan was rated so highly by his patients. Hundreds. It was impressive. (Go to www.zocdoc.com for doctor reviews Not yelp is my hint to you) Anyway his office is small and inviting but with the best selection of frames I've seen for a while. Pretty reasonably priced even. He tested and I have perhaps a slight beginning of a cataract but nothing of note at this point. He did a new RX and it was very close to my Old one. No pressure to get new frames which I appreciated. Medicare covered eye exam 100% but not the special test which was $50. Thank you Dr Kaplan! read more

Spent $360 and one hour trying (and failing) to get my contact lens prescription. We ran out of time and I left with an unusable prescription that was totally off. I was invited to return again another day (lol) to finish this process. This whole process takes 20 minutes and costs me $150 out-of-pocket at my preferred optometrist and doesn't require two sessions. I have a feeling I would be charged for a second session. As other reviewers noted, Dr Kaplan does take his time. The issue is he uses antiquated hand lenses to measure your eyesight. Ultimately he could not get me a usable prescription and the prescription I left with was useless and markedly worse than my outdated, old prescription. Dr Kaplan spent 10 minutes trying to sell me on designer eyewear before we had even gotten me a usable contact lens prescription - the one thing I paid $360 for. I had to strongly insist I was not interested before he relented. This was infuriating. Awful experience, will not return, and I'd advise everyone to avoid. read more

Unlike any eye exam my daughter or I have ever gotten. Dr Kaplan takes the time to figure out what is really wrong with your vision.

This was my only visit ever to an optometrist. I had a few small concerns. Saw he was covered under my insurance, drove out to Mill Valley, and had a very thorough, hour long appointment with Dr. Kaplan and his wife. Nice family business, and slightly old fashioned but with some good modern technology. There was some upselling, and some surprises on the prices, but at the end, I got a great pair of glasses I am very happy with. The long years of blurriness are over. Thanks, Dr. Kaplan! read more

Dr. Kaplan gave me the most comprehensive eye exam I have ever had. My new prescription had changed my life, actually. I no longer have fatigue after years of seeing eye doctors who didn't help. Dr. Kaplan was also great with my son, very friendly and has a clean COVID safe office. read more

Dr. Kaplan has been my optometrist for more than 10 years and I give him and his staff my highest recommendation. He is very knowledgeable and friendly. His office also has a nice selection of high quality glasses frames and I'm always very satisfied with the turnaround time and the end result. I recently retired from work and had a new supplemental vision plan thru Medicare for which I had to change to a new optometrist. I had a very bad experience with the new provider and immediately bought a VSP insurance policy so that I could return to Dr. Kaplan, my trusted doctor. Helen D. read more

From my first call to them as a new customer with a reading glasses prescription to fill and need to pick a frame, Arelli answering the phone was very friendly professional and helpful in general explaining process. I made an appt with Laurie to help me select a frame, I was running late and Laurie was so understanding professional and patient near lunchtime. I hustled in, she was the most helpful in me looking at various frames sharing her knowledge on right type of frame to fit. I've always gotten metal frames but went with a cool plastic material that will look cooler and last longer I'm sure. The optometrist Dr. Eliot was super nice too, he put a gizmo next to my eyes confirming specs and his expertise showed as he took about 2 minutes .. All in all seamless, very friendly progressional culture and I'm partnership Cali customer only 3 in Marin take it, I called another place before MV Optometry, won't name the name ( in larkspur) and left a vm early AM as no answer of phone, didn't get a call til next day too long running a business in my opinion, to be fair the guy called and left voicemail sounded nice and professional however I was funneled in MV Opto and glad the reviews on Yelp consistent with my experience. Do yourself a favor come here they have a friendly professional competent culture here. Thank you to entire staff. Marc read more

Great service, above and beyond in every aspect of the process. And when I was not thrilled at first, Dr. K tested my eyes and discovered that my original prescription (done by another physician in another office) was not correct. The lenses were re-ordered and the problem was fixed, at no expense to me. It was clear when he was testing me that he wanted things to be perfect, he was methodical, meticulous, and friendly. Nothing beats experience, thank you Dr. Kaplan! read more

Props to Marissa at the front desk who provided the best customer service throughout my experience-- from getting me scheduled, ordering test contacts, figuring out my insurance coverage, and following up by phone and email whenever she had an update for me. Office is small, but perfect if you're looking for a mom-and-pop business in Marin. read more

I recently began working in the area and needed to update my contact prescription. I'm so happy I found Dr. Kaplan a few minutes away from my work. He made it very easy to schedule and was up front about cost of services. Day of my appointment Dr. Kaplan was very easy to converse with and in addition to a routine eye exam, did a couple other eye exercises I never knew existed, to check my eye health. Overall, his demeanor and professionalism exceeding my expectations, and I feel so lucky to have a found a local, private practice eye doctor I can entrust in the future. I highly recommend this practice and Dr. Kaplan's services! read more

Not only was my daughter's prescription wrong, but the doctor missed a very important detail on her exam that could have affected her vision long term. Thankfully, I got a second opinion. read more

Fantastic experience. Small office/staff and feel like they've gotten slammed with new customers, me included, given mass exodus from SF. But still doing a great job; fixed my glasses and corrected contacts. Very appreciated read more

Great experience with this wonderful team! From the minute I walked in the door the experience was so pleasant and thorough. I was greeted by smiling and inviting faces, my insurance was easily verified, some simple intake forms, a great eye exam, followed by a wonderful experience finding frames. It felt like I had a best friend helping me pick the perfect style and shape for my face. Everyone took their time and I felt valued. Highly recommend this entire team and their unparalleled professionalism and integrity. read more

Cheap is the best word I can use to describe this office. First, they tried to shove $200+ glasses in my face the minute I entered the office. Second, they didn't even bother turning the A/C on in order to save money, even though it was a 90 degree summer day, and I had to beg them to turn it on during my eye exam. Third, the equipment he uses looks very antiquated and not as technologically advanced as I've seen in other offices. Finally, it usually takes about maybe around 20 mins or so to get my prescription from a skilled optometrist or ophthalmologist, but it took Kaplan almost AN HOUR. Instead of wasting your time and money visiting this optometrist, consider visiting an ophthalmologist who, in addition to performing vision tests, has the ability to conduct a comprehensive, in-depth eye exam that examines the detailed structures of the eye. read more

Dr. Kaplan and his staff provide excellent and compassionate optometric care in the heart of Mill Valley. I had a spontaneous retinal detachment earlier this summer which required surgery to repair and left me with sudden vision loss, light sensitivity, and double vision. I visited other eye doctors before Dr. Kaplan and they didn't have solutions for me, which was really distressing since I am only 30. I was worried that I would be visually-impaired for the rest of my life until I saw Dr. Kaplan. Dr. Kaplan did a binocular vision assessment on me and helped me get prism glasses. No one had ever done this kind of assessment for me before. This was truly life-changing for me. Because of Dr. Kaplan and his staff I am no longer visually-impaired. I am able to continue working as a software engineer, I can go jogging independently, navigate cities by myself, and I don't need to ask for help finding things in stores anymore. I am also less anxious in my daily life since my visual acuity and comfort are much better now. I am really grateful to Dr. Kaplan and his staff and I highly recommend you go to him! read more

I am so glad to have found Dr. Kaplan. I had lasik more than a decade ago and my vision is starting to decline so I have to wear contacts again. :-( However, until I went to Miill Valley Optometry I was unable to see clearly with my contacts. The first thing that I noticed was the amount of care Dr. Kaplan took while testing my vision. The comprehensive exam took much longer than your average trip to the optometrist but it was worth it to have a prescription that I trusted. The care continued as we tested different contacts to find out which one worked best for me. I must have tried four different combinations of contact brands and I was amazed at how the same prescription could net such different outcomes. I am grateful to Dr. Kaplan's meticulous process. I can finally see again. I'm delighted. read more

Was in Mill Valley from out of town and started to feel some sharp, stabbing pain in my eye.

BEST DOCTOR EVER! He finally helped me get the right hard lenses, so i could see clear again! He did all the exams that needed to be done, he toke his time to see what my eyes needed, and didn't stop until he got the right one. I use hard lenses and he gave me a pair until it fit right. Very friendly environment, clean and organized office. Convenient location, (shopping center) plenty of parking space read more

Dr. Kaplan explained the costs up front and then proceeded to give me the time and attention I have longed for from an optometrist. He actually WORKED at getting my prescription just right. I wear toric lenses for my significant astigmatism, which makes for a more complicated case. Dr Kaplan was able to identify that I had been being overcorrected in the past for my nearsightedness, which was why I was having such a hard time reading things up close with my contacts in. I now have contacts that work great for distance and I don't have to reach for reading glasses unless the font is really, really small. It was more expensive than the discount and chain places I had been going to for so many years - but it was worth every penny. I have literally seen the light! read more

If you are looking for some quick, cheap, wham-bam eye exam, go to LensCrafters, but if you have specific concerns or want a thorough exam with a real diagnosis, then you can't do better than Dr. Eliot Kaplan. I had Lasik eye surgery about a decade ago and recently noticed what I thought was one eye weakening. After a series of specialized tests, Dr. Kaplan determined that my brain has adjusted to viewing longer distance (far-sighted) with one eye while the other has adapted to near-sighted reading, etc. He offered me options for attempting to re-train the far-sighted eye to see near and vice versa or glasses if I didn't want to be bothered. He gave me options! LensCrafters would never have spent the time and effort even if they had someone as knowledgable as Dr. Kaplan. They just stick you in front of the machine, given you the whole "which is better? one or two?" and send you on your way. Dr. Kaplan, on the other hand, really cares. He spent a lot of time trying to decipher my issue and for that I am grateful. Dr. Kaplan has a quirky manner that verges on "eye-nerd" and I wouldn't have it any other way. The man is dedicated to the job of getting you the best possible fit for glasses or contacts and helping you in whatever way he can. My husband can testify to this as he also had Lasik surgery a decade ago (preformed by one of the top doctors in NYC), but unlike my flawless results, his were disastrous. His eye with "better" vision ended up having keratoconus and as a result, eye doctor after eye doctor said he would never be able to wear contacts again. For many years he tried to fight it and suffered with oversized hard lenses when physical activity would not permit glasses. After moving to Marin, we heard about Dr. Kaplan and together they tried several different soft lenses. It took a while, but if one failed to be comfortable, Dr. Kaplan would research the latest, best new materials, shapes, sizes etc. until they found contacts that worked for my husband. My husband can finally comfortably now wear contacts which allows him to mountain bike, work-out, etc. without having to wear glasses. I also took my daughter to him when I wanted to know if she had any learning issues because some of them can be detected early via specialized eye tests. So, as I said above, if you want the fast food of eye care, go elsewhere, but if your vision requires better care, something more than just a quick once over, Dr. Kaplan is the man. He is thorough and knowledgable and he really cares about the profession and about finding the right diagnosis for you. read more

Little bit hidden but great place it's Fast and efficient. Good with kids. Great staff. 100% recommended.

Dr Kaplan is the best! I have never had vision problems until recently when my eyes started itchy and burning like crazy. I was at my wit's end and called Dr. Kaplan spontaneously. His super kind and helpful assistant helped me figure out my eye coverage for insurance (for an hour!), got me in right away, and Dr. K missed his lunch to help me with my eye burning issue. He was kind, super informative and most of all, a day later, my eyes are 85% better, and I am certain they will get 100% better soon. Most impressively, Dr K just emailed me to see how I was doing this morning. When is the last time a doctor did that? For me, never! Hopefully I will not have to go there again soon, but if I did, it would be a pleasure. What a valuable member of the health & Mill Valley community. Katy Higgins read more

I picked up my new glasses from Mill Valley Optometry today, and for the first time in a while, life is not fuzzy. I had gotten two pairs of glasses from Kaiser and had to go back twice for each pair, and still was not happy. I have been a pro photographer for over 4 decades, and my eyes are extremely important to me. I was completely impressed with Dr. Kaplan during the exam, and now getting my new glasses be absolutely perfect right from the first moment I put them on, I am further impressed. I am a very happy photographer who no longer has to go through life squinting, all thanks to Dr. Kaplan. read more

Dr. Kaplan has been really great to work with. I was having a problem with double vision and after seeing my ophthalmologist and having an MRI and many other tests it was determined that I had divergence insufficiency. I was referred to a neuro-ophthalmologist that saw me for about 10 minutes before suggesting and pushing surgery. I asked both doctors about exercises or other options after hearing what the surgery entailed and both said said there was not much I could do. I found a testimonial from a clinic in Canada for someone with my condition and their success with eye therapy. After searching around, I found Dr. Kaplan and was really optimistic about eye therapy, after reading a little about it. When I arrived, my vision was so double, I could not drive without a prism (a corrective piece of plastic in my glasses that fuses the two images into a single image). In the first session he showed me a variety of exercises and I was immediately seeing improvements in just that one session, particularly with the 3d exercises. He sent me home with a set of exercises to work on. By the end of the second appointment my prism strength was cut down by half and I was able to fuse images and keep them that way by the next appointment! The amount of improvement has been quite remarkable. I am currently wearing a prism and continuing appointments and exercises and having major improvement in not only the double vision, by my prescription has gotten better as well. I highly recommend Dr. Kaplan! He is really enthusiastic about helping you and really a great doctor. Super thankful I found him. Thanks for the mean green :) read more

I highly recommend Dr Kaplan. He made the time to consider the idiosyncrasies of my aging eyes with prescriptions for contacts and glasses. He provides amazing customer care - which is especially welcome these days. read more

We were referred to Dr. Kaplan for my 5 yr old daughter. She had been struggling in school. He discovered that she has an binocular vision problem. He gave her a prescription for corrective glasses. My daughter went from only being able to recognize 2-3 letter sight words to reading just 3 weeks. He has given her a whole new world and we are beyond thankful! read more

Dr. Kaplan is amazing!! I truly mean that... I have suffered from facial paralysis since I was 11 years old. My eye sight from my left eye has not felt quite right since then. My eye sight has been feeling worst over time, to the point that is hard to concentrate. My headaches have been so bad I have had to drink 2-4 advils a day, to the point that I had to be hospitalized for stomach bleeding. I have gone to different neurologist, and eye doctors but the truth is that they have never given me a true explanation or a treatment. They only keep changing my eye prescription and tell me that maybe with time they can fix my eye with surgery. I found a wonderful homeopathic doctor that is helping me with these horrible headaches and referred me with Dr. Kaplan. He told me that Dr. Kaplan would really help me. I was not so sure about it at the beginning due to my past experiences, yet I was very pleasantly surprised. Coming into the office I was greeted by his lovely wife. She was so friendly and sweet. It really made me feel comfortable and at home. At the consultation, Dr. Kaplan was so sweet and friendly, he listened to me carefully and was very detailed in his exam. Dr. Kaplan did very detailed tests and gave me profound explanations not only about the tests but also about what is going on with my eyes. He was able to diagnose problems that other doctors never even picked up. I was pleasantly surprised by his knowledge, expertise and professionalism. He explained to me the problem but also gave me a solution to my problem. He really goes an extra mile to help his patients. Something that doctors had never done in the past. He truly is an expert in his field!! I love that Dr. Kaplan is honest and you can truly feel his caring nature towards his patients. My honest regret that I didn't find him sooner. It would had saved me so many medical issues and confusion. I honestly wanted to cry after leaving his office, for the first time I felt satisfied and out of confusion with my treatment. I felt so relief that I had finally found a great doctor to help me. His beautiful wife, helped pick some very cute glasses that I just fell in love with! She was supper sweet and helpful. I am very excited to get my glasses and treatment :) If you really need help like I did and you want a true professional and expert in the field, don't hesitate to make an appointment with Dr. Kaplan. He really is amazing. read more

I am grateful for the skillfulness and kindness of Dr. Kaplan. I have complicated issues between my brain and my eyes due to a head injury. Dr. Kaplan is one of the few who can manage to really help me with getting the correct glasses. He has also helped me to retrain my vision. He takes his job more like a vocation than a job. One can see that he is truely interested in how the eyes work and is always seeking more knowledge on the subject as it comes available. He is also very patient. So often I feel rushed by eye doctors flipping through lenses. I have never felt that way with Dr. Kaplan. Go to him for your eye exam and glasses, you will be in great hands. His office staff was also wonderful and gave me all the help needed to make the insurance billing effortless for me! Thank you so much Mill Valley Optometry! Worth the drive from Sonoma County! read more

Shady!!!! Beware!!! I have never felt comfortable with this Dr. or this office and my recent experiences confirms this suspicion. Each time I have seen Dr. Kaplan, I've left feeling uncomfortable and confused. He routinely obfuscates when you ask him direct questions about the exam, the exam process and especially billing. As suspected, today when my husband went to pick up my prescription, he left with a $215 bill (with only one pair of contacts - not a full supply), AND WE HAVE INSURANCE! When I called to inquire what these charges were for, he talked in circles, couldn't soundly explain what the charges were for (he hadn't provided us with a proper bill either - just a register receipt) , was rude and cut me off several times -- trying repeatedly to put words in my mouth. Utterly unprofessional. I have never had dealings like this with any other medical professional. He should be ashamed. I wish I would have read these other reviews from other patients who have obviously had similar experiences. I would have never seen him. I look forward to finding someone else ASAP. DON"T GO! You've been warned..... read more

I needed new contacts but was very low on money, so when I made my appointment to get my yearly prescription I very specifically mentioned that it was for contact lenses and double checked the exact amount of money I would need to bring. Twice. Lo and behold after my appointment I am told the charge is more than the secretary had told me over the phone. I was humiliated because I had brought only the exact amount, that I had double checked I would need and did not have more to cover it. Nobody apologized, but instead acted like it was my mistake and I probably didn't specify that it was a contact lens appointment when I asked. Which I did. To avoid this exact situation. 9 months later I had to argue with them when I wanted to order a couple more boxes, because they wanted to force me to come in for another prescription as soon as it ran out. (My prescription hasn't changed in 10 years, but contact lens prescriptions are only valid for a year.) I got so fed up with them that I went down there and demanded a copy of my (still valid) prescription so that I could take it to another optometrist, because even though they had (begrudgingly) finally agreed to order me a couple more boxes, I didn't want to give them any more of my money. The woman behind the desk--the same one who had misquoted me originally--kept trying to write out my prescription on a piece of scratch paper instead of giving me a copy of the one the doctor had written up that I could actually use elsewhere. Crap people all the way around. Regret ever walking in there. read more

I called and made sure they took my insurance. Which they are a preferred provider for and have the sign saying "We take United Health Care and their Vision Providers" on their front counter. So I thought great! When we we're doing a quick exam I had asked a few simple questions about anti-biotic eye drops etc. To which he didn't provide any real solid answers and simply stated "Wow, I guess no one has ever asked me that before" he then handed me an expired bottle of eye drops and said there has been plenty of studies done on expired medicines and it's totally fine for up to 10 years. If I didn't like it I was welcome to go to a pharmacy he "thinks it would cost aprox $200 from them" but if I wanted to just take this expired bottle he'd charge me $75 of my own money. When I asked about insurance and how does that all work, he said oh yeah, I don't know you have to call them I guess? Won't be back. read more

Not big on these guys. They seem more like salesmen/women for glasses than optometrists with your best interest in mind.

I want to echo the shady feeling that others have gotten here. I have only been to this place twice, and the second time I decided to leave before they charged me any more money. When I showed up for my first appointment, the place was locked and no one was there. Being late for work? Come on. And I agree with others who have felt like they have not gotten straight answers. There are plenty of optometrists around, I won't be back. read more

Elliot Kaplan is a treasure. He has a keen mind for diagnosis, and introduced us to vision therapy. He's great with kids, and treats all his patients with respect and compassion. Even if you just need a pair of contacts, go see him; you'll learn a lot in the process. read more

Dr Kaplan helped me to see clearly again! My glasses were the wrong prescription so he corrected that and got me into some nice contact len as well! I highly recommend him! read more

If there was ever a business that warranted the time and effort for a positive review, it is Mill Valley Optometry. Dr Kaplan, Marina and David are warm and friendly, kind and supportive no matter how busy they are at the moment. I always left feeling like I made the right choice...even if the choice was no new glasses just yet. I never felt pressured to buy something out of my budget. Whenever I had trouble with a pair of glasses, I was never made to feel uncomfortable. The staff took care of the problem swiftly and made everything just right. I would never get my glasses anywhere else read more

Recently I had a serious medical issue with my eye and was helped in a huge way by Dr. Kaplan. I deeply appreciated his demeanor and professionalism and the very real fact that he actually helped me with the problem I had. After all the time he's been doing this he seems both deeply competent and to truly enjoy what he does. At this point I go to him for both my glasses and contacts and am extremely satisfied with the kindness and care he puts into his work. I appreciate his kind, helpful and knowledgeable staff as well. All in all a great experience that I would highly recommend. read more

Elliot has been my optometrist for over 10 years. He's a great guy, very genuine, and sensitive to your eye care needs. He never comes across as a pushy salesman at all. I have very simple eye care needs and he works with that well. In fact, I'm the happiest that I have ever been with my contacts. No problems at all! I worked with his office manager on glasses and she helped me pick something out that I was comfortable with style-wise, and at a good price too! Not an easy task for me. read more

I yelped this office after having a horrific experience at a different eye dr in larkspur landing. They let me have a same day appointment and I was in and out with a contact lens examination plus contacts ordered in about a half hour. The Dr is really nice and the front desk is polite and professional. I had a great experience and will be taking my family there for future check ups despite the fact that they aren't on my insurance plan. read more