Eyewear Store Near Me in the Marina: San Francisco Optics by Alexander Daas

San Francisco Optics by Alexander Daas has fitted glasses at 2248 Chestnut St in the Marina District since 1979, and it keeps unusually generous hours for an independent optician: Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 6 pm and Sunday from noon to 6 pm. For anyone typing eyewear store near me between the Palace of Fine Arts and Union Street, it is the shop that pairs an in-house fitting team with an independent optometrist under one roof.

The business describes itself as two generations of opticianry. The family opened in Palo Alto in 1957, came to San Francisco in 1979, and later added Los Angeles in 2008, San Diego in 2013 and Orange County in 2024. The city's own Perfect Day along Chestnut Street guide calls the shop a family-owned business that has been in the Marina for more than 45 years, which is a long run on a retail strip known for turnover.

In 2010 the family launched its own Alexander Daas eyewear line, and that collection is the reason many people make the trip. A large share of it is designed specifically for petite faces, cut from Japanese and Italian acetates. If standard frames always slide down your nose or reach past your temples, ask to start here. The Sam frame is listed at $319 and the Remy at $359 on the brand's own site, which gives a realistic sense of the price level.

The wider wall mixes designer labels with smaller independent makers. Tom Ford and Mykita are both named on the store page, and one long-time customer review on the site puts it plainly: lots of boutique, independent and local designer brands. That range is useful if you want to compare a sculptural German steel frame against a heavier American acetate in the same sitting, with a mirror and natural light from the Chestnut Street window to judge both.

The store page lists the complaints its opticians handle most: frames that slide, pressure points behind the ears, and difficult bridge fits. Bring the pair that bothers you even if you plan to replace it, because the optician can show you exactly where it fails. One customer wrote that after scratching a lens, the shop replaced it for free, and another had two new Tom Ford pairs ready within a week. That turnaround makes it a realistic errand even with a deadline.

Comprehensive eye exams, including pediatric exams, are performed on site by an independent optometrist, and the shop takes most vision insurance plans. Book the exam online through the store page rather than walking in, since the exam room runs on appointments while the frame floor does not. Families often combine the two: a child's exam first, then frame selection while the prescription is fresh, so nobody has to come back to Chestnut Street a second time.

The Marina swings between morning fog and hard afternoon glare off the bay, so this is a good neighborhood to shop for sunglasses as well as optical frames. Ask the optician to fit prescription sun lenses into the same house frame you choose for everyday glasses, so the two pairs feel identical on your face. Then take them outside and look toward the water at the end of Pierce Street before deciding which tint works for you.

With hundreds of frames on display, the risk is trying on twenty and remembering none. Pick three, set them on the fitting tray, and wear each for a few minutes while you talk with the optician about lens thickness for your prescription, since a strong prescription can change which shapes make sense. Ask for a side view in the mirror and a photo from across the room. The pair that still feels right after that is usually the one to order.

Weekday mornings right after the 10 am opening are the quietest time to try on frames, because Chestnut Street foot traffic builds through the afternoon and peaks on weekends when brunch crowds spill out of nearby restaurants. Sunday has the shortest day, starting at noon, so allow a full hour if you are booking a fitting that afternoon. A Saturday visit works best if you already know which two or three frames you want to compare.

Take the customer review on the shop's site at face value: do not come here if you are looking for cheap or bargain glasses. House frames start above $300 before lenses, and designer labels go higher. That is the cost of hand fitting and quality acetate, and many visitors decide it is worth it. If your budget is firm, the better plan B is Optical Underground on Linden Street in Hayes Valley, which sells past-season designer frames at lower prices.

The shop sits in the middle of the Marina's main shopping street, so the errand turns into an afternoon easily. Bar Darling is on the same block for a drink, Mamanoko is a block west for Japanese small plates, and Lucca Delicatessen, a Chestnut Street institution since 1929, is the place to pick up sandwiches. Walk north a few blocks and you reach the Marina Green and the waterfront path toward the Golden Gate Bridge, where you can test new sunglasses in real glare.

Muni's 30 Stockton line runs along Chestnut Street and stops at Chestnut and Pierce, within a short walk of the door, connecting the Marina to North Beach and downtown. The bus runs from early morning until midnight, so it covers every hour the shop is open. Street parking on Chestnut is metered and tight on weekends; the side streets toward Lombard Street are a better bet if you drive in from outside the city.

San Francisco Optics by Alexander Daas is at 2248 Chestnut St, San Francisco, CA 94123, in the Marina District. Hours are Monday to Saturday 10 am to 6 pm and Sunday noon to 6 pm. Bring your current prescription and insurance card if you plan to order lenses, and wear the hairstyle you usually wear, because temple fit changes with how your hair sits over your ears.