I've been going here for several years and this place is fantastic. They have a great selection, decent prices and they are so helpful making sure you get what you need. It's also great to support an independent store. Great owners!! read more

They are terrific. I am difficult to optically please but they did it. Gorge listened to my concerns. Darlene gave me her attention to provide me with the best options. read more

Jorge and Darlene, the couple that own and operate Prism Optical, are so nice and accommodating. They scheduled an eye exam with their Dr. for me, filled the necessary paperwork with my insurance company, and helped me find the eye glass frame best suited for my face. They also helped me choose the best type of lenses to put in my frames, I had no idea there were so many options, like lenses that darken when you're outside in the daylight. They have many years experience in the business which helps when you're making all these decisions. I also love patronizing local, family owned businesses. I've been a patient for many years and plan on being one for many years to come. read more

Please do not think twice about choosing Prism Optical! I was on a mission to find someone who would take on a project of mine when literally no one else would. I needed someone skilled to cut custom lenses to fit existing frames. Jorge was happy to take on the job without hesitation--he is a true artist! Darlene organized everything and communication could not have been better. Jorge and Darlene have been in business for over 40 years and their expertise is unmatched. I can't wait to have them do my husband's custom lenses in a few weeks and I'm already thinking about my next project to do with them! This place is a true gem!!! read more

Prism Optical - Eyewear & Opticians Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

See all

I love Prism Optical. LOVE. I'm one of those people who buys old weird frames and then has them lensed in my prescription. Previously I used an online service until one day I was chatting up my bartender and they told me GO TO PRISM OPTICAL. It ended up being sage advice, so I'm here to admonish you to do the same! First of all, Jorge and Darlene are nice as pie. I enjoy chatting them up and occasionally seeing their pet cat (sorry kitty I forgot your name!) But more importantly, their work is stellar. For my latest project, I wanted to get a pair of Cazal aviators lensed in my prescription, but my eyes require very thick lenses. Jorge cautioned me about the risks but accepted the challenge any way. Long story short he needed to use extra equipment to complete the job so he partnered with one of his vendors to make it happen. They turned out SUPERB. Exceeded my expectations. I've taken four frames into Prism to get lensed and they've met my sometimes-challenging demands with the zeal of true artisans. If they can handle my quirky requests I have no doubt they will exceed your expectations whether you need high-end custom work or some garden-variety adjustments. read more

Prism Optical - Cazal 901s with custom-machined "shelved" lenses - Eyewear & Opticians Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I've been coming to Prism Optical for years. They happened to be just down the street from me, so I decided to give them a try once it came time for new glasses. They earned a loyal customer because of their personal touch, top-quality service, and great selection of frames and contacts. Darlene and Jorge go above and beyond to make sure that you get the right products you need, and that you get them at a great price. They strive to provide value in every aspect of the experience and will always do the little things that make you feel like a valued customer. They remember things about you. They throw in little extras and are never pushy with any products. They thrive on honesty, respect, and experience. If you're having trouble with something, they will do their best to remedy it. If you're curious about something, they will sit you down and walk you through it. The store is well-kept and full of art their daughter made. Did I mention that Jorge and Darlene are married? They are, and they are a testament to how great a small business can be when it's run with love and professionalism. read more

Prism Optical - In my new Tom Ford glasses - Eyewear & Opticians Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

These guys are the best. True pros. Great sense of humor. Pride and expertise in what they do. I used to go to Warby Parker, but now I go here. I tend to buy vintage frames and bring them here to have lenses made, but they have tons of frames in the shop as well. Jorge knows my style, and even pulled a pair of vintage frames aside from a dealer they work with because he thought I'd like them (I did). Darlene has been so kind and is easy to communicate with when scheduling, she bent over backwards to get me in more than a few times when my schedule was making things complicated. Support good folks like this, and they'll support you too. Definitely come into Prism Optical. read more

Darlene and Jorge are amazing. They are knowledgeable and are willing to take the time to make sure the glasses you buy are perfect in every way. Their selection is wide and ranges from brand new to vintage. I purchased a pair of glasses that were made in Japan in the 80's. I love them! Seriously, this place is amazing. You truly feel at home here. read more

Prism is right in my neighborhood, so they were my first stop when I needed new lenses for a pair of glasses I purchased secondhand. They are wonderfully kind, affordable, and offer great service for both glasses and for eye exams (absolutely night and day from the awful, predatory chain eye doctor shops). I'm thankful to have them so nearby, and would absolutely make the trip if they were not! I will continue to visit and to recommend them highly. read more

I highly recommend Prism Optical for their conscientious, friendly service. I had searched for an optician to make lenses for my new Rx in my old favorite frames, and the reviews of Prism were enthusiastic about the quality of their work. I had been dissatisfied with the positioning of the progressive lenses installed by previous opticians, so I looked for positive reviews of a workshop dedicated to eyesight. I already had frames for style--I needed lenses for seeing. When I arrived, Darlene and Jorge walked me through the science of progressives, and I invited Darlene to show me new frames just in case something turned my head. Without pressure, she offered helpful suggestions about fitting my small face with frames from their ample selection. Jorge cautioned me with such honest detail about working on the more delicate of my two existing pairs that I gave him the go-ahead to pop the old lenses out at my own risk. Again, no pressure, just candor and credibility. Now for a satisfactory month, I have worn Prism's new lenses in my old frames. Darlene and Jorge have worked together for decades in a storefront between a restaurant and a gym in a northwest side Chicago neighborhood. No frills. No pressure. Worth the drive for Prism's excellent quality and caring service. read more

Every time someone mentions glasses, everyone my family will start our "Let me tell you about our AMAZING neighbors at Prism Optical' spiel - I am so happy to have them nearby and we always get such amazing service from them! Also Darlene keeps me looking good since I trust her to find glasses I like with whatever vague description I come in with. read more

I had a excellent experience working with Jorge and Darlene. I purchased the frames about a month ago, they fit perfect. Jorge recommended my frames, based on a progressive prescription and style I was looking for. I will definitely go back for my next pair of glasses. read more

It's great having an optical shop in the neighborhood that is not only conveniently located but also offers competitive prices. I tend to purchase frames when I am out-of-town while on vacation and I have had them fill the lens prescription. They are very affordable and quick. I have sent family and friends to Prism over the years. In fact, my father who has a very strong prescription and tended to pay way too much when ordering glasses through his eye doctor ($700+), gave Prism a try. He was happy with the service and the tremendous savings. With the COVID situation, Prism has created a safe environment and are seeing clients by appointment only. I like this option as there is no waiting (other than for your appointment). Lastly, always happy to support local businesses. read more

I'll never go anywhere else again!!! Good quality service and amazing prices. Brings tacos for an extra saving :) read more

My last review was in 2012 and it's 2017 now. Time for an update. If you can't tell by everyone else's reviews, this is the place to go for glasses. They have been doing it right for a long time and they still are. I came in a couple months ago to start the glasses and frames buying process and they were extremely helpful throughout the entire decision and purchase. read more

Prism Optical is the best eyeglass experience I've had in Chicago. Great family business that we should all support. I'll recommend to everyone. read more

I've been doing business with Jorge and Darlene for years and I won't go anywhere else! They are the best!

If you're searching for an optical shop in Chicago - you can go ahead and stop searching and just go here. One of the best overall customer experiences I have ever had - let alone with glasses. Two quick stories. First day I'm there - an elderly lady was finishing up her visit and was concerned about catching a cab. The owner of the store - without being asked - immediately went outside and spent 5 minutes hailing a cab for her and then helped her in. Don't know how many business owners you see doing that these days. Meanwhile - I'm looking for new lenses for my frames. Takes them approximately 23 seconds for them to detail exactly what I'm looking for while informing me that if I stop by the very NEXT DAY they will get the lenses rushed in and can custom fit the lenses into my glasses. Sure enough - I stop by the next day - the owner drops everything he is doing and takes a few minutes to fit my new lenses. He informs me that he updated me to the more expensive non glare lenses at NO COST because he was concerned for my eyes because I mentioned I worked with a laptop most of the day. I still can't quite believe how amazing they are. I almost hope I have more optical needs in the near future so I can utilize their services again. As a fellow business owner - I can only strive to emulate the above and beyond service that they offer here. read more

Get your glasses here! Save money, get them quickly, and support independent business owners. Seriously. A few years ago, I started needing glasses for reading. Paired with the gray hairs I was finding, the reading glasses did not bode well for my self-esteem. But I went to the eye doc, picked out frames there, and after my insurance discount, still ended up paying $95 for a pair of so-so glasses. Then I needed to up my prescription. Again, I paid almost $100 for glasses that I often "forget" to put on. And that is AFTER my insurance discount! Jeepers. Why even bother with insurance? I decided I want cool, hip glasses so I began my Yelping. It seemed that most of the places that people loved were on Southport, Roscoe, Damen, etc. And they are PRICEY! My friend suggested we pop in to this independently owned place, Prism, just to see what is there. Simply put, we had a FABULOUS experience. They have a decent selection of standard frames as well as some pretty cool ones. But I am astounded by the prices! Holy Cow! I'm talking way lower than my eye doc and way way lower than the shops that have to make up for the high rent. The wife part of the owners was totally friendly and helpful. I tried on many many pairs, and this lady was supportive of me trying on more and more. I could tell she didn't love my choice in frames (but what normal person really would love rhinestone embellished glasses?) but she really gave great feedback. She never said she didn't like them. Dont get me wrong, she was very kind and professional. And I love an honest salesperson. I narrowed it down to two pairs of glasses. and I finally decided on the retro rhinestone glasses. But they both looked so great! So she gave me half-price on the second pair. Wanna know the total bill? Now this is without my insurance (stupid insurance only covers one pair a year and that was already used up). For two pairs of glasses, one with bifoocal lenses, I paid $185. Even better, the specs should be ready by Wednesday or Thursday. I was there at 4:00 on Saturday. Waaayyyy faster than the other places. Here is why the prices are so low: They make the lenses there in the shop. They make the glasses for a lot of other shops. My eye doc sends the glasses to Prism to get made. I found this out when I handed her my prescription. So skip the chain stores, don't fall for the high-rent shops, come to Prism and make this world a better place! read more

So nice! This place is nearby and my contact ripped so I went in. The lady who works there (I feel bad I didn't learn her name) was so helpful! I showed her my prescription and she got me a trial pair and an appointment for the next day. The doctor I met was friendly and professional. I had planned on ordering contacts online with my new prescription but Prism had better prices! They also have a pretty good selection of frames there and they make the glasses in shop. Friendly eye lady even helped me look for frames and I wasn't buying them that day! Prism is the best and I'm going back when I need more contacts or glasses. read more

Right before our wedding, we found Prism Optical and were so glad we did! They were able to accommodate our request for a tricky lenses situation with Oakley frames. With certain prescription levels, Oakley will not do rimless framed lenses (neither will many shops like Lenscrafters and Spex in the area) but Jorge & Darlene were able to do a spectacular job! Not only did they provide flexibility about making the rimless glasses but their prices were competitive by $100-$200. They also helped us rush order our prescription swim googles in time to make our honeymoon trip! This is a lovely, small community-based shop owned by a terrific couple -Darlene and Jorge- who are very friendly and personable. Will go to them again in the future without hesitation! :) read more

Just purchased my third pair of glasses from Prism and will absolutely be returning when I need another. Doing business with George and Darlene is always a pleasure. There's no pressure, no hard sell, and tons of great options at better prices than I've even found online. My favorite (not even my least expensive) pair from here didn't even break $200, all in, and are frankly much better looking than any frames I've seen that cost more than that before lenses. I would recommend this place to literally anyone in the market for glasses. You'll be glad you stopped by. read more

I don't often write reviews, but the experience I had here made me make an exception! First, some background -- I'm a broke recently-ex college student. I've been on-and-off looking for a nice new pair of glasses for around a year. While I found a few bright spots in my search, for the most part--and I'm sure a lot of people who wear glasses know--I was still disappointed. Glasses can be so expensive! This is especially true if you want something nice. Thankfully I didn't give up. I found this place during a hasty search on Yelp for affordable eyewear. So glad I decided to give it a try. Not only do the owners, Darlene and Jorge, have a great selection, but they also offer a great price! I remember having to pay upwards of $400 for a set of nice frames and lenses. But guess what? I picked up a pair of beautiful Calvin Klein frames + anti-reflective, high-index (to make them slimmer) lenses for just over $200! I couldn't believe it! As another poster has said, they can offer such prices because they do not have to pay someone to cut the lenses for them. Jorge does this himself in the back. So, what you're paying is really a wholesale price. I also want to mention that Darlene is probably the nicest person on the face of the planet. (I'm sure Jorge's a nice guy, too, but I didn't really interact with him much as he was busy cutting lenses in the back). I'm not an easy customer. I was very finicky with the choice of frames, but she worked with me and helped me until I found ones that I really liked! Did I mention that they have vintage frames, too? Ones that are actually from the 70s, 80s, and 90s. Definitely trendy enough to impress any ~cool~ kid. All in all, I love this place and couldn't recommend it enough. It's affordable but w/o a sacrifice on quality or convenience. Shop here! read more

Extremely helpful and friendly staff! They really worked hard to find the best deal, they almost beat my insurance price! Will be back.

My ophthalmologist recommended I find an optometrist that could fit me with Fresnel prism lenses that would affix to my current prescription glasses. He suggested this to test out whether prism lenses would help me before ordering permanent lenses ground, as they are not cheap. This sounded great, but after calling a couple of optometrist offices and being met with confusion and flat out "Can't do it" responses I was getting frustrated. Not feeling very confident, I hit Yelp to find a highly-rated optometrist who could help me.  Prism seemed a fortuitous name so I gave them a call. It was closing time, but Darlene took my call and told me, yes, they could provide Fresnel lenses and invited me to come in the next day with my current glasses and prescription. Prism is nearby, parking is easy and I was happy to be supporting a local business instead of a big chain store. The shop is cute, organized and well stocked with frames. I met Jorge and explained that I was trying this remedy for my constant double vision but was due to visit a specialist who may very well recommend surgery as the best remedy. After reading my prescription, Jorge, lens craftsman extraordinaire, determined that the Fresnel could not be made for my right eye, so he recommended creating the actual lenses, offering to put them into my current frames in order that I could try the new prescription. There was zero pressure to buy new frames even though mine are a couple of years old and I really appreciate that. I left my frames with him and picked them up with new lenses in a couple of days. My new glasses definitely improved my vision and were ready so quickly that I was surprised. I ended up needing surgery anyway, but I am a happy customer who will return to Prism once I am fully healed and ready to update my glasses in a couple months. Husband and wife team, Jorge and Darlene are true pros and offer the highest quality services and products. At Prism you'll find friendly folks who run a great business that will meet or exceed your expectations. read more

Prism Optical was recommended from a good Optometrist friend of mine, Dr. Randall Ricketts. The Owners Jorge and Darlene are extremely friendly, knowledgeable, prompt and reasonably priced. They helped ease me into the new world of wearing progressive lenses, and made me feel very comfortable. The have a nice selection of frames and I plan to go back to Prism Optical to order an additional pair soon. I highly recommend them. Check them out online and on their facebook page. Good people. Great service. Thanks, Jorge and Darlene! --Bobby read more

I called to see if they had my prescription lens and they had it in stock! I only had to wait 10 minutes for my new Coach glasses! Super friendly store owner! Great prices too! Highly recommended! read more

I can't say enough good things about Prism Optical. I've been going here for years, and the owners are incredibly helpful, patient, and kind. I'm VERY picky when it comes to frames, but Darlene let me try on every pair I wanted, as well as suggesting others she thought I might like. When my finances were tight and I decided to order a pair of frames online and get the lenses from them, they just shook their heads and told me to let them know the next time I was looking at a pair, and they'd get me a competitive deal (and then proceeded to fit the lenses quickly and perfectly, as usual). They have a wide selection of frames, very reasonable prices, and are always willing to try alternative solutions for whatever ideas or problems crop up. Prism Optical is a wonderful neighborhood business, and hands down the best eyeglasses shop I've been to. Give them a shot! You won't be disappointed. read more

If you have a complex Rx or are tired of paying $$$$ for your glasses try Prism Optical. I have a very strong Rx and I wear progressives. I've had very bad luck with big box retailers getting my glasses wrong. One put the lenses in upside down, another measured my pupil distance incorrectly. Getting new glasses was expensive and stressful. After about 5 years, it was time to get new glasses and I wanted to stick to Silhouettes so I went to the place I had gone to previously but they had discontinued the line. I figured out that Prism carried them so I went over to see if this could work out. The shop is small and unassuming. There are a limited number of frames available to purchase. However, these folks know what they're doing. They got me exactly the frames I wanted and the lenses were made correctly the first time. All for about 40% less than the optical place I went to before in Lincoln Park. Try them, you won't regret it. read more

I can't say enough good things about my experience(s) with Prism Optical. George and Darlene, the owners of Prism, are customer focused, experts in the optical field, and awesome people to boot! I live in the area, and am happy to support a local establishment instead of the chain stores that are way overpriced for the quality, or the snooty boutique stores that SNL used to have skits about - these are the same glasses at a fraction of the cost (literally - a fraction of the cost!) Prism has an excellent selection - brand name designer frames - Ray Bans, Oakley's, Persols, as well as exclusive, hard to find frames. Their selection is always changing. George can customize the lens for non-glare, readers, progressive lenses, tints of all kinds, polarized sunglasses with a prescription, etc., etc. Depending on the prescription and order, the turn around is super fast. They are also great about doing adjustments - George is the "glasses whisperer" - he can do magic with banged-up, bent, crooked frames. Since discovering Prism, I have purchased all of my glasses from there (I have a lot), and have recommended them to family and friends. I could go on and on - but check it out for yourself. You will be happy you did. read more