This is a lovely little shop to have a gander at spectacle and sunglasses. If you're tired of all…read morethe same frames being shown over and over again in the terile and bright conditions of places like Specsavers and Boots Opticians, then look no further than this place. A bright yellow shop in the lovely Royal Arcade in the city centre of Cardiff, this shop is a little gem for all those people who are near or far sighted (or Harry Potter geeks with 20/20 vision). They sell a wide range of frames from designers well known and loved, as well as from some quirkier designers. If you want something a bit different then this is a great place to give a try. The staff here are exceptionally helpful and know their stuff. They even give good advice on the shapes of frame matching to your head. They get 4 stars because I once saw them talk someone out of the buying the more expensive horrible (for them) pair, and to go for the far cheaper and far more suitable pair instead. Another nice addition to the Royal Arcade.

Very poor service, they contacted me to confirm appointment then cancelled a few hours later. Rude…read morestaff who can't even be bothered to get your name right, not the service I was expecting

Beresford Opticians have been around since 1994... not quite as long as Stewart Greenburg…read moreOpticians, a few doors down the same road, but very different in style. There's little to choose between the two in terms of professionalism and services offered, but I would say that Beresford Opticians are more focussed on meeting everyone's needs than their competitors, in that they provide comprehensive eye care for everybody, not just the well heeled. It's simply a question of positioning. Beresford Opticians pitch their business to all, and Stewart Greenburg Opticians are more into their designer labels and soliciting businesses from wealthier patrons. Like Stewart Greenburg Opticians, Beresford Opticians is an independent practice, but they actively welcome both Private and NHS patients. They also carry an extensive range of designer glasses and sunglasses, but it isn't as comprehensive as the range that you will find at Stewart Greenburg Opticians, who claim that they could very well stock the largest selection of designer frames at affordable prices in South Wales. I like Beresford's. They have one outlet, and so all of their energy is focused right where it's needed. They have spent some time considering the look of the place, which is modern and funky, but most of their efforts are centered on their customers.

My wife and I have used the services of Beresfords ever since we moved to Cardiff in 2001 and can…read moreonly congratulate them on the friendly and excellent service they have always provided together with a professionalism that ranks amongst the best. They go out of their way to ensure that they meet your needs in every way possible,and we rate them very highly.

Spectrum Discount Glasses Ltd is a little off the beaten track, but well worth a visit all the…read moresame... especially if you are looking for affordable glasses and a good level of service. Spectrum opened fourteen years ago with the intention of providing customers with the opportunity to buy their spectacles direct from the manufacturers. This practice allows them to pass on the financial benefits of buying direct to the customer, therefore effectively cutting out all of the middlemen. They possess a comprehensive knowledge of the industry and so are well equipped to meet everyone's needs, and they stock a good range of frames that start at £5.00, and so have something to suit everyone. They deal with all of the following: Frames Sunglasses Reading Glasses Single Vision Lenses Bifocals and Varifocals NHS Vouchers Oh, don't I wish I'd heard of Spectrum when I paid an arm and a leg for varifocals at the beginning of this year! Prices for these start at £70.00, which is amazing! They don't perform eye tests themselves, but you can have this done elsewhere and bring the prescription to Spectrum and buy your glasses here.

Chalmers provide optical services and optician assessments…read more A while ago I had an eye examination the staff were friendly and polite. I had a comforting and relaxing experience. Upstairs the optician helped with some contacts that I was interested in. The whole process is done in a very professional way with great attention to the customers needs. Chalmers is at the higher end of the cost range for opticians supplying some very fashionable designer brands. There discount to students of 25% does not really dent the cost compared to the other high street opticians and if you are on a budget I would recommend elsewhere.

This is a friendly, modern optician with a competent team of professionals offering eye…read moreexaminations and a really wide selection of glasses, ranging from designer labels such as Ray Ban and Gucci through to lower-priced options. With men's glasses on one side and ladies' glasses on the other, it's easy to browse and there are plenty of mirrors to see what suits you. The eye tests here are a bit more expensive than you'll pay in the likes of Vision Express, Specsavers or Boots Opticians, but if you're a student there's a whopping 25% discount - and since it's in a studenty area this target market probably makes up a big chunk of their customer base.

If your looking for better glasses then the high street Opticians can offer or in advertising then…read moreBlink is the place for you. Only dealing in designer brands you will pay through the nose for what you get, but you will get top notch quality. As it is an upmarket store and alot smaller than a chain you will get one to one help by the delightful staff which is better than the cattle drive of other bigger stores. Dealing in the likes of Gucci, Armani etc you will have the classiest glasses in town or on equal terms with your advertisement office...

Designer eyewear in cardiff bay, look no further than Blink especially if your short sighted…read more Located in the bay primary because there's a price tag attached that most cardiff residents won't shell out for. The price is about 2x the price of the most expensive pair you'll get from spec-savers and 4x if spec-savers are doing a second pair free. If you like to be a walking billboard and have a statement of wealth attached to your face get some here, I personally recommend laser eye surgery which depending on the surgery will set you back between £395-2000 sometimes more but will have a life changing clarity of sight. If you want a brand pair of glasses this is the upmarket shop that will cater to your every desire, if you need to see without losing your children's inheritance go back to a one of the leading high street optometrists.

Stewart Greenburg Opticians is a well run business that offers a full suite of ophthalmic services…read moreapart from laser eye treatments. Established in !971, this family run business now has three outlets, including this one in Roath. They pride themselves on offering a quality, personalised service, whilst still remaining affordable. They claim that they could very well stock the largest selection of designer frames at affordable prices in South Wales. I don't know about this, but they certainly do have a really extensive range, and with a lot of frames presently in the 50% sale, I would suggest that this is the time to pay them a visit if you are in the market for a new pair of glasses!

I once thought that it would be good to test out an opticians that wasn't specsavers so i tried out…read moreboots. The massive Boots in the city centre actually has an upstairs too although it is quite easy to miss the escalators if you don't know where your going! The opticians section is quite big and has a fairly good selection of glasses, including lots and lots of designer frames. They have they same standard sorts of eye checking machines although I defiantly feel that specavers give a more thorough checking. I was also a little bit confused by the separate lens price and frame price. Also when I had made my choice it took a good few weeks to get them back, inside of the 2 days I was hoping for! All in all a pretty average kind of Opticians.

I thought the eye test was too fast and superficial and the glasses I got are not satisfactory. I…read moream using some very old ones now and they serve me better. Went to Boots because they are reasonable, but have now gone back to my old optician who gives me a better service but at a higher price. Boots also could not (or would not) mend my recent glasses which my old optician was very happy to do. All in all I wasted about £250 on the varifocals that Boots provided me with and I feel upset about it.

St David's is a very large shopping mall in the Cardiff city centre. It is easy to go in and…read morebecome disoriented while searching for a specific shop, or just wandering about. Everything one is searching for can be found here. If you're hungry, no problem! There are plenty of places to eat and drink, the toilets are clean, and there are shops available for every price range.

St David's is a large mall in the centre of Cardiff, I was quite a regular here, coming here…read moreevery-day on my weekend in Cardiff, mainly because of the large selection of shops to browse, and even places to grab something for eat to drink and it being just minutes away on foot from the Hilton hotel, which I stayed at throughout my trip to the welsh capital. This mall is huge, it is split into two parts including a bridge to a large John Lewis store, which is over 4 floors in this mall, with two having direct enterences into both floors of the mall, although just being attached by a bridge in some aspects, it is its' own place, so it is able to have more floors than the mall itself and is one of the anchor stores for the mall. The mall did open in 1991, but does feel more modern than that, apart from a few aspects, such as the lifts which are well hidden down a passageway which doesn't seem very nice, and does feel one of the older parts of the mall, which is very different, in a negative way compared to what other malls do, such as Manchester Arndale and The Trafford Centre which both have nice, glass lifts in the middle of the wall, making it seem welcoming and not the opposite. There are 203 stores here, with a whopping 5 anchor tenants, which include a large Primark store, which is also over 4 floors as I recall, John Lewis as previously mentioned, a large Debenhams store, at the other side to John Lewis as well as Marks and Spencer, and Boots. An interesting fact is that the John Lewis located here, is the largest branch the company have outside of London and was the first ever branch to open in Wales, back in 2009. Its' also worth noting, that both floors are quite big, with the upper floor being a little smaller, however the upper floor seems to be filled with larger stores such as H&M, Apple and Paperchase, to name just a few. These stores just seen huge stores, you wouldn't normally expect to find in a mall. This mall is really nice, and is huge and is really nice to go with the Cardiff high street, I can't help but notice a supermarket of some kind would fit into to this store such as a Waitrose store, which is owned by John Lewis to join the anchors of this mall however I sadly feel I can't go over 2 stars, with two big issues stopping me, such as the mall being split into two parts making it confusing, and hard to navigate around even after multiple visits, another big issue is the problem with the lifts, not seeming nice and seeming one of the old things about this mall, there is a small food-court on both floors called "East-side" with many cuisine types, but this doesn't really stand out and is just average its-self.

Discount Eye Care is a garishly decorated shop quite near the entrance of the Royal Arcade when…read moreapproached from St Mary Street. It's difficult to miss the sunshine yellow paint job that coats the woodwork. Thankfully, there's large plate glass windows, rather than the more traditional casement windows that you often find in mews of this ilk, so at least there's less of it than if any other style of window had been used. Thank heavens for small mercies! I'm not entirely sure, but I think that this shop has had a few name changes over the years. I seem to recall it being called First Class Eyewear & Eyecare, but I rarely go to the opticians, (even though the need is greater than my level of compliance), and so I could be easily mistaken on this point. For a place that trades on price, rather than the level of service or quality of stock, they seem to do alright. There's actually quite a god number of designer frames on offer, as well as the more generic lower-cost options. I can't vouch for the quality of the eye test, or the accuracy of their prescriptions, as I have always opted to go elsewhere for these.