I had a great experience at Tapioca Express. The drinks were fresh, flavorful, and made just the way I ordered them. I tried the classic milk tea with boba, and the pearls were soft and perfectly chewy. The staff was friendly, my order came out quickly, and the shop was clean and welcoming. They have a good variety of drinks and snacks, so there's something for everyone. I'll definitely be coming back for another visit! read more

My hidden gem! It's a bit on the pricier end but portions are large. Felt like I got my monies worth. Next time I'll try to make it to the happy hour! They also have dim sum options which I'd like to try next time! Happy to finally give this place a visit. Recommend: Medium/Mild spicy Popcorn chicken read more

Love the honeydew! This place is great! The service is always fantastic! I highly recommend! read more

Chose a cantaloupe snow bubble which was like a blended drink. Delicious, sweet enough and good to the last drop. Also asked what 2 snacks employee would recommend. She immediately answered popcorn chicken and gyoza. She then asked for spice level which I chose medium. They were crunchy, and a bit spicy and salty to me but Doc seemed to like them. At the very end of the strip mall. read more

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My family and I love coming here for the food and drinks. We often either walk in or have food and drinks delivered. However, after finding this 3-inch piece of hair in our rice, we probably will not be returning. It really makes me question how sanitary this establishment is. Unfortunately, this experience also reflects some of the customer service we've received here. The employees often seem to be in a bad mood, don't acknowledge customers when they walk in, or come across as though they don't want to be there. At times, their behavior also comes across as immature and unprofessional. When I called to report the hair in the rice, the young man I spoke with responded by laughing and saying, "That's gross." He did apologize, but there was no genuine effort to rectify the situation or offer any kind of resolution. I understand that mistakes can happen, but finding a 3-inch piece of hair in our food is already concerning. Having the concern met with laughter and no attempt to make things right made the experience even more disappointing. We've supported this establishment over the years because we genuinely enjoy the menu, but after this experience and the lack of professionalism, I don't feel comfortable continuing to spend our money here. read more

Tapioca Express - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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Service is very fast and friendly. The prices are pretty fair. They have a bunch of different specials throughout the day, lunch, happy hour, and a drink special after 8pm. The inside has plenty of seating (warning, they don't do well at keeping the dining area and chairs clean). I normally take my drink/snack to-go or sit outside in the small patio. read more

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I ordered calamari rings and it smells delicious can't wait to try it. I love those fried tofu as well. read more

Tapioca Express - T.E. Fried Calamari Combo - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Needed food on a Thursday night, and it was still bustling with people! Great crispy chicken and boba.

I've been going to tapioca express for years and it's always a consistent experience with yummy drinks and even yummier snacks! I love the crispy chicken and they have a great happy hour deal on them. The service is always helpful and welcoming and the store is always clean and has tons of chairs. read more

Close to my house and convenient, I love to come grab boba drinks for my family. They have a wide variety of drinks from milk tea to mango slush. I normally get the house milk tea with boba or taro milk tea with boba. Their fried tofu, fried squid balls and pop corn chicken are pretty delicious. The staff are efficient and get the orders out quickly. The seating area isn't super luxurious but there are a few tables and chairs. read more

Tapioca Express - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Horrible service. Card machine doesn't read for tap. The lady/girl that works there is like a robot, non-chalant, like you're an inconvenience to her read more

Best boba around! I always here to get my favorite strawberry green tea! They also have great jasmine milk tea!

I'd been coming to TapEx with my friend since we were teenagers, so it is pretty nostalgic. I generally prefer other boba shops, but this one is good if you're in a crunch. A lot of the UTC boba shops don't stay open late like this one. I usually get a snow bubble (strawberry and thai tea) which has always been pretty good. Definitely the cheapest boba you will find in SD - i think the snow bubble was under $6 total. With that, the restaurant smells a bit funky and the furniture is pretty old/worn down. I prefer the outside seating. The claw machine is a fun touch! I won a toy on my first try, but my friend didn't after about 5 tries. read more

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Our go to for boba! Never had an issue with our order. Always satisfying and well made. Service is fast and correct

We were around the corner and since it has been a while since we last visited a Tapioca Express we decided to give it another go. We ordered the Crispy Chicken Combo paired with a Sweeten Black Tea and a Korean Short Rib Combo paired with a Milk Tea. Gotta admit that both hit the spot if you are looking for something quick and filling. This location def hits vs some others previous ones that I've been too so if you are in the area and want that Boba Meal combo. Def stop by. read more

Tapioca Express - Korean Short Ribs Combo - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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Jenny Yoo is the goat! Awesome fried potstickers with sweet chilli sauce. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Randomly stopped here with my guy cuz I was sicky and wanted something cold on my throat. Very unimpressed by this place. We were the only ones here and it still took them over 20 mins to make our two drinks. I got a Taro slush and there was zero taro flavor at all. Very disappointing. Of course I still drank it because the cold felt amazing on my throat. Plenty of other places that are way better than this one. Edit for owner: I stopped by 03Dec2024 read more

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I love their crispy chicken and chi-chi fries! Their milk tea is delicious and the mango snow bubble is perfect for a hot summer day (-: Service is super quick and the establishment is clean! read more

Tapioca Express has been a staple in our household. This location offers Italian sodas and some boba shops don't offer that.

Amazing service love the boba here! My fav is the taro and mango! Very good place for lunch or a quick snack!

We stopped by this location and had a couple drinks - iced coffee and a mango tea and some potstickers. The service was great. Lola helped us and was friendly and fast :) we'll be back. read more

Always great customer service and amazing drinks at at the best price in town! They recently renovated so it's very cozy in there!

Great drinks, friendly service, and a cozy atmosphere. Definitely a place I'll keep coming back to!

Fantastic service and great flavors to choose from. Highly recommended to try their products

I always have a great experience here! Great service & delicious drinks. There are a lot of seats available and I look forward to their happy hour read more

Came here on a weekday to study and it was quite nice. It was quiet and the food was very affordable. You honestly can't get these prices around here, especially during happy hours, these days. Happy hours start at 10AM, so right when it opens and honestly, I was glad because I was going to wait until 11AM to go in. Ordered the Tapioca Express Crispy Popcorn Chicken Combo with Boba Milk Tea which came out to be under $10. They were also very generous with the chicken and the amount provided. The chicken was good. It wasn't the best but it was still juicy and cooked thoroughly. The outer layer was crispy, and their spice level had a nice kick to it. I did wish they mixed it with the other chicken rather than just sprinkling it on top though. Boba tasted like every other boba places. Love that they give boba without additional cost so that's a huge win. Other than that, I would love to be back with my headphones to study since it was quite spacious and staffs were friendly. WiFi is fast and parking is free since it's shared with the other businesses. read more

Tapioca Express - T.E. Crispy Popcorn Chicken Combo with Boba Milk Tea - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

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I had to run an errand and I checked nearby for any boba shops I have not visited yet. There were 2 spots nearby and I decided to come here due to the reviews on the food at this spot. The place is in a shopping plaza, a couple spots right in front and many throughout the whole parking lot. The inside is very basic, nothing stood out in decorations or seating. I did see they have some board games available to play if you end up hanging out. They had the menu hanging above, but it was not that easy to see. (a bit dark) They did have an actual menu in front where you ordered. It definitely looked like more things in the menu vs what appeared on the wall. I didn't see many 'speciality' drinks on the menu. They have the milk teas, the fruit teas, ice slushy, snow bubbles, fruit sodas. These are the items I got: 1. Thai tea with mixed boba (big & small boba) This was run of the mill Thai tea, I could not tell you if this was freshly brewed Thai tea being used, but if I had to guess, I don't believe so. The boba were good, the smaller ones were soft and chewy. The bigger ones were not as good but decent. They skimp on the toppings.  3/5 2. Passion fruit green tea with grass jelly with sea salt foam. I got this for my sister, she noted that the foam was uber delicious, the drink was ok. It wasn't bad nor good.  She noted it had only a few pieces of grass jelly. 3.5/5 3. Mango Fresh Fruit tea with green apple jellies These were different from the slush/icy drinks since those use flavored syrup while these have real fruit. It was pretty sweet. 3.8/5 4. I got shrimp balls, I was hoping these would be panko fried shrimp in ball form, but they are like fish balls but made of shrimp. They did put the seasoning they put on the crispy chicken so that part made these better. These were not bad but not what I was expecting. 3/5 5. Crispy chicken- I came here due to the reviews,  I do think they give you a pretty good portion for the price, but the chicken was overdone, chewy and in all different sizes. I have had this type of chicken many times and the fact it being dark meat but dry and overdone is a travesty. You really have to cook thigh meat to death to make it this chewy and hard OR this was old fried chicken. Let's just say I was very disappointed. The seasoning was good, too bad the meat was terrible. 1/5 I might visit this joint again but definitely not any time soon. Food: 2/5 Service: 3/5 (took a little bit longer than expected and the chicken was still bad!!) Ambiance: 3/5 read more

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I love this location, and have been coming for years. I love how fresh the food is and the drinks are amazing. 100% would recommend, especially with the amazing service they have. read more

I LOVE THEIR DRINKS!! They're always playing something on the TV and it's such a vibe. Amazing to go here after a long day at ucsd and doing work read more

amazing service fast and very kind workers. I really enjoy the boba hear and the atmosphere is amazing.

Drinks are awesome! I usually have the Thai tea with half sugar. So yummy. I highly recommenda

Great drinks and snow bubbles! Such a convenient location, would recommend to any students looking for a cheap meal

this place carried me during my 10 hr class days and my 4 hr lab days during my 4th yr. sharing some credit to my bs in microbiology to tapex and their crispy chicken combo meal with a mango green tea with popping boba. read more

They have a happy hour milk tea special that we took advantage of. They also had a special on their crispy chicken for $3. The milk teas were a little on the sweet side but the boba was good. The crispy chicken was ordered with a medium spicy level and it was delicious! Whatever flavoring that they sprinkled on the fried chicken was so good! read more

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Love their Tofu snack! Earl grey mixed size boba :) is great too. :) :) :) :) :) :)

I love tapex this is always my go to meal on and off campus! I especially like the #9 combo which is the fried chicken with curry

I highly recommend, the service is amazing and the crispy chicken is nice,crispy and tender the vibe is amazing they got some arcade games like a claw machine and a pac man game and the decorations is amazing. it's nice clean read more

Great service and good drinks, shoutout Zachary! My favorite is the strawberry black tea!

This is my go to boba store in La Jolla! My favorite drink is the mango snow bubble. Would definitely recommend!

Visiting and So disappointed, they kept getting my drink wrong and my food. It was only three crisp chickens, and two boba drinks. It was. Horrible experience. It used to be better read more