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    Tapioca Express

    3.2 (371 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order Tapioca Express Takeout or Delivery

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    Business Info

    TAPIOCA EXPRESS ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Outdoor seating
    Good for kids
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Tapioca Express

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    Taro Icy
    Yasmin M.

    I've always passed by this place wanting to try it and today I finally did! The workers were so nice and the drink absolutely amazing. This place will definitely be my go to for boba

    Chicken combo, chicken snack, and calamari snack. All extra spicy.
    Tracey N.

    Maybe it was just that day but the food was mid. I got extra spicy and it was not even that spicy. If you're a spicy eater like me this is not hot enough!

    Crispy Chicken Combo, Cream Cheese Wonton and French fries.
    Berenice C.

    First time here Just came for the cream cheese wonton and left with more goodies ! Everything was delicious and the staff was super sweet !

    Teresa S.

    This location, in particular is outstanding because of the superior customer service. The cashier woman was the sweetest. She knew all the answers to all my questions I had and helped me make my decision. The store itself was thee cutest warm lit and cozy unit. I ordered the lavender Matcha milk tea with sea salt foam 1/2 sweet. Good choice for me, she knew what I would like. I appreciate her help. The drink was creamy smooth and extra tasty. Happy I chose this location.

    Honeydew milk tea
    Tiffany H.

    The staff here was very sweet. I ordered a drink but it wasn't what I expected. They offered to make me a different drink and asked me to try it to see if I liked it better. That was kind of them to remake it for me and the second go was much tastier. The spot is conveniently located in a strip mall by my gym so will be stopping in more often for my milk tea fix

    Menu as of 6/2023
    Lina P.

    It's weird, I thought I wrote a review here in the past but I don't see it. Welp, my opinion stays the same. This is a mediocre location. The best one will always be on convoy. For one, it's pricier here for a smaller portion and less flavorful meals. I've been here a few times and each time it's a disappointment. The drinks are ok, some overly sweet imo. Service is ok. If you just come for drinks, they have a variety. I come for the food combo and here it never is that great. Well came last night to get my little cousin some snacks and drink. Attached is a photo of my combo plate with barely any calamari (the one on convoy always has way more). There was a lot of rice. The corn this time was actually good (last time it was bland). The edamame has a weird taste to it so I didn't eat it. I got a specialty Thai tea with sea salt cream which was good 7/10. My cousins snacks were good, especially the cream cheese wonton which I think they added mozzarella maybe because there was a slight cheese pull. So I would recommend that. I honestly try not to come to this location but came because it was already late. We had a nice man taking our order. Luckily my cousin always checks the order before we leave so she noticed her daughter's fries were missing but instead we got another side order of calamari. I believe it was the manager? She checked and confirmed it was wrong which was no biggie. Just replace it for us you know. Instead she said "oh it's wrong, he messed up he didn't write well on the paper it's his fault". Like ok, we didnt ask who's fault, and why are you blaming him in front of us and him right there. I feel like the proper response should've been "sorry for the error let us fix it for you". But whatever, then she said "did you want this, it costs more than the fries anyways". I asked my little cousin who said no she wanted her fries and the manager seemed to get annoyed (with their mistake) and said "oh well this costs more than the fries but ok". Then told that worker to mark something on it idk. Anyways we got the fries and left. For me, I didn't appreciate the way she talked to her employee/coworker. It was a mistake that was fixable and she threw him under the bus. That's not a good look in my opinion. (She could've corrected him afterwards or behind the scenes). And most restaurants will actually just give us the food that was in error since it was already made and given to us (which is fine we didn't need/want it). I hope employees are being treated nicely. For me, I really won't return here. I have written this review in case they do check it, to see that is customers care not only how we are treated, but how staff are treated too. This location just seems very stingy to me.

    Quinn F.

    My roommates and I come here at least twice a week and the service is always AMAZING, the product is CONSISTENT, and they have cute claw machines inside! 10/10 I get the jasmine green milk tea it's SO GOOD

    Rose milk tea
    Quynh N.

    The customer services is great. The place is small and don't have a lot of place to sit down eating. Rose milk tea is not good. It taste a little sour. The boba is great. Tofu combo is okay, tofu is scrips. Fries season like instant noddle season with a lot of msg.

    Mango icy with mixed popping boba and lychee jelly. Yogurt icy with boba, mixed popping boba, and rainbow jelly!
    Cecilia T.

    Clean store, tasty drinks & snacks, and super friendly staff! Can you ask for more?! My husband and I are here at LEAST once a week lol. The shop is small but very clean and well organized. There are comfortable bench seating while you wait for your drinks. Vanessa and the crew are so friendly and courteous, working hard to make your drinks and snacks. They also give great drink recommendation and flavor combinations! My personal go to drink is the yogurt icy with boba, mixed popping boba, and rainbow jelly! If you are a fan of Yakult yogurt, this tastes JUST like one! Except in my preferred size lol! We also like to order their crispy chicken, fried tofu, and squid balls! Very tasty and a good portion. Highly recommended local boba spot!

    Thai tea, Honeydew Milk Tea
    Lisa T.

    Drinks are okay. Both drinks aren't sealed properly and it spilled a lot in the car. Asked for a new seal or cap, wasn't expecting a horrible cap that can't even stay on. The chicken is okay. Customer service experience depends on the worker. Wouldn't come back.

    Ordering area
    Angelina C.

    I was craving popcorn chicken today after someone mentioned it. I visited this location just for the popcorn chicken- and it was sooooo good. They let me choose a spiciness level and which dipping sauce I wanted. The ladies who helped me were really nice. They were very welcoming when I came in, and asked me right away if I had any questions. I told them I didn't know my whole order and they offered to start on what I was interested in. I ordered milk tea and taro milk tea, both with boba. I did not enjoy my milk tea- the tea tasted really bad. The boba was alright- not too hard, but it was not cooked in brown sugar so it tasted plain. Overall- there was great customer service here and my popcorn chicken was tasty. However, the drinks were subpar.

    Uncooked popcorn chicken.

    Good customer service but I Was excited to try this place but they gave me uncooked popcorn chicken. Tried to bite into the other pieces but all of them were halfway cooked. Very nasty.

    Crispy chicken snack & calamari

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    6 years ago

    great service, yummy boba. amazing selection of flavors! nice staff, i would recommend a milk tea or an iced tea with regular boba

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    8 years ago

    Best boba around! Get there blended thai tea with boba and you'll never want to go anywhere else for your boba fix!

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    9 years ago

    Okay, pretty average. Closest boba place to me so I gave it a try. I'd try it again though

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    Horrible... Management here sucks.30 customers in line and checking text messages is more important.

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    Page 6 of 10

    Ask the Community - Tapioca Express

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    4.4(97 reviews)
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    Top tier! We've had…read moreboba and drinks from LA and all through San Diego. We love a nice treat after church. This place is set apart The drinks are perfect, The Oreo is actually really good. My go to is the Thai tea, but now I'm conflicted as the manganada is probably my new favorite! Pricey but once in a while it's ok.

    3-4 stars. I wouldn't say it's particularly charming as the interior was quite dark and the front…read moreof the space was riddled with AI posters of drinks. Compared to the name of the spot, the interior felt like it belonged to a night time sushi spot. I'm not sure if they are allowed to repaint the interior, but changing the black/dark blue walls to something more bright would open up the space a little more-- it is a small place, but felt even smaller with the design choice. The menu was organized, but it seems like they were out of a few items in the morning as they didn't have mini pearls--only regular. And for some reason, you couldn't change the sweetness level on the drink...or maybe it just related to the drink I chose? Not sure, it was my first time there. The worker was nice & patient. Although for not having many people in the shop, I hope they could take the time to perfect their boba. It was VERY clumpy and not good-- texturally and taste wise. It didn't have that rich brown sugar taste and it was very gooey and chewy (not in a good way). They did give a good amount of boba, but I feel most people would toss it out because of the bad quality. Which would be a waste of money. To drink, I chose the Hokkaido Milk Tea with Pearls. I wanted to do 50 or 75% sweet but I guess since this is a caramel noted milk tea, it isn't possible. I think the tea was ok. I would order something else next time. My friend had the Okinawa Milk Tea with Pearls, I'm unsure if they asked for a certain sweetness level or not. They said the tea was good, but the pearls weren't good. Something to note, I charged the drinks on my card and rather than saying Sayaka Tea, it said Sharetea...interesting. I wonder if they rebranded themselves or ?? Each drinks were around ~$7-8 ish! I'll give them another try, I hope the boba will be better the next time around and I'll be allowed to change the sweetness. If not, I'll be heading a little further down the street as this tea spot may not be for me!

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    The Boba Spot

    3.4(64 reviews)
    0.8 miRolando
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    Only boba stop in collage area that's worth it I think!!! I mango lychee is BOMB!! service…read moreExcellent! clean unlike others I've been too!! GO HERE!

    As much as this place can get the best of people on campus at SDSU and is locally owned, it is…read morequite one of the worst boba places you could go to. I have been to this place multiple times, hosting fundraising events, stopping by with my friends, and not once did i ever enjoy my time, however wanting to give another chance. First off, the service itself is FOREVER, like you will be waiting for your drink for so long, despite long or short lines, they indeed will forget about your drink or mess it up. Not to mention there is a 3.99% charge for credit cards, never seen this before nor do i enjoy an extra fee. Second, the place itself is just not friendly, its heated, it smells, the colors of the place itself is an ugly dark purple, grey, white, it's just not a place that looks pleasing. You can also see all the trash and abandoned items that's spreaded across the entire place. The boba itself is awful, the boba tastes burnt, the drink is watered down, and the price is about $8. Lastly, parking is free in front of the boba place, it's the smallest lot shared with three other spots, the UPS, dominos, and the hawaiian spot. I'd genuinely wish this place either renovates and updates its quality, or gives another place a chance, but this was by far the worst rating I could give.

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    Trinitea Tea - Trinitea Milk Tea!

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    4.2(501 reviews)
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    Some boba places (in rancho specifically) have great reviews and I'm not sure how, because they…read moredon't have the quality nor the customer service. Now, Trinitea is a place that truly deserves 5 stars. Between the quality of their tea (not watered down like many places tend to be) and their great customer service (issues are resolved quickly and with grace). This is our new favorite spot

    I arrived at Trinitea Tea right when they opened to get some work done on my laptop. There was…read morealready a pair of customers at the register, so I used the restroom before ordering and settling in. The restroom was fairly clean and spacious. Afterward, I was greeted by the employee and ordered a taro milk tea with honey boba. I've been to this location a few times before and have always liked the chewiness and sweetness of their boba. I figured coming right at opening would mean I'd get the freshest batch, but that wasn't the case this time. The boba was mushy and not bouncy at all. It felt like it had been sitting for a while, possibly from the night before and kept warm. Considering boba is an extra $0.75, it was disappointing and didn't feel worth the add-on. Taro milk tea ($4.59 + 0.75 for boba) The milk tea itself was standard. It tasted like a typical taro milk tea made from a powdered mix. There were still some powder clumps at the bottom, but it wasn't a huge deal. A quick stir helped, and the flavor itself was fine. Service and ambiance The employee was very kind, and the ordering process was quick and smooth. I got my drink pretty fast. There's free WiFi, plenty of open tables, and outlets at some of them, which makes it a good spot to work or stay for a while. Music was playing overhead, but at a level where it was not distracting.

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    I searched up best coffee in La Mesa, picked the first recommended place, and am happy I did so…read more I just moved to San Diego from San Francisco and found myself in La Mesa applying for jobs. I needed a quick coffee to end my day and after searching the best coffee in La Mesa, Red White and Badass Brew was the first to pop up. The owner was super nice-I didn't get his name-and he walked with me through the menu as I haven't had specialty coffee drinks like these before. I went with his recommendation of the whiskey latte (iced) and also decided to try the toasted tan lines (iced) When I tell you, my first sip transported me back to the 2013-2016 era of coffee culture when specialty drinks were first starting to get popular, I am being so serious. Both the whiskey latte and toasted tan lines were full of so much flavor. The toasted tan lines took me straight back to my trip to Kauai in 2013 and the whiskey latte was reminiscent of a latte I would get in middle school from a Brazilian small business. There was just something so nostalgic about these lattes that I had to immediately write a review. So many coffee shops lack the flavor of the 2010s before companies cut corners and scraped for our pennies, but not here Thanks for the coffee! (No pics because I inhaled them in like 5 mins on my drive home)

    It's been a while since I've been back but decided to stop by with my husband this time. We also…read morerealized we could order ahead so we did that. Unfortunately there isn't an online order line so you end up waiting anyways and they made our drinks only after we arrived and told them we had the online order. That being said everyone working was really friendly and they were working hard as it was busy on Sunday around 8. I got the gone bananas half sweet and an extra shot. My partner got the horchata matcha with extra matcha. Even my drink at half sweet was too sweet for my taste but still enjoyable. Not a strong banana flavor though. More caramel forward. My partner loved his drink but did say it was more horchata than matcha.

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    Tapioca Express - coffee - Updated September 2026

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