Not the best TapEx I've ever been to. The inside is kind of sketchy and pretty dirty, and the table setting is a bit awkward. I came here intending to study on a weeknight and managed to get a table + wifi, but I probably won't be coming back. The drinks weren't that great either (I got a hot ginger tea) but I'd say the most disappointing aspect is the setting...you'll see what I mean if you ever visit this place. read more

Really dig the pepper chicken & thal snow bubble w/ bobba, what!?! The girly loves green apple snow bubble, this place is good

at first the service was a bit off...but i understand i mean they used to deal w/ TONS of customers...now that there is another store on campus i think their business slowed down a little so i think they're a bit happier haha. But yea the service has gotten better and they haven't run out of things as much as they used to...especially the calamari rings :D. this place ROX! and i live right near it too!!! read more

Let me start off with a positive- the boba drinks here are fabulous! I will definitely come back for my taro snow bubble fix. Now for the sad news... the food is not as good as the drinks =( I just moved within walking distance to this place & was hoping it would be a regular quick-lunch spot for me & the hubbs on those days neither of us feel like cooking. We both got meals- I got fish & chips; he got the chicken. I understand why Tapex might not have malt vinegar to go with my fish... they are primarily a drink stop, but no ketchup for the fries? Hmmm... I was offered some lemon juice, but I decided to just take it to go instead (can't eat fries without ketchup! ) When we got home, hubby opened up his box... ewww.... little dried up cat turds on a pile of rice. Luckily he's not picky when he's hungry & ate it anyways after dumping on some hot sauce. I tried one; the consistency is much like a pork rind- really, I'm not exaggerating. I finally came to the conclusion that we'd be better of eating at the Vons deli next door then getting a boba slush for dessert. Like I said, the drinks are amazing, so despite the bad experience with the food~ I'll be back for tea ;P read more

After trying several boba shops in town, Tapioca is probably one of the worse ones. The bobas are too soft and mushy and they really don't give you a lot. Every single time the bobas always run out before I finish my drink. I usually order green tea with boba at 75% sugar, which is a bit bitter but perfect for me (I don't like my drinks too sweet). The store also has happy hour in the afternoon and buy one get one free after 10 pm. It is usually packed with people when I go and has in-store wifi. read more

2.5. Average. Used to come here quite a bit when I went to UCSD. Decent option for boba and spicy crispy chicken in the UCSD area, but far from the best I've had. Mango snow bubble is pretty good, but a little on the sweeter side. They probably don't use fresh fruit here. Tapioca milk tea gets the job done, but is a bit too sweet and pretty subpar. The Jasmine milk tea is pretty awful though. It doesn't taste like any good ones I've had. It's doesn't have that flowery subtlety, but is unpleasantly strong in flavor. The boba pearls are chewy and soft here like they should be though. My favorite thing here is the crispy chicken with a lot of spice! Chicken is usually fried well with decent sized pieces most of the time, but every now and then I get an uneven batch with what appears to be the leftovers since there might be some pieces that are just fried pieces with not much chicken. The spicy seasoning really goes well with the chicken. The spicy fried tofu here is also a winner. This location has quite a bit of seating and is a decent place to get some light work done, but nothing too intensive. This location isn't the cleanest. Tables outside were pretty dirty. Overall, Tap Ex is a decent place for a small snack and if you are craving boba in the area, but it's far from perfection. read more

This is a really good food and bubble tea place. The bubble tea is amazing I recommend chocolate or strawberry or coconut. This is a really good place as all the waiters are nice and they like helping out and have your order done fast so you are ready to eat or drink. 1 word. Exceptional. read more

such a rip off. I ordered a large mango snow bubble with boba & the guy left out about quarter of it. This has happened to me more than once, so I'm taking my business elsewhere from now on. read more

Back in college (LA), I fell in love with boba! When I moved back to SD, I could not find a place that served boba with iced mocha (just tea...). And then I found Tapioca Express... and I've been happy ever since :) read more

It's conveniently located in UTC near UCSD for those of you who don't have a car... pretty standard drinks here. They need to brighten up the lights at night to attract more business... it's too mellow there in the evening hours read more

I've been going to Tapioca Express for 4 years now, and I'm sad to say that this place has really gotten worse in both service and food. I just went there last night, and they completely skipped my order AND gave me the wrong flavor tea after I had expressed what I wanted twice. The food isn't that great either. You're better off going to one of the restaurants in the same strip mall instead. I've never been to The Green Tea House next door, but I'm thinking that I'm going to start giving that place a try because this one isn't cutting it anymore. Parking is HORRIBLE in this strip mall in general. Not only is it always packed 22/7, but it's so small and not very maneuverable, even with a small car. read more

A couple of times we've ordered here, they hardly had any food available. The food, when you can get it, is ok--good fish and shrimp balls, but the chicken is just so so. The drink I order, milk tea with boba, is good enough, and the prices are ok. Not my favorite place, but it's closer to work than some of the other boba places so we are frequent customers here. read more

Had to go here because the one on convoy is under construction. Ordered the crispy chicken, which was as expected, however, they don't have the 10-15 sauces you can choose from. They only offered sweet & sour, ketchup & sriracha. They also don't allow you to order pickup via the phone & only accept it thru door dash, grub hub, etc. This is unfortunate if you are driving and they don't have the entire menu listed. read more

It seems that the workers are fairly incompetent here. They messed up my girlfriend's order (how does Cantaloupe Snow sound like Caramel Snow?) as well as the person's order in front of us. On top of that she got completely side-tracked while helping us because her co-worker could not find straws... it took them about 5 minutes to find them directly next to and under the register. Lame. Unfortunately, Tapioca Express makes delicious treats and is hard to say no to. read more

I've been going over some of the other reviews, and it actually saddens me to see that so many people are putting up bad reviews of this place. As in, it causes me physical pain. I might actually have to start crying. This particular TapEx has been the staple of my college career. From the first time someone tantalizing mentioned doing a Boba Run (but never followed up on that offer) to the epiphany-like moment of when someone I was working on a group presentation with surprised me with my first Boba, to last night when I really needed a fix and walked out in my PJ's and bought me some Milk Tea with Boba. Does it get crowded? Yes. Can the service be bad? Well, I've never had it so, but they are mostly college students and hey, if you go to where I work you're probably not going to get good service from me either. Do they mix up your orders? Again, never for one such as I, but if they did, I repeat with a forgiving smile: Crowded + College students. It happens. But this TapEx is more than just a restaurant. It's a place you can go to at ten o clock at night dressed in your PJ's because you really, really need your Boba and you need it now. It's the kind of place you can go with your coworkers after a long hard day of doing something just to kick back and relax and try and find that perfect combination of flavor. And, as a personal note, it's a place that will gladly make up the strange off-the-menu requests you might have and do so, complimenting the way you think. This place is my Milk Tea filled home. read more

I am giving 2 stars based on the average of 1 star for the food & 3 stars for the drinks. I normally only go there for drinks now since it's so close to me. After having ordered food from there 3 times, I finally came to the conclusion that the management of this place has low standards in terms quality, considering I've eaten at plenty of other boba places. The chicken sandwich I ordered only were left over scraps of pickled carrots, a smear of meat spread & chicken. Come on, if a place doesn't have all the ingredients to make a normal sandwich, then just let the customer that you are out of ingredients! As for the pork chop, never had a worse pork chop till now (twice this has happened), in which I had to cut the chop into several little pieces just to identify meat. The pork chop was such poor quality of mainly consisting of at least 3/4 fat. One thing this place could learn is also quality of food since they're only perhaps 50 cents-1 dollar difference compared to other boba places in terms of food pricing. If you want really great quality rice or vermicilli dishes, sandwiches at a boba shop with continued friendly service then consider Fusion Cafe off Clairemont Mesa Blvd. If you want something alittle more formal or various teas, then consider Tea Station (but avoid it during busy hours, b/c waiters can be slow & non-observational) on Clairemont Mesa Blvd as well. read more

When I have a hankering for something fresh, liquid-y and sweet, I head to Tapioca Express. My boyfriend and I usually stop in after 10pm to take advantage of the BOGO 50% off. The service has been good, but the drinks are consistently off. 99.9% of the time, I order the Watermelon Icy. It's made from actual watermelon chunks. Yum. But the thing I don't like is the fact that the same drink tastes different every time I order it. Sometimes, it's too watery, at other times, it's too bland. I believe they add a sugar syrup to the drink to sweeten it up and there could be a chance the watermelon is not as sweet itself, but come on, EVERY TIME it's a different taste. How about some consistency guys? read more

compared to all the other tapioca express locations i've been to, this la jolla store definitely falls short. be careful what you order--if it isn't painfully simple, the staff WILL manage to somehow mess it up. honey milk tea doesn't taste like honey at all, neither does the honey green tea, tapioca iced mocha just didn't taste right, etc etc. once i ordered an almond milk tea and clearly specified that i wanted it warm. when i got my drink, it was BURNING hot. i told the lady that i ordered it warm and she said "oh, whenever someone orders a drink warm, we just make it hot." uhhhh WHY!? that's not what they asked for! why in the world would you do that!? ugh. ridiculous. i tried SO hard not to give her attitude. i don't know...a lot of things with this tap ex are just a tad off. they have a cool ceiling though...the high part with the paper lanterns. very cool. props for that. read more

Jennifer S. told me about getting the iced teas with half the sugar. Thanks so much!!! It's still sweet enough and I feel a bit less guilty getting that delicious sweet tea. read more

I really don't like this location but it will do for now. In my opinion, the customer service here lacks. I understand that you're the average college student making some extra cash to pay for your college life. Great, awesome, totally up for it! BUT, don't let your personality kill your customers service. There should be no exception for that. I'm really big with this. The past couple of times I went, It almost seems like the cashier/servers are too busy to take your order. No eye contact, no smile, just straight to the point, and "let me put in your order so you can leave kind of deal". A lot of the people that do go to this location are usually UCSD students hanging and studying. Or some people from the hospital near by. Then you have your average La Jolla natives. Tapioca Express is a new modern experience of it's own. So when a customer comes in, new to the scene - you should at least look alert and willing to answer any questions they may have on a certain beverage and not just daze down. It's so rude. The thing I love about Tapioca Express is the selections of snacks and beverages. Make it into a combo and get a drink of your liking or a bottle of water. If i do end up getting a combo I normally get the spicy chicken. This is the weird part, I know that this is a chain of many other Tapioca Expresses, But when I went to the one on Convoy, I noticed that their combo had a lot of different other sides. So can someone please tell me, does the combo meal matter which location you go to? ( I honestly prefer the Tapioca Express on Convoy) My meal had the chicken, rice, 1 wonton (come on.. just one?), and steamed veggies. (Convoy: veggies, egg, ground beef/pork mix (on the rice?) and seasoned to perfections spicy chicken) I personally don't like how they prepared the chicken. It's not as spicy as I asked it to be. Barely any seasoning. Try again. I'll come here when I'm in the area. But I wont go out of my way to visit this spot. read more

Updated review. I realize the review I wrote was for the convoy location but accidentally posted it at the La Jolla location. My mistake. This location is fine. Good service, they don't close their kitchen early. They even have cool happy hour deals where you can get buy one boba get the second 50%. Our favorite snack here is the fried tofu read more

Wifi! Perfect spot to grab some bobes and do some studying.

My husband was craving boba and so therefore, I had to Yelp a nearby place while we were in La Jolla this weekend. Tapioca Express was the nearest place to us so we jetted over. Now, I am not the biggest fan of boba tea, but lucky for me they have a wide variety of drink selections. I got the Strawberry Icy which was very refreshing but a little sweet and synthetic tasting for my liking. The sign said "fresh" strawberries and that was not the case. Still, it was tasty. They also have Vietnamese food and it smelled MARVELOUS! I'd go back alone just to have lunch. read more

"Can I have a large mango milk tea with boba?" You shouldn't have to ask me if I want to add boba. And then you shouldn't make the drink a regular and try to charge me to fix the mistake. I can see it being a misunderstanding when the place is busy. But it wasn't. It was empty. Like 3 other people in the restaurant empty. Crappy service from this location which is unusual for Tapex locations. read more

Happy hour is bomb diggity. Love the less than 2 bucks popcorn chicken or 2 bucks tapioca (before 6pm M-F), Tapex is aiite, I'd like to say its not as good as teaway or tea n more cuz I like mom and pop places.. but it's really not that much worse. Tapioca in San Diego taste about the same to me. read more

I order a drink and when they charged me it exceeded what they displayed. I ask the girl and she was like oh hot drinks cost more. I respond that it should be displayed if it's extra. Her response is "oh it's....hmmm I feel like it's listed somewhere. Well if you regularly order hot drinks then you'll know." That's just bad customer service and bad business read more

Got a Matcha milk tea and a coffee milk tea, both with boba. Drinks are watered down compared pretty bad. There wasn't much boba. And the boba that we did get want the greatest. Very disappointed. read more

Bad service. They were rude and rushed is even though there was nobody else behind us trying to order. The drinks were just okay and they took forever with the orders. But overall, terrible service. read more

So I went one day with my two friends and I LOVE this place but I misspoke when I ordered and my server WAS SO RUDE!! I wanted a jasmine milk tea but said a jasmine green tea. I told them that's not what I wanted and he said "no you actually ordered that. sorry" and then he walked away laughing. not happy. :( read more

I have been to a lot of pearl tea places, and this tap ex is definitely the best in the area. I love it! All of the people who work there are friendly and helpful, and the boba tastes really good. I'm surprised by some of the comments people are leaving about the quality/quantity of the food. Their chicken combo costs like $7, but you get a drink with it, and I think for the price it is by far the most/best food you'll get than any other place around here. I love coming here with friends, it has a very relaxed atmosphere and I always seem to have a great time when I'm there. They play great music, and the workers seem to all be having a great time. I agree sanitation could be a little better, sometimes the tables are sticky and some of the tables seem broken and rickety, but the boba drinks are great, and the food is excellent. read more

I am unimpressed with this place mainly because of the price. I find their drinks almost a good dollar over other boba drinks in the San Diego. But sadly they are almost a monopoly in the UTC area. So you will find students and others here shelling out almost 4.50 plus for drink that actually looks a tad smaller than a drink at similar boba places. The only alternate option for boba lovers in UTC is to wait for the Thursday evening farmers market and get a reasonably priced and good sized drink from one of those food trucks. read more

Not good. I used to frequent Tap-Ex a lot during college. It was just one of those poor college decisions you make, like drinking warm Natty Ice or playing King's Cup on a nightly basis. Bubble tea is a beautiful thing when done right, and Tap-Ex's you can tell isn't made with fresh ingredients. Their chicken snack is a big hit, but it's super greasy and fattening. It also doesn't taste fresh at all, and I would wager the reason most people enjoy it is because they drench it in ranch. Yeah... read more

I ordered iced cappuccino and when I drank it, it was like chunky bits of powder at the bottom and all over the whole cup and I thought this was like the special oreo cookie float thing, or a new boba replacement trend. Later I realized that they use those 3-in-1-like premixed cappuccino powder to mix my drink and I paid nearly 3 bucks for it. Worst, whoever mixed my drink didn't dissolve all the premix powder and gave it to me and even add a last "professional" shake before it was handed down to me. I hope the milk powder inside isn't from China and I hope melamine is not in there. I should have gone for the original milk tea. However, this location is good for hang out and free wi-fi, so I give it a 3 instead of 2. read more

I come here every once in a while when i crave the crispy chicken. The crispy chicken here is better than the tapioca express on campus. It's a great place to grab a snack or study. read more

I seriously go out of my way to get their happy hour special $1.99 boba milk tea! It's delicious and so cheap!

I love this spot because its convenient and close to home. I love their green and lavender tea. Their fries are good and crispy and I love that you can add like a hot cajun powder flavor on the fries or any deep fried food. read more

This place has the BEST POPCORN CHICKEN!!!! Eff all of the other tap-ex places. This place will fill your chicken all the way to the top and them chicken are hella FAT!!!!! Their ranch and sweet chili sauces make it taste even better. Lastly, their boba is Great cause unlike all of the other places where their drinks taste like powder, this place has boba drinks that actually taste good!!!!!! well done and yes I will ask you to remake my chicken if I only find crums. read more

really love milk teas and this place delivers on quality. they are usually busy with the college crowd so i try to come at random times of the night. i like their entryway with the blue paint and lanterns, it's really pretty and eye catching compared to other tea/boba places. service is just regular; they take your order and you wait only a few minutes for your drink as long as there isn't already a line forming. They serve hot food too so check that out as well. You know me i order the honey milk tea and the fiance gets the Thai iced tea. Parking unfortch is not great. They have a small lot but it gets full with the competing business. I liked that i saw a whole family there sitting at a table enjoying their drinks and snacks. 2 parents and 3 kids just enjoying their experience. it goes to show that this place is more than just a college hang out. Thanks! read more

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

I came in late and was surprised that they were open. I was super thirsty and got the Almond Milk Tea and the Honeydew Milk tea, both with Boba. They were AMAZING! The boba was made right and wasn't hard like some places. I have to say that this is one of the places I refer to as having Great Balls of Tapioca! read more

I ordered crispy chicken combo. It comes with iceburg lettuce instead of steamed veggies. Disappointed Low quality rice but crispy chicken is good. read more