This place is pretty good, I don't have anything to compare it too but people say this is the best one in the Bay Area. I had the Sour Apple Snow Bubble and some chicken pieces. I enjoyed the drink, but the lil black balls I didn't enjoy so much, I guess I have a problem with balls in my mouth! The chicken was really good, and I tasted the calamari that was pretty good as well. The place was fairly packed, I guess its the hang out spot for high school kids on the weekend. The only thing I didn't like was the place smelled like smoke because they leave the door open and people smoke right in front of the door. But id defiantly go back, and I will order the drink with no BALLS! read more

I love this place and I hate this place. Love it for their delicious calamari and chicken. Hate it for their horrible customer service. But...like any asian place this is always the case. I've been going here for hmmm about 5 years? Atleast once a week I go here because I crave their calamari. What I love about it is the batter, the flavor, and it's actually spicy. The workers are short with you sometimes, I mean c'mon ! I've been a regular here for 5 years and you must ask what level spiciness I get? Oh...This one time, I was short 11 cents and the girl worker who has curly hair and looks like she's on crack tells me "no" and shakes her head when I told her sorry i'm 11 cents short. So...I had to go to my car and scramble for 11 freaking cents. Yeah, best experience ever that day! But besides the bad customer service I love this place for their yummy snacks. Find me here on a weds getting a calamari level 4 with green tea with pearls. lol read more

What this place has going for it is its history as being one of the first tapioca/boba places in the area. This Tap Ex is probably the most popular tapioca place I've been to on the East Bay. It also helps their business that they're right by JLHS. The regular milk tea is a classic and the almond milk tea (hot and cold) is also a popular choice. Sure, it's a good place to satisfy your boba and popcorn chicken craving if you live close by but I think there are better places to get your boba fix. I have been coming on and off since, at least, 2004 and this Tap Ex will always have a little place in my heart for being the default hangout spot for catching up with high school friends. Pros: - Open 365 days a year, says the sign on their window - Many types of drinks and drink flavors to choose from. Compared to other Tapioca Expresses, this one has the largest variety. - They don't put too many ice cubes in the drinks. - Their spicy popcorn chicken is the best in the area. The cherry on top is the fried basil leaves that come in the bag with the chicken. - Prices are alright. $2.95 for a standard black milk tea with boba and ~$6.00 for the popcorn chicken + boba milk tea combo. - Have individually-wrapped straws so people are not contaminating them all - Have stamp cards where you buy 9 drinks and the 10th one is free. You have to ask for the card though. - Good hangout spot. Also if you live close by, it's not surprising to see a familiar face there. Cons: - Should bring cash since they charge 49 cents to use debit and charge $1.25 for the ATM machine inside. - Boba quality is inconsistent. Sometimes the tapioca served are nicely ball-shaped with the right amount of chewiness and sometimes they're chewy mush as if they've been overcooked or sitting around for too long. Real downer for me. - Taste of the drinks don't stand out to me. Just average. - Crowded at night with the line from the register to, and sometimes out, the door. - Noisy atmosphere at night. The background music can be loud and, with the crowds, you have to raise your voice for the person across the table to hear you. - When people smoke outside, the wind blows the smoke into the store. The staff don't let you shut the door. - Dirty dirty bathroom read more

BEST WATERMELON JUICE SERVED HERE | ALWAYS BUSY BUT SERVICE IS FAST I LOVE LOVE watermelon juice in general and this place consistently serves it up to my WJ standards -- cold, refreshing, semi-sweet, and natural-tasting. Not all Tapioca Express establishments are the same, I've been to the newer one in Fremont once and the juice there tasted like artificial watermelon (Jolly Rancher candy flavor), umm, no thanks to that when you are paying about $5 for the large size, and I usually always order 3 of them at once. I also love the calamari rings here, level 3 spicy. read more

I'm a fan of Tapioca Express (TE) and we've only been here once or twice. We can only rate this location based on their experience here compared to the other TEs they've been to. We ordered a Red Bean Pudding ($2.50) and a Mango Yogurt ($3.99). My wife wasn't happy with the fact that artificial syrup/flavors was necessary in her bobas (for her Red Bean Pudding) but should be expected from franchise places like this. She prefers fresh fruit ingredients with her bobas like they do in Asia, if possible. I thought my Mango yogurt was good. The flavor of the boba drinks seemed consistent (you will be surprised by how inconsistent the same drinks may be at different locations) at this location which is important. You would think a tea franchise would produce the same consistency of drinks. The inconsistency w/some of the TEs may be due to lack of QC and experience from the person making the drink (I once ordered a ginger milk-tea at the TE in Davis - Whoaaa!!! I choked after every sip as the ginger tea was WAY TOO spicy!!!). http://www.tapiocaexpress.com/ read more

Union City definitely has one of the best Tapex's in the bay area. Growing up we'd always say "we have the best balls!" Immature I know, but hey, 'tis true! The balls are always just right, not too soft and not hard. The drink itself is always tasty and flavorful. I love how the workers know my family; they know my mom and sister's voices and usuals hahaha. It's because we often order to-go on the phone in case there's a long line (suggestion if you know what you want!) Food doesn't disappoint and they do a good job of matching the spiciness number you want. I've noticed that they continue to grow their menu as well. The only con is their charge for using a credit/debit card. I believe it's $1.25 now? I'll make sure to check again next time. I just feel like they should cover that since they have many, many loyal and frequent customers. Also, It'd be great if they required no smoking in their outside dining area but those people should know better anyway. I want my drink without a side of death, thank you very much. Anyway, grab some cash, start a 'free drink' card, and have yourself some tapex! read more

I really like the food and drinks, excellent selection!! It's affordable $3-$3.75 for a drink with tapioca pearls. They also have combos to get a drink and snack. Ask for a frequent buyer card! It isn't always the cleanest store (needs to be swept and the bathroom is old). They don't accept credit cards and there is a 1.25 charge for debit. read more

I've been coming here for years and it's still one of the bests and one of my favorite boba spots! Sometimes there's a long line but it's always worth the wait. The staff is nice and they're always on point with my order. Highly recommend this place! read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE! recommend it highly for people who are looking for boba. I like their spicy popcorn chicken and their milk tea boba is very refreshing. The line can be really long but It is absolutely worth standing in line for their boba and popcorn chicken. read more

I really like the food here, especially the crispy fish, but also the head of the fish. The cashier character of the evening class is good. The service attitude is also good. Several of our friends like to come here to eat. I like it here. read more

$1 surcharge for using debit is excessive! Service is slow and seating area is dirty. Good tea though!

+ One of the only boba places that serve GINGER MILK TEA year round. Get it hot on a cold night - it's warming & somewhat good for digestion (or so I like to believe) + Friendly, EFFICIENT service (sooo important and shamefully overlooked at many other places...ahem Quickly ahem cough) + The kiddos (read: high schoolers) who frequent this place aren't overly obnoxious, at least as far as I can tell from the multiple times I've been here read more

Okay, so after going to a very sub-par Tap at the Automall in Fremont, I can declare this location as the best one in the area. The Automall location has about half the choices the Union City location offers. I know I won't be ordering Honey Egg Juice anytime soon, but it's nice to know it's there =) read more

This is most definitely my favorite Tapioca Express. This location is the only one that seems to know how to be consistent enough to keep a loyal fan base. LOCATION/AMBIENCE: It's right next to James Logan High School, so expect this joint to be crowded with teenie-boppers in the after-school hours. I usually see the colorguard/winterguard/band auxillary/whatever you call those flag tossing girls there, and their entourage of horny little boys. Come nighttime, you'll get the import crowd.... Obnoxiously loud exhausts and whistling blow-off valves, included at no extra charge. Luckily, there is no real beef amongst anyone. Inside, the ambience will always be a craps shoot. One time, it might be calm, chill, even quiet with the exception of the Mandarin pop music in the background. Another time, you might get high school kids being loud as hell playing cards, or showing off whose the hyphyest. Nonetheless, no two days are ever the same. FOOD/DRINK: I usually stick the plain milk tea, what I usually use as my basis for how the rest of the drinks at any tapioca drink joint would taste like, due to the consistency that only automated machines could do. I've never had a bad milk tea here. I have tried other drinks, and haven't really found one to be disgusting. Now the pepper chicken is, quite simply, the best here compared to other TapEx locations. Their heat scale holds true, and, at least for me, the level 5 is easily finished without having to buy extra drinks. I really wish they would be plastic-friendly, that way I could keep an open tab, but hey, that would also mean that my bank account would see more TapEx transactions than anything else. read more

I don't know whether to give them 3-4 stars. I'll be nice and bump it up just because I've had enough good experiences throughout the years. Favorites: passion fruit green tea with lychee or jasmine milk tea. I've tried a lot of drinks but those two aret favorites. Due to being healthier I've avoided going here, but I allow myself to occassionally endulge in a drink from this place. Cons: too many teens smoking cigarettes outside (ok-yes you mightve seen me doing that, but come on! I was 15 young and stupid). read more

I've been coming here for awhile now and if in the East Bay, this is still my first choice and favorite spot for getting boba. The menu has an extensive list of food and drinks, the staff is friendly and the wait time to get our order isn't long. After all the restaurants are closed in the evening, you can always find a group of people sitting outside and a line forming. Inside there is a large screen T.V. and a fish tank. The seating area isn't the most spaceous and at times you'll find yourself watching (stalking) someone to see when they get up so that you can swoop in and take their table before anyone else gets it. Back in the day when I had no social life, I'd come out to Tapioca Express with a friend almost every Friday. He was interested in the car meets and just hanging around at night. We were there pretty much every week and known as regulars. The cashier Vicky knew my order, a lemon showbubble and on occasion spicy chicken. There was an incident where I changed it up and ordered a strawberry snowbubble. Right off the bat she knew and said I had a different flavor. Another time I had gone in the afternoon instead of night time and she had made a comment that I was early. Now that I'm older, I don't sit around and hang out here too much, but occasionally Bunny and I will come by to pick up some drinks and maybe chicken. My usual is now Srawberry Green Tea while Bunny likes Green Tea with no sugar or tapioca. The stamp cards are nice and give different categories for regular and large sizes. Depending on which area gets filled up first, you can get either a regular or large drink after ten stamps. Even when the lines are long and out the door, the wait is never too bad (unlike Purple Kow in SF) The cashiers are pretty fast and there area a lot of staff and employees making drinks and preparing food. I alway enjoy my drink and the chicken is always tasty. Depending on what level of spike we get (0 being non-spicy and 5 being the spiciest), at times it can be too strong for me. It's always nice to come by for some drinks and snacks. read more

I love tapioca express!! 5 stars for this location!! I'm from Sacramento and the tapex here does not sell squid heads (well from the ones I've been to out here). Gosh, all the boba places I've been to in the bay with my love so far has squid heads, YUMM! We got chichi fries, popcorn chicken & the squid heads. I feel like this location gives a perfect amount of chichi fries, man chichi fries are so GOOD! :) I would also love to come back here! I am one happy costumer! read more

My best friend & daughters go to after school/work treat. I come specifically for the deep fried oysters I can't seem to find anywhere else!

Thought I've written a review for this place already. But there's a reason why this Tapioca Express have been here for years (since 2000 I believe). Despite this place being a very large chain, this Union City location still beats all of the other ones around northern CA. That's saying alot, I've been to so many different Tap Ex, and none of them satisfy my Boba and Pepper Crispy Chicken craving. The quality of the drinks are made much better than the other Tap Ex, and especially the chicken! The pepper crispy chicken here is always made to perfection! You literally can't go wrong with this place. This location have been the hang out spot for many different people over the years, and it still is! The only downside I think is that you need cash. If not you can use your debit but they'll charge you for it. It definitely won't be the best boba you've ever had, but it'll be the best Tapioca Express boba you'll have. read more

The variation of food and drinks here is A LOT. It's sometimes overwhelming for people who don't go to places like this often, but it's a part of the experience. Pick a drink, get the crispy chicken and go on your way. It's pretty simple and pretty good. I usually get my combo A of milk tea and my crispy chicken (spice level of 1, lol) and I'm a happy camper. The prices are decent. The place is clean enough, but the bathroom is like black marker tagging heaven. Parking lot gets super full on the weekends. They're open till about 1ish on Fridays and Saturdays. Beware though if you're not Asian or anything that resembles it. They won't attack you but if their staring judgmental eyes were bullets, you'd be in itsy bitsy pieces. My boyfriend's black, so what people! This tends to be generally true with most Asian establishments but that's another post all together. Lastly, In California, you can't smoke 20 feet from any door, window or air intake. People here like smoking 20 inches from the door. It's really gross. I'll skip the 2nd hand smoking with my combo A please. read more

Nothing too special about this TapEx but they do make drinks the way I like it. Grabbed myself a Jasmine Milk Tea. It was made just right, sweet but not too sweet with some nice and chewy boba. It's a nice place to just chill out and meet up with some friends. read more

Very bad customer service, specifically cashier lady. So rude and no respect at all. Don't go there.

They completely overloaded my almond milk tea with too much sugar. Disgustingly sweet. Would not come here again

Great place to come grab a refreshing drink, snack or a quick meal. What I dislike about this place is that its still cash only and theres always a million people loitering outside at all hours of the day smoking and spitting nasties at the front entrance. read more

Best Tapioca Express place to get drinks. They have the Best Flavored Drinks out of all the other ones in my area.

The drinks are alwauys great, but going to have to knock down the stars because their customer service is terrible, and always is. I have come back three times and the staff is rude and impatient, and yeah maybe i should just not go here... The San Leandro staff is so much more friendly, and their calamari/oysters come with a special sauce in SL Tapex... This place is probably the worst TapEx I know they won't go out of business anytime soon since it is right by the high school, but the service is crap. Once I went and they gave me the wrong drink, two order of fried calamari, when I ordered one chicken and one calamari and already in my hand on my way to the table the guy takes it from me saying it was not paid for and that there were no more chicken left, with no refund or trying to make up for the messed up order. Please teach your staff some hospitality. read more

Excellent place for the fish balls as well! But man the lines here could kill you. That's the only part I hate.

OMG! The food is amazing the popcorn chicken has great texture has just the right amount of salt and crunch that creates a sensational taste. The calamari is likewise amazing. I would definitely come back to this place. I also tried the boba from the snow bubble category by far the best boba I've ever had. I tried the mango snow bubble taste so fruitful it's amazing. I'm definitely ordering one to go as well read more

I want to give this place 4.5 stars but since I can't do it, I'll just round it up with 5 stars. This is definitely my favorite Tapioca Express in the whole bay area so far. Their service is friendly and fast, the pearls are always perfect (not too sticky or dry), and the popcorn chicken & fish are to die for. Other drinks such as Taro milk tea or green bean smoothies are also great and never too sweet or bland. I never left disappointed every time I came here. The only con: the place could get very crowded and dirty since it's very popular with the local teenagers. If you don't have high tolerance towards spicy food, make sure you always answer "mild" or "make it NOT spicy at all" when the host asks you how spicy you want your food to be. Because they always turned out to be spicier than expected. read more

I like how everyone was so excited about TapEx like boba was some sort of glorious discovery when in fact, it's been around for ages. My friends and I are veterans here. We've been coming here since high school when they first opened up. It was the "cool spot" to hang out after classes (or during lunch if we cut, shh!) since it was right behind our school. I remember coming here every single night after badminton practice for some Mango Snowbubble & chicken. Ahh, the good ol' days... 9 years later and this place is still filled with high schoolers and now even middle schoolers. It's like they all transported from the local 711 on Alvarado Niles and invaded TapEx! Come out on a Friday or Saturday night and you'll run into all the kiddies too young to hit up the dance clubs, but old enough to own some wannabe ballah rice-rockets (do people still even use that term?). One night, my "older" friends and I were sitting outside with our drinks chatting away when we heard a ricer revving his engine so hard....it stalls.....and almost rolls into a bimmer. LOL. That would've been such an epic fail. Anywhoo, I come here often because the drinks are good, the prices are cheap, and it's a great place to catch up with old/new friends. I usually like sitting away from the crowd of youngsters, but sometimes it can't be helped. I've learned to mute them out. My taste buds have grown out of the "snowbubble phase" and moved along to the simplicity of milk tea. Almond milk tea, to be exact. Can't forget the jasmine green tea either - 2 of my all time favorites. I still haven't been able to handle anything above level 2 spicy chicken. Makes me wanna cry...literally. =( read more

This Tapioca Express has always been my favorite. Fast service plus yummy drinks & snacks! I usually get the Taro milk tea or Mocha snow bubble drinks and medium spicy chicken. Love the fact that they put basil(?) with the chicken since it adds a little bit more flavor. There's always plenty of parking and they open pretty late. FYI-Get their drink card so you can get it stamped and get a free drink. read more

Right there with you Vanessa. Not only was I the only caucasian in the boba place, I was the only one in the whole shopping plaza. But hey, its all good. This was the night cap after having dinner at another restaurant in the plaza. And for me, this is always a treat. The place was a typical boba chain. Unlike my fav boba place in WC, this place has what seemed to be hundreds of options. Ok, maybe not hundreds, but at least three times as many as I am used to seeing. This of course can be good or bad. Too many choices, and it takes me hours to figure out what I want. They had tons of really creative flavors, that I enjoyed considering. I finally decided on the lavendar milk tea. I had seriously considered the ginger milk tea, but lavendar won out. The boba was tasty, the pearls were about right in consistency, but then there were the lavendar buds in the bottom of the cup mixed with the pearls. Hmmm.... when you make tea, usually the herbs and stuff are confined and removed from the drink. Not this one. The lavendar is just sitting in the bottom. Not the effect I was going for. I love the pearls and they were very difficult to eat with all the flower buds mixed in there. I cringe just thinking about that again. I think if the whole drink had been run through a strainer and placed on new pearls, it would have been great. I actually think this place could get a higher rating. The drinks are fairly good and creative, but they do not give you enough information to know that you will be eating the flowers. I think I may go back and get the ginger and reconsider my rating. BUT, I will make sure to ask if there are other hidden treasures in the bottom of my drinks. I highly recommend you ask as well, or your experience with the drink will not be too pleasant. read more

CHICKEN is BOMB. There may have been only ONE time where I ordered chicken and it was dry, but all the other bazillion times I've been here.. The chicken was DELISH. Same goes for the squid. Their tapioca is always chewy; never old and mushy like I've had at some other tapioca joints. 49 cent charge to use your debit card. Not so sure about Credit Cards, but I think it applies to both. read more

Fried calamari and popcorn chicken are the reasons why I keep coming here. Come for their fried foods, not for their drinks.

A lot of choices of drinks hot or cold,snacks, even some of mexican snacks and they have almost everything here. But man, no sauce like ketchup or ranch for your sides. They also expanded their space with gachapon & toys. read more

Whenever I go to these Boba drink places, I alway get the basic tapioca milk tea. This place charges $2.48 plus tax. The drink was fine. The place is too chaotic. The noise from the blenders and the Mandarin Pop music blasting from the speakers gave me a headache. I much prefer a more serene environment to sip my drink. Bottom Line: Get your drinks to go. read more

Been craving milk tea, anticipating the chewiness of the perfectly steeped tapioca pearl (not too soft, not too firm, a bit bouncy and toothsome, never crunchy, and believe it or not I've had some that crunched, yuck), can't wait to take the first sip of milk tea + tapioca pearl, can't wait to... geez, why is the line always so long? So many pearl tea places to choose from, yet so many bad pearl tea drinks. The Tapioca Express in Union City is oh-so-consistently good. They have pearl tea/slushy/smoothy/juice/flavored milk flavors that other pearl tea places only dream about. Though I always go for traditional milk tea flavors - milk tea, green milk tea, and the occasional strawberry/mango/lycee milk tea - I appreciate the breadth of choices offered, as folks in my party always find something interesting to try. Maybe it's the steady stream of customers that keep the ingredients fresh, or maybe it's just that they know how to make pearl tea (is it really so hard?), whatever the reason, their output is always right on the money. And they have coconut milk tea, which is my SO's favorite. At most places, when you order a coconut milk tea, you get a coconut jelly milk tea, totally different. So we drive out of our way to brave the thuggy throngs and stand in line for the most reliable milk tea in the bay area. read more

I call this the other Tapi. It's right near my work, so if I have a craving during lunch, this is where I go... Service is usually pretty good, the spot itself is pretty clean.. The music can be a little too loud for my taste. In the evenings its full of high schoolers... I was just here last night and it was so loud inside (music wise) that customers couldn't even hear when their orders were being called. That's a sign to turn the music down, but no such doing. There were a bunch of wannabe gangsters standing in the front, not even bothering to move out of the way when you try to enter, and people smoking right in front of the doorway so the entire placed reeked. So drink wise, service and cleanliness wise, they're great. But the atmosphere of the music and the clientele definitely makes me not want to come here in the evenings. read more

They offer so many varieties of drinks!! This is the only Tapioca Express I know of that has such a large menu. I've gotten their Peach Green Tea a few times with Mango Stars and it's absolutely delicious! It's so cute how they're actually shaped like stars and they compliment the drink very well. It's so packed at times, especially at night. If it weren't far from where I live, I'd go there more often. read more

This rating is slightly biased, I must say. I've been coming here since I was a sophomore in high school. that.. would make it about 7 years ago? I don't get treated poorly by the employees because they all recognize me. and I typically go for a small selection of the same drinks-- so it's pretty hard to mess it up. no qualms about customer service~ :D I've grown really tired of their chicken but if I only order it once in a long while, it's still great. their drinks are always on my list-- almond milk tea for the simplest of nights and almond mocha snow bubble when it's hot out. this TapEx also has an item on their menu that others don't: cold noodles! they serve it with shredded chicken, carrot, and cucumber and it comes with this garlic soy sauce and thick sesame/peanut sauce. goodness, it is really good on any day. but make sure you have gum because that garlic sauce is POTENT. lol (: my one complaint is that it's so close to a high school (and this is not their fault, I suppose lol). and there are always kids hanging out and just making a scene out of everything... it gets pretty loud in there. I try to avoid it on Friday or Saturday nights; the volume is almost unbearable sometimes. D: will always be going back-- probably until I move out of the state or country. (: read more