As indicated by how many check-ins I have at this place (and non-check ins when I forget to check in...oops), I love their food. It's the comfort food I get when I'm feeling down and need some fried foods to complete me. hah! They've gotten better on consistency and I got to try their curry pork this past time and it was yummy. It's like L&L's Chicken Katsu only with pork and savory curry. Plus my meal came with a drink. I chose the green tea drink, which was the right amount of sweet. Yay! Considering how busy they are, the food doesn't take too long to come. It's a pretty good deal and convenient if you work or study at UCSD. I've also had their crispy chicken a few times since my last review and they've been tasty. They sometimes have manager special's or boba they've made accidentally and those are cheaper so keep a look out. As a note, if you're worried about spicy levels, I'd just recommend ordering mild and add more spice if needed. They have a spice shaker out that you can use to do so. read more

Three stars because: -drinks are good. Especially the fusion tea drinks. -the famous crispy chicken got so bad last year...I mean com'on, at least pretend to make the meat juicy. It's dry and super chewy as a result. It's also super breaded. However, some days they come out ok. But never consistently good. read more

I had a craving for milk tea four different times. I bought Hong Kong milk tea, almond milk tea, milk green tea, and taro milk tea here. I've been disappointed every single time. Somebody needs to seriously stop me from coming here again. Yeah, it's super convenient... but EH. No please. read more

This location just isn't worth going to compared to the one on Regents. The only thing this Tapioca Express really has going for it is the fact that it's located on campus, but I think that this is what makes this location worse. Because it's on campus and expects students to pay for convenience, their prices are higher while their food and serving sizes aren't that great. Take my advice and just go to their location on Regents, unless you are absolutely craving boba and need it stat!!! read more

I love being able to get my TapEx fix using Triton Cash! The drinks are typical of any Tapioca Express. My favorite drink is the STRONG flavor of the passion fruit milk tea or passion fruit icy. I also like the vanilla chai icy which is pretty smooth and sweet. I had a vanilla almond milk tea thing here once and it was not for me, yick! I also had a plum flavored thing here that was disgusting, so you need to make sure you get the right thing. I like the crispy chicken, but it makes you sick if you eat too much. And for some reason this tapex doesn't offer the small size, so you're screwed if you just wanted a taste, or are on a diet or something. read more

I always ask myself why I keep coming back to this horrible place. I'm really glad they won't be a monopoly on boba anymore after dlush opens on campus. I ordered a snack French fries, lightly salted and a large hot milk tea. The fries were salted like salt was free, and the milk tea was fruity/tasted like cough syrup. In addition, my boyfriend and I witnessed the waiter Ryan sneeze into our cup of milk tea. Grossest thing ever.. Would try to avoid this place at all cost unless you're literally dying for boba. read more

There's not much I can say about smoothie places. They basically just make my drinks, and you can't really make that many mistakes while making a smoothie. I have to say though, that this is not my favorite Tapioca Express [my favorite is located on Walnut in Irvine], but it will do, since this is the closest boba shop near UCSD. I especially like this worker named ...Cindy? She's always so cheerful when I order. If my drinks sucked, I would at least suck it up because I wouldn't want to sadden her. read more

The quality is inconsistent. One day my honey green tea will be just right and the next day, there is so much sugar it kinda hurts when you drink it. Also, sometimes my calamari comes out really sweet too. I always thought that was weird. read more

a lot of negative energy when i go here. the workers always seem pissed off .. but u know i always come back for the snacks & tea. like crispy chicken(made with WHITE meat! =D), fried tofu, green tea with boba/grass jelly so i was wondering why my order of fried tofu was taking SO long so i asked nicely.. the girl then said " mmm *smiles * hold on ".. she goes back to the kitchen and the cook looks so anoyyed that she asked haha. and then she goes back to me and "its not ready yet... *smiles*" I KNOW ITS NOT READY!! BUT WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG!!!!!! .. but instead i refrained myself and said.. "okay thanks *smiles*" lala finally got my tofu after 10 minutes and its yummy here. ive had it at the regents location, very oily. this one is alotttt better. but yeah its just the customer service that is horrible.. and they dont have small boba whenever i ask for it =[ read more

Yes! Boba on campus! I knew I chose the right school. Why am I not Asian? Can I be an honorary Asian? As one of two places to get boba on campus, of course I give it 5 stars. Obviously it is not as good as Tea Garden, Tea Station, etc. but it will do. The thai tea snowbubble is pretty amazing, as is the spicy chicken snack. I wouldn't recommend the taro milk tea here though...it tastes way different than it does at the Convoy location, which is delicious. read more

+ Clean and nicely kept + Service is good +/- Seating can fill up quick depending on when you're there - Drink was bland - Portion size is off lol.. (read the review for more on this) Was down in San Diego for a small trip and wanted to get a quick bite/drink. My SD friends said lets just go to Tap-Ex. I figured you can't really go wrong and said sure. Made the trip here, ordered myself a combo - Honey Dew Milk Tea w/ Chicken Wings. This deal was like $8.50~ or so.. I had whatever their most spiciest option was. I received my drink a few minutes after initially ordering, and then my chicken about 10~ minutes later lol. Understandable I guess, since chicken takes a bit to cook and no one really goes there for wings anyway. However, their 'spicy' is pretty much just some red chili pepper powder spread out throughout the container box lol. You get rice, corn, 1 gyoza and 6 pieces of chicken wings. My friends ordered the popcorn chicken and they got a container of the same size.. but more full of chicken, rice underneath and corn. I was amazed at the difference in portion lol. Which makes me wonder if it's just this location, or does the whole franchise follow this procedure. Also, my drink wasn't anywhere near sweet as other places I've been to. Even other Tap-Ex are better than this.. Maybe this location was just having an off-day, don't know.. Other than that, the workers behind the counters were cool. Service was a bit slow (not only for myself, but friends too). Everything was meh. I wouldn't be coming back, would rather go to another location. read more

If I wanted heat-lamped chicken, I would have gone to Burger King and paid a 1/4 of the price. Aside from that, the drinks are decent and are there for you when you get that sudden urge for a milk tea, which happens to me a lot. The staff could be a little friendlier, but then again, I would be a little cranky too if I had that automatic door blasting on and off me all shift long. I have a friend who works at the one on campus. I'm sure the rest of the employees are nice people. Just, please, smile once in a while-- you're ruining my appetite. It's no wonder no one tips you. read more

I loooove to come here on my lunch breaks during work, or even during breaks i have in between classes during the year. Service is usually quick, unless its lunch hour - you know this place it popular with the students when the line starts to wrap around the poles they have set up here. I'm always greeted with a hello and a smile, no matter the time of day. My go-to order is the curry chicken combo, grilled, no veggies and an extra potsticker. I used to just get the normal chicken combo grilled, but my friend told me to try the curry combo because it adds exactly what the meal needs since the normal combo can be a little dry sometimes. I think my favorite part is the weekly lunch specials they have, which are combo meals that a discounted. It changes every week! read more

Average boba place. Not that great compared to many other great places here in San Diego. After discovering the other places I don't really come here anymore. But if you're craving a boba drink and this is nearby then sure why not. read more

This was one of my go-to's when I used to be a student here, but on my short visit back this weekend, it was not good. Ordered a hazelnut milk tea....didn't taste like hazelnut milk tea at all. There was nothing fragrant about it. I even ordered it with no ice, so its not like it was watered down. It was basically the normal milk tea. The boba was also super undercooked...chewy was an understatement, I actually had to work for it. But they are still one of the places open later in the night, aside from BK, so people still come lining up at all hours of the day and night. read more

3/5 for its convenience and cheapness of the food. It's great for drinks, but obviously this isn't the place to go for quality meals. It's just for convenience like I said earlier. read more

I would give this place zero stars if possible. It's disgusting. The drinks are always a miss. The fried chicken is awful too. It's either small pieces of chicken or fat swallowed by batter. Or, small burnt pieces. The prices here are ridiculous, it's worth the trip to convoy to go to any other boba place. read more

Solid regular milk tea & jasmine milk tea with boba.

4 stars "Yay! I'm a fan" takes the words right out of my boba and cripy chicken-stuffed mouth. The location is oh-so-convenient. Perfect for that freshman 15, wait, no, 25. It's one of those things that makes UCSD, well, UCSD. "I'm thirsty. Wanna go on a boba run?" "I'm hungry. Let's get crispy chicken at TapEx." "Hey, there's a fundraiser going on at TapEx, there's going to be hella people, let's go." Ya feel me? If you haven't heard these sentences, you .. need to get out of your cave. Hah :) The workers out in the front are all UCSD students and friendly, most of the time. Shout out to my home girl Jocelyn and broski Joel who worked here for a long time and always had welcoming smiles! read more

Whoops totally forgot that I wrote a review, but I feel the need to update because a lot is different. Customer service has gotten 100x better. Especially this worker named Stephanie, I think. She's the one with the cute red (or pink?) glasses. She's really nice and sweet. My drinks come out perfect every time. My order always comes out promptly. I love how there are always manager specials that vary from week to week. This location, just ilke the one on Regents, is very supportive of student orgs. My org came here with about 60 people, and the wait wasn't long at ALL. OHHHH and their crispy chicken got a lot better, too. =) They have basil in it now! This is my go-to place when I'm on campus. read more

Tap Ex on campus is alright. There have been several occasions where the syrup residue was still apparent in my drink (peach black tea, no boba), but then again, the workers are fellow students, so it's understandable. I got turned off by their crispy chicken after finding some gooey stuff inside of it, but I do like their calamari and fried tofu. Yes, they don't use fresh fruit in their drinks, but this place is one of the busiest places on campus, especially during lunch. What do you expect? read more

They raised the prices? Okay, well, I graduated from UCSD last year and I came back to study at Price Center (PC)... got a bit hungry and wanted some food so I decided Tapioca Express for some quick food (yeah, I had many other options at PC). Food was okay... was pretty much like how you'd expect some quick food from a tapioca/boba place to be like. I got their curry pork rice combo and it comes with a drink. I chose simple green tea which was pretty good if you like extremely sweet tea. Atleast I can still taste some tea in that drink. Sometimes I would get their Spring rolls :) Those are pretty good and they go "on-sale" after like.. 3pm? Service was not bad either; like any fast food place, they go by numbers when distributing people's orders. But it IS a fast food place so what kind of service do you really expect? I guess I can say that the workers all seem very friendly. :) Yet, I still can't give them full stars even though a lot of people I know work here because of their food~ Price. Sigh. They raised the prices for their eco-friendly material (no more Styrofoam). Yay planet, boo wallet. ): This place is OK, I would still come back here to lounge around with friends, to grab a milk tea, or to study/work (obviously the boba places down in SD can't compare to any in SGV or Norcal... yet). CHILL PLACE! :D Would come back for food only if I was desperate but will definitely come back for drinks! read more

Tip: Popcorn chicken meal is a little bit dry and not too satisfying in my experience.. Try the curry pork chop as the curry makes everything juicier. Or of course, you can just drown everything in sweet and sour sauce or Sriracha... And I'm sure you already know, but the on-campus TapEx at UCSD isn't exactly on par with off-campus TapEx'es in terms of overall food and service quality. Often, the cashiers and workers are stressed out college students who are working the part-time job to make some extra money, and I kind of feel sorry for them sometimes because it's always so busy :( But really, the reason you go to this TapEx is because you're craving Asian food that isn't Panda Express. And let's be real, eating at TapEx get's the job done. You feel relatively satisfied and full after a meal or drink, albeit wasn't super top-notch quality stuff - but what else can you do when you're stranded on campus because of classes and projects and assignments? The truth is this: Price Center's TapEx doesn't really need to increase their quality of food or service because students will always go to TapEx. We're hungry. We're stressed out. We're going to eat at TapEx regardless. So there you go.. read more

I've been coming to this Tapioca Express since it first open last year and it was only so-so to me. However, things have recently changed at this store since the end of the school year. Before, I really dislike their boil veggies, it had no FLAVOR. Recently, the store has made some changes to their food. They no longer serve those gross veggies, instead, they have a little salad with some oriental salad dressing. It taste so much better! Also, they put basil in their crispy chicken now, just like the Convoy store. There's got to be a reason why this store is more expensive than the one on Regents, I mean they're owned by the same people. I can kind of understand why. I mean its right in UCSD, so the rent has got to be really high or something. Anyways, I will definitely come back for Crispy chicken w/ basil! YUM! read more

I've eaten here twice in my undergraduate career, and each time I have done so, I have regretted it almost instantly. ---\\\Food- Short Rib Combo I ordered the Short Ribs Combo off their menu. For $8.50, you get about two scoops of rice, the short ribs, a serving of iceberg lettuce, and a fried potsticker. Quite frankly, it was disgusting. The salad was soggy and droopy-- probably sitting in their tray a day longer than it should have been. The potsticker was extremely dry and unseasoned. The short ribs on the other hand... was excruciatingly painful to eat. They were were doused in soy sauce, and were by far the fattest chunks of meat I have ever seen. Literally, half of the ribs were fat-- not meat. To top it all off, the ribs were absolutely burnt to a black crisp. I took one bite and almost lost a tooth. Utterly inedible ---\\\Service It's a pick up and go place in a food court. But, the cashiers are always super friendly. They took my order promptly, and didn't mind answering a few questions I had about the combo. Very nice customer service. ---\\\Final Count Food - F Service - A Overall Value - D To be honest, I have no idea how the owners here can send out food prepared the way that they do. I'd be ashamed. This establishment clearly thrives on college students who can't get off campus, or people stuck in Price Center studying. If you have any other option. I recommend taking it. read more

This used to be the only place on campus to get any boba before dlush came. I used to come here if I was in the area for some boba. I think that this is a good place for boba but the food portions are a bit small compared to other tapioca express places. And it's tough to come here if you weren't already on campus for something else because coming here just for boba is really hard considering the parking is far and the walk is also pretty far for a cup of boba. I usually order the crispy chicken also! But the chicken at this location isn't very good and there is not much. I like the sauces that are available on the side though. I also order the meal combos sometimes when I'm hungrier. I think the meals are good at traps express locations in general but this location is just some how not as good... There's a good location on regents that's more quiet and conductive to doing homework than the price center is (I find that PC is really crowded and loud). They also give more food I think. It's for the older crowd I feel like. read more

'Twas going to go to the VA cafeteria, but changed mi mind last minute. I got the chicken combo, grilled, mildly spicy. Should've gone medium just to make things interesting. The taste of the chicken was good. The fried dumpling I didn't much care for. Salad... was just OK. I actually don't like iceberg lettuce as a salad, prefer it in a burger. Being Asian, my tummy was comforted by the rice and chicken. I'm satisfied with that. I picked away at the salad going after the carrots. TapEx excels in the boba and milk tea department. My milk tea was very tasty. This is a much better lunch than a cafeteria. Glad I came here instead. read more

If you really want boba, it's always really nice to have somewhere on-campus that conveniently satisfies your craving. Service is usually quick and always friendly. Since they're open late-night, it's always great to have a snack while studying for midterms and finals. It's a bonus that they treat students well and they're always open until 1am during finals week! :) read more

Since I work at UCSD, it makes it very convenient to have lunch here. It is a nice addition to the selection of restaurants here. Come early when school is in session. Anywhere from 11:30 to maybe 2, don't bother coming unless you have some time. Gets way packed with students. Got the chicken steak curry chicken combo. I thought it was a bit pricey for what you were getting, but it did come with a black tea boba, which was really good. The food was average. Not bad, nothing fantastic. One other time I had the icy taro drink with boba and seemed a little bland. Over all an ok place to visit for lunch, snack or a refresher drink, but don't make a special trip out here. read more

Hi, my name is Ana and I am addicted to the Mango and Strawberry flavored Snow Bubble boba. Toward the end of this past Spring Quarter I was relying on one of these at least once a week. What Starbucks is to you, the Mango/Strawberry Snow Bubble is to me. I got some of my friends to try it out for the first time and they became addicts as well. What can I say? I had to have enablers... As for the food, to be honest, I never bother with it. I have tasted the chicken but never understood why people order it... The 4stars is for the great service and the amazing snow bubble! read more

I'm a sucker for their crispy chicken. So good that it must be bad for you.. And it's been proven! Every time I finish off an order of the crispy chicken, I end up feeling a bit nauseous and uneasy. Don't get me wrong - I've never gotten food poisoning, just... nauseated... But still... even though it makes me feel crappy afterwards, I always come back for more! o_____o read more

This tapex is horrible, even by your average tapex standards. It's the most inconsistent place I frequent by far. I'm glad the employees are happy working there, but I think it's rude to ignore people waiting in line while they chat with their friends. Their drinks are *always* mind-numbingly sweet. Even if you ask for less sugar, they'll still apparently dump in the same amount of sugar. I don't expect a lot from an on-campus location, but their boba is so undrinkable it's more appropriate as a glorified sweetener for black tea. The snacks are ok during peak hours, but old and cold at any other time. read more

"Why do I frequent this location? Convoy is only few miles away..." I question as I leave Tapex unsatisfied with my mediocre, chewy boba. The associates here need to be trained on their order accuracy and their guest service. The cashiers never smile. No friendliness or warmth whatsoever. At least plaster a decent fake smile on your damn face. Take caution when ordering a hot drink as well. They either forget to put the boba or make the drink lukewarm. Maybe I'll learn my lesson some day and never return here. Or maybe that'll happen on my graduation day. Who knows. read more

The food was okay. The Triton milk tea tasted like any regular milk tea you can buy at other places. The fries had some pepper even though I asked for only salt. Overall it was average. I just didn't like how they seasoned it. read more

Price value and quality are sub par. Only keep coming here because they're on campus. Pretty much all the student staff are rude and make it obvious. read more

Despite all of the negative things have to say about TapEx I actually don't mind their boba and food. The food could be better but it's not terrible. However... I went last night around 10:40-ish (Sunday Night) and this guy had a horrible attitude. As soon as I walked up to the counter he goes "We're only selling drinks." I was like okay thank you for the warm welcome. Then for a while I was looking at the Icy menu and he was like "we already put the blender away. We're only selling milk teas." At this point I'm fed up with his attitude. I get y'all are getting ready to close, but this is a whole 15-20 minutes (when we walked out it was 11:03 and we were standing there for a good 7 minutes before leaving) before y'all close and you saw me looking at the menu for about 5 minutes and didn't think to tell me that. "I finally was just like "Do y'all even have boba?" And he was like "No." Then I was like forget it and walked away. And he says "Welp we're closed now" as my friends and I are leaving. I'm very disappointed in the service. The service is usually hit or miss. You get some people who are extremely nice and some that are very rude like the guy from last night. All in all I do like their boba even though they're very stingy and give you like 15 balls max but I can easily take my services somewhere else and encourage others to do the same because the food and boba isn't good enough to be dealing with bad attitudes. read more

The workers are really friendly but the food is meh. The quality and amount of food they give varies every time I go. I usually order combo A (crispy chicken) with mild spice and the spiciness level changes every time. Sometimes there's barely any spice and other times its too spicy. The chicken can also be really dry at times. Considering how convenient it is located on campus, I guess its ok. But if you have the chance to go off campus, I suggest to go somewhere else for food. It will probably be cheaper and taste better too. read more

Tapioca Express is always good for a quick drink or snack! Service is fast and I've not been disappointed by any of the drinks I've ever gotten there. I do recommend the snow bubble drinks. They're fantastic and the perfect median between slushie and smoothie and the fruity flavors are perfect with the mango stars or rainbow jellies. I do love their chicken and tofu snacks too. read more

The boba was mediocre and the drinks were not living up to the hype however I will admit that the scenery and the vibe of the place was welcoming. I enjoy the great customer service that was offered. read more

Food: 2.5/5 Price: 3/5 Being the only boba store in UCSD, I guess I don't have that many options and room for complaints. It's definitely not the best boba I've had, but it's ok I guess... The drinks are typically very sweet but you can definitely adjust the sweetness when you order. They don't give you lots of boba either:( Ordered: * Chai Milk Tea with boba ($4) read more