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    Tapioca Express

    3.5 (310 reviews)
    Open 9:00 am - 11:00 pm
    Updated 2 weeks ago

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    Coffee boba
    Miguel C.

    Food is unique and tasty. Great find on UC San Diego's campus. I need more time to review the menu next time.

    Peach Italian soda and an Almond slush
    Trevor T.

    Really good drinks. Ordered a peach Italian soda and wife had an Almond slush. Feels like the perfect place to hang out with a language learning group or if you want to play some board games with buddies. Very chill vibe in here. I tried to pay with cash and they were like "just use your card. It's easier." Fine by me! Next to Leucadia pizza which is my jam!

    combo #9

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    1 month ago

    yummy, i like the drinks here. The food is always filling too. get the combo 1 and the passion fruit green tea

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    Alan H.

    Thank you very much for your review. It is very much appreciated!

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    1 month ago

    The Thai tea bubble tea was delicious and rich. Definitely a refreshing drink I'd order again!

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    Alan H.

    Thank you very much for your review. It is very much appreciated!

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    1 month ago

    The food was fantastic and the service was on point. The wait times are very short and the staff friendly.

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    Alan H.

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    1 month ago

    Food comes out fast and easy to access since it's on campus. Takes triton cash too! Highly recommend the crispy tofu and avocado snow bubble

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    Alan H.

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    1 month ago

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    Alan H.

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    1 month ago

    Great customer service! Their service is quick and the food and boba is so good. I recommend their popcorn chicken and triton milk tea :)

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    Alan H.

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    1 month ago

    Super tasty bubble teas and fast service! Very nice workers as well as good tasting food

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    Alan H.

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    29 days ago

    I like the drinks and the popcorn chicken, and the staff is always very friendly :) The best boba spot on campus for sure

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    Alan H.

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    30 days ago

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    Alan H.

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    30 days ago

    Tapioca express has very good fried tofu. Can be too spicy/salty for some people though

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    Alan H.

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    30 days ago

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    Alan H.

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    1 month ago

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    Alan H.

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    1 month ago

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    Alan H.

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    1 month ago

    I come here after my classes and the food is always great! love the drinks and the chicken.

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    Alan H.

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    9 months ago

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    Alan H.

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    1 month ago

    this is my favorite spot to eat on campus! great study spot and the food is tasty. my favorite items are the chicken wings and the calamari!

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    Alan H.

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    1 month ago

    awesome spot which is open pretty late! great service, food was scurmptious. julie sun is the goat

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    Alan H.

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    1 month ago

    fav place on campus for a snack ! the staff are so nice & i like studying there too !

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    Alan H.

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    28 days ago

    the best food at ucsd! i love the beef short ribs so many food choices too love it!!!!

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    Alan H.

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    30 days ago

    the manager's special bowl is one of the best food items on ucsd campus, and the service is always great

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    Alan H.

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    1 month ago

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    Alan H.

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    1 month ago

    the drinks here are pretty average, it's convenient that it's on campus for students. popcorn chicken is probably my favorite

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    Alan H.

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    1 month ago

    i love tapex, yum! i like the thai tea blended one. havent tried food but heard its okay.

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    Alan H.

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    30 days ago

    great boba!! service good and french fries really good!!!! the ambiance is pretty nice as well, easy to get

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    Alan H.

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    1 year ago

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    Alan H.

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    9 months ago

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    1 year ago

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    1 year ago

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    Alan H.

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    2 years ago

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    Alan H.

    Thank you for your kind words Emily! It's very much appreciated!

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    4 years ago

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    Page 2 of 8

    Ask the Community - Tapioca Express

    Are there non dairy options like almond milk?

    Most of our Milk Teas are actually made with a non-dairy creamer. For the drinks that do contain… Read more

    Do you accept apple pay?

    They do! They take Samsung Pay as well.

    Do they accept gift cards or gift certificates?

    Yes, we accept Tapioca Express gift certificates. They're in $5 denominations.

    Do they allow you to bring your reusable cups for boba tea?

    Hi Grace, Yes, you are welcomed to bring your own reusable cup.… Read more

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    La Colombe Coffee Roasters

    4.0
    (327 reviews)
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    Awesome place! The coffee and pastries were outstanding! They have this beautiful outdoor patio…read morearea right next to a fountain. I sat there with my friends for hours drinking our coffee and playing cards. The baristas were great and made my coffee in a mug when I asked. The perfect shopping break!

    La Colombe Coffee Roasters (Westfield UTC)Rating: (2/5)The Experience:While the outdoor setting…read morenext to the mall's koi pond is beautiful, the actual product simply does not justify the outrageous premium cost. It functions as an upscale kiosk with standard outdoor mall seating, making it feel less like a true specialty coffee shop and more like an overhyped pitstop. The Coffee:The espresso drinks are incredibly overpriced, frequently pushing past $7 for a single beverage. For that price point, you expect a flawless, complex flavor profile. Instead, the espresso tastes completely average, falling flat and lacking any distinct richness. Paying a steep premium just to get a lukewarm drink served without ice is frustrating. Service and Food:The staff moves the line quickly, but the menu lacks flexibility. $7 for a chocolate cookie or pastry?! On top of the high base prices, expect to pay steep upcharges for standard customizations like milk alternatives or extra flavor. To make matters worse, they cannot even warm up their expensive pastries, leaving you with a cold croissant to match an overpriced coffee.

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    Parfait Paris

    Parfait Paris

    4.6
    (142 reviews)
    1.5 mi

    It's our third time ordering desserts and would always be back even though prices are on the higher…read moreside. Ordered our usual take out: Carrot cake, Le Noisette, and French Pudding. All were deliciously! Great spot when looking for a delicious dessert/pastries while in UTC. Courteous staff on duty. Highly recommended!

    TLDR - All style, some substance. Everything from the exterior to the foods exudes a beautiful…read moreaesthetic but the quality aside from looks does not justify the price when there are comparable and more price appropriate dessert/sweets/cafes within a 2 minute walk Parfait Paris is an adorable patisserie/cafe at the utc Westfield. The staff is friendly, anything you buy looks gorgeous and the inside is immaculate. Ambience 9/10 Lunar New Year Croissant Described as a croissant filled with sesame and almond paste, this is a good but not great croissant. It has the layers, it has the chew, but it's no better than a croissant you would get at a number of other bakeries in the area. But those other bakeries are charging $4-7 instead of $10! The almond and sesame flavors were both very subtle and make me believe there is just a very minimal amount used in the recipe. Would not recommend even as a chewy over crispy croissant guy. 5/10 Creme brûlée latte Pretty much what I wanted without description. Creamy, noticeable but not overpowering vanilla flavor, and a lovely burnt topping for bitter balance. The coffee still comes through meaning this is a well crafted latte, not a dessert. This one actually comes at a pretty decent price too. 8/10 Yuzu & lime tart Their take on meringue pie is composed of a graham crust, yuzu mousse, and a meringue topper with a circle of lemon curd gel. To my taste, there is too much sweet on this plate, needing some balance of tart. But the textures of each component were on point: fluffy meringue, thick lemon gel, dense crust, and substantial yet airy mousse. Torching the meringue at home added a bitter element which I think made the sweetness more palatable. Would have liked the citrus to be more present. 5/10. All in all I would choose other sweets shops at most shopping centers than return here but for drinks this is a pretty good option.

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    Parfait Paris
    Parfait Paris
    Iced Berry Matcha is soooo gorgeous! And yummy!

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    Iced Berry Matcha is soooo gorgeous! And yummy!
    BenGong's Tea

    BenGong's Tea

    3.8
    (315 reviews)
    1.7 mi
    $$
    Locally owned & operated
    10 years in business

    Came here to try Bengong's Tea in UTC for the first time. Most of the boba spots I've tried before…read morehave been Taiwanese, so I believe this is the first Chinese-style boba shop I've been to. The storefront is nice, and there's a decorative tree where you can hang notes with your wishes, which is a fun touch. They also had a random pop-up press-on nail setup inside, which was unexpected but interesting. We ordered the special boba milk tea and the jasmine boba milk tea, both with golden boba. I usually order light ice and 50-75% sugar. The special boba milk tea was sweet and tasty, and the boba itself was semi-sweet, but the tea didn't taste especially fresh. The jasmine milk tea, on the other hand, was more subtle in sweetness and tasted noticeably fresher and cleaner. One thing I did notice was inconsistency in the boba texture--some pearls were quite firm while others were very soft--which made it feel like there may have been a mix of freshness levels. Overall, pretty good tea, but a bit of a mixed experience when it comes to ingredient freshness and consistency.

    They have a wide variety of drink options to choose from. During my visit, I decided to try some of…read moretheir most popular items: the Black Milk Tea with boba and the Passion Fruit Super Fruit Cup. Overall, I found their drinks to be on the sweeter side, so I would definitely recommend adjusting the sweetness level to your preference when ordering. The Passion Fruit Super Fruit Cup was my favorite, it was refreshing, flavorful, and perfect for a warm day. The Black Milk Tea was decent, but it wasn't quite what I was looking for. Personally, I prefer a stronger tea flavor, and I felt that the tea notes were a bit too mild compared to the sweetness. The boba had a good texture, though, and the drink was still enjoyable. I would definitely come back, especially to explore more of their fruit tea options. If you enjoy refreshing and fruity drinks, this is a great spot to check out.

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    BenGong's Tea
    BenGong's Tea
    BenGong's Tea

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    Arteazen Handcrafted Tea

    Arteazen Handcrafted Tea

    3.9
    (236 reviews)
    1.9 mi
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    Free WiFi

    What we ordered | Rose milk tea…read more Taste | strong rose flavor and had some rose petals in the drink Service | drinks came out fast Parking | plaza Notes | order through kiosk

    We stopped in one evening for some after dinner drinks. Liquid dessert so to speak. Have to be…read moretruthful - wasn't a good experience. Started off good though. Lots of parking. In a plaza that appeared to be slow or dead leaving lots of space. I parked almost in front - just off to the side. Walk in and it's order at a kiosk. I get automation as it's something I do, I've done and will do as times change. However, I had questions and ended up just ordering something else as there was no human interaction to answer me. Place is deceivingly small - there are a bunch of seating - I wouldn't go in with a large group but definitely places to sit, chat or work on your laptop (saw several students? hammering away on their laptop keyboard). Not sure, but maybe they also offer WIFI.? Drinks seems watered down in my opinion. And I've ordered the same drinks at other locations and either the ingredients were off or it was prepared differently that didn't quite align to my expectations and taste. However, place was busy so maybe it's just how it's served as business was steady and I saw a few order the same as what I got. Don't live in the area so highly unlikely that there will be a return visit.

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    Korean Strawberry Milk
    Korean Strawberry Milk
    Matcha Oreo Brûlée with Boba
    Matcha Oreo Brûlée with Boba
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    Black Sugar Boba Latte

    Tapioca Express - coffee - Updated July 2026

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