I appreciated the quick service from the two ladies on shift around 5:30 pm tonight, but it was lacking in customer service. There was no greeting or smile. When it came to my order, we ordered two milk tea drinks. My order got messed up and I hate to cause an issue so my friend said "hey I think there was some confusion but she ordered taro milk tea" and the asian girl goes "well you should have checked the screen because that's what the ticket said." Honestly a bunch of things could have gone wrong, but the attitude off this employee was unnecessary. Overall, disappointed. read more

The extra spicy crispy chicken and tofu are soOoOo good. It's cheap, and gets you full. The staff are also really nice. Patrick was super friendly too. Thanks! read more

Worst experience ever. Ordered a combination plate with edamame but was not expecting the edamame to be ice cold. I have never had edamame to be ice cold most place it's nice and warm especially if the food you order with it is hot. I like the other tapioca expresses they have in San Diego only for the fact they are more accommodating to your needs. This place needs to step up its customers service and menu also. read more

I am giving this place 4 star for the food and 3 stars for the service. I am a die-hard boba fan. I practically grew up with this stuff since I was born and raised in China. With that being said, I am also pretty picky about the taste and consistency of my boba drinks. Overall, this place is pretty decent. Their boba has a nice chew to it and it's not overly cooked. My fav is the jasmine milk tea with boba. It has a slight bitterness and floral note to it because of the jasmine tea, but it's very refreshing and not overly sweet. I am addicted to the crispy chickens. They are always fresh, perfectly crispy and well seasoned. I do have to say this though, the overall quality of food at the Convoy store is much better. So is the service. The girls who work at the College store can be really rude and bitchy. They give off this "I hate my job, hurry the fuck up and order your stuff" vibe. They get frustrated easily and look irritated when you ask them questions. KNOW what you want to order and have your money ready before you get in the line, better yet , before you even get inside the store! That way you won't feel like you just ruined their day for making them wait... :D..... Also do not EVER tell them they got your order wrong. Those girls know how to do kungfu with their Asian eyerolls. read more

DO NOT GO HERE!!! the customer service is absolutely horrible. the manager of the store got our order wrong, and then proceeded to tell us that he wouldn't make us our correct drink unless we paid the price of another drink!! what kind of establishment does that? absolutely ridiculous. we told them they could keep their drink and walked out of the store. we will NOT be coming here again! read more

Came here with a friend and was greeted with a smile, also very friendly interaction through the whole process, very genuine definitely

Been here twice so far and I love their teas'. Customer service is friendly and efficient. They have a huge selection of boba and blended (snow bubble) teas, coffee and teas' alone. A must try is the fried chicken, the flavors are bomb.com! If you're looking for boba nation then this is place to try. read more

Dope Boba at a reasonable price. Tried the lychee, the coconut, and the vanilla cookie. A large drink will run you about ~4 bucks

By far the worst Tapioca express I have been to. The one in National City is soooo much better. First they did not have much variety on their menu, second their crispy chicken and calamari were horrible. The signature flavor was so faint and nonexistent the food was flavorless. The calamari looked and tasted raw. The sweet and sour sauce looked watered down. Lastly my husband's caramel milk tea was disgustingly overloaded with caramel and when he asked for something different they still charge him for it even after making such a disgusting drink. The only good thing I can say is the mango snow bubble was descent. Next time I will drive the extra 10 minutes and go to the one in National City which their food is amazing and they have a wider variety. read more

I've been here a couple times for boba and each time I have never had any issues. I wish their menu was bigger, but I do love their current flavors! Business seems to be going great, as there are almost always no available indoor seating left. What would get this place a fifth star from me is if they had some sort of loyalty program - a stamp card, point rewards card maybe? 5 bucks a pop should surely justify such a thing! :) read more

They have wifi but will not give customers a password. Weird. What this is all about, I'll never know. OK; got that out of the way. The tapioca milk tea is pretty darn good here. And at $2.98 it's the best quality for the best price around. The spicy chicken is good too. Unfortunately the SDSU/College location does not have AC, so it's not super relaxing in the summer. There are 2 or 3 outdoor table that do offer pretty excellent people watching though. read more

Most of the workers are friendly, almost like sour patch kids. There's one guy though, I think his name is Jake. Now that guy is a tropical Starburst. His attitude is juicy, but solid. Nah mean? They lose a star cause only one person knows how to make the water icy that i want. read more

I've gone here a few times, just whenever my craving for boba and milk tea kicks in. The pricing is reasonable but the staff are rude and unpleasant. Attitude just completely ruins the experience for me personally. The tables and chairs are left dirty and misaligned, the restroom is never in service and the windows are terribly stained. read more

This is my number one boba place whenever I am at my cousin's house. It's the closest one and I love it. Only because I love boba!! I usually get the milk tea here with popcorn chicken (mild). I'm impressed how they give out ranch for sauce bc back home it's just the sweet&sour. read more

I'm in love with the crispy chicken combo. You can get milk tea instead of regular tea for a little more. Honestly filling enough for two people. Yum, yum, yum! Was my go to place in high school, their cream cheese wontons, French fries, and again, crispy chicken. All made when ordered. Some of my favorite drinks include their chocolate chai tea latte, taro snow bubble, and hazelnut milk tea. read more

Great place to spot by to grab a treat after work. Loved the friendly staff who made the new experience run smoothly by recommending drinks.

Tap Ex, same as any other store in their franchise. Ordered taro milk tea and regular milk tea with boba. Taro milk tea was really creamy. Asked for little ice and little sugar and noticed they didn't fill up the full cup before sealing. Not sure if there's a line they fill to for the ice or they just short me 1 inch of milk tea because they're slammed? Overall there's no complaint here but at the same time, it's not the best boba milk tea I've had in the area. Tap Ex is always the quick fix go to because it's everywhere. read more

Love the original ladies who've worked here since they opened/summer time... Lauren, Nicole, Tiffany, Lexy, & Jeanie!!!!! They always get my order right and offer the most friendly service. My new fave has been Green Apple Green Tea w/ Lychee Jelly. Bomskis. See you guys in a few days! read more

Great for a snack. Only real problem I have here is finding parking and the street people trying to sell things. The Chicken snacks are awesome. They have these new desert shots great to. I like the cheesecake one. I rotate all the flavors of my drinks and always get boba. I was in the area it's not the closet one to my house but it's the first one I know of so I sometimes make the trip here. read more

Sure, their regular milk tea tastes like chocolate but at least we always get fresh boba! Poor store design though, always hard to tell who is and who isn't in line... and they always have strange TV shows on. Once it was some old, old kung fu movie. Another time was like funniest home videos, but in German. The staff is typically nice; at least we haven't had a horrible experience yet. read more

Unbelievably rude, Worst customer service I have ever had. The girls behind the counter got an attitude with me and made me feel like I was a bother. Don't waste your time, there are plenty of places that sell boba tea and will treat their customers right. read more

Every time I go here it's a good experience then then again I get my drink and I'm seeing.a lot of reviews that the staff isn't friendly but when I've gone they spark up conversation! My main go to is snobubble: mango, thai tea, & their crispy chicken never fails read more

After a long shift at Petco Park we were craving some ice cream so we ended up going to a plaza in El Cajon. Surprisingly this Tapioca Express was right next door and it was favored more amongst the group. Parking was not an issue at all, rather big plaza with a big lot. Being from LA I have been to multiple Tapioca Express. The same order I usually get back home compared to here was a 1.50$ difference. Having a full staff, my order still took quite a bit compared to LA. Quality was the same, probably a bit more on the sweeter side. My opinion is I think it really comes down to the staff members, in the LA area since it's been around longer they are more up to speed. I do enjoy Tapioca Express but I prefer to get my orders through the one back on SGV. read more

This place is usually on point, but today I ordered 2 regular drinks with boba and 2 large drinks double boba. I gave the ordered twice and the attendant read the order out loud to me and her co-workers exactly correct, but once I walked all the way to my car in the pouring rain, I find my large drink without ANY boba! All the other drinks had the correct boba, but not mine. So I go back in thru the pouring rain to tell them to add my boba and the girl working argued with me and said she "didn't charge me for boba"...and her point was that she made two mistakes? I proceeded to say that I still wanted double boba. Her and her coworkers continued to stare at me like any of this is my fault? They demanded I pay them for it, so I reluctantly did...when I left I realized in the very beginning I tipped them $5 on my $20 order...I should have made the worker take it out of their tips. may be a while before I'm back, and if I do go back I prob won't tip. BEST PART OF STORY: the boba tea all tasted good as well as our spicy crispy chicken. read more

I ordered the calamari ring snacks to go. One mild and the other one non-spicy. But that's not what I got at all. I got one bag of popcorn chicken and the other one was super spicy calamari rings. The place wasn't even busy for them to mess up my order. There is no reasonable excuse for this mistake. Since I took it to go, I didn't realized that my order was wrong until I got home. Now I'm stuck with something I don't even want. I shouldn't have the need to double check my order but I guess if you go to this place you have to double check everything because people are so incapable of doing their job right. I don't recommend this place and I don't think I'll come here again. read more

Food is ok here. It's not the same as the convoy location. The calamari isn't the same, you don't get the egg, ground beef, or the steamed veggies. Instead with the meals you get pickled veggies and nibblets. What's so special about nibblets?The only food item that tastes the same is the chicken snack, but I'm going to take the trip up to convoy from now on. Service is great though! read more

Closest boba joint to SDSU. I come hear as a weekly routine. I always get the Strawberry banana snow bubble or the honeydew snow bubble. The drinks come out pretty fast depending on how busy it is. Have not had a bad experience thus far. read more

This franchise has higher prices than other locations but cheapened out on everything. Granted, Tapioca Express isn't considered top notch by any means but the owners seriously compromised on quality here. Boba was stale. Milk tea watery sugar. "Ranch" was disgusting. No idea what brand it was as it was pre filled into clear plastic sauce cups. Crispy chicken was on the small side with 1 basil leaf and no spice. ( I ordered spicy). They charge $7.50 for their combos when they serve canned corn and peas as sides.. Smh. Cashier was also incredibly slow.. Drive 15 minutes to the Tapioca Express in Convoy. It's so much better!!! read more

Although this place is closer for me, Convoy location's calamari rice meal tastes 10x better. -The calamari batter is not the same -They give half the quantity of calamari -The side dishes are cold as if they came right out of the can... -Missing the half egg and ground pork on top of the rice If this is a franchise, they gotta be more consistent with the other chains.. Id rather drive a little further (to Convoy), wait in line, and be a happier with my food. They get 2 stars for making the drink alright...was a bit sweet. read more

I came in when a lady was complaining about her drink hadnt been done right, then all the girls just try to focus on the wrong drink,after the lady left, the cashier just walk away without notice that i have been there to wait for them for a while! So disappointed at their unprofessional services! read more

Slow, unhappy employees, small, claustrophobic, and the store doesn't seem welcoming. Tapx on convoy way better. Went here because it was close to my house but now convoy is worth the drive. read more

I came here with my cousin because we wanted boba. I ordered a green apple snow bubble, the cashier was nice, and even though It was super busy we got our drinks faster than me expected. Our boba was better than we expected because of some of the bad reviews, it was delicious, definitely coming back here. read more

I have been in the neighborhood and I LOVE how they were open late! I came in around 10pm on a Friday. I had a craving for milk tea and the staff there got me in and out quick! So convenient being located by SDSU and my tea was superb. Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my stomach. read more

Nice spot to grab a refreshing drink. I love there dumplings and calamari. I get them spicy and it's delicious!

Every boba drinker knows that Tapioca Express is for people who don't know good boba or for people who want a quick fix. I was in the area for lunch and decided to try it with a friend since he never had it before. I warned him that this place was terrible, but was like "I'll give it a chance." I ordered a Jasmine Green Tea, thinking "how hard is it to mess up such a basic drink?" Waited like 10 mins for my drink. When I sipped it, I gagged. I got high blood pressure. I got clinical depression. My grandma called me and told me how disappointed she was in me. My friend tried it and spat it out in a napkin. You guys a Jasmine Green Tea. A freaking Jasmine Green Tea and they messed it up so bad that if I dumped out the cup, pissed in it, and drank my own urine it would've tasted better I swear to God. But the bathroom was out of order so I couldn't do that. If you like drinking pure trash Tapioca Express is the place for you! read more

I always come here for a boba fix. I usually get a jasmine milk tea or a honey milk tea and I haven't had any complaints about them. Every once and awhile I order a snow bubble but like half of those times, my boba has been hard in the snow bubble. I don't know whether it's because it wasn't cooked well or because of the coldness of the snow bubble lol. I also love their crispy chicken and squid balls! Those are like heaven in a bag. I wish they had some type of loyalty card though and possibly free wifi but overall it's a fab place that's nearby! read more

Terrible honey dew drink. A real place would make it green and slushy. This one came out like regular milk tea with couple pumps of honey dew flavoring and topped off with ice cubes. Ice cubes? Never coming back. read more

Taro snow with boba..not bad, woulda liked it more thicker consistency,was melting already when I got it...overall tastes as expected..

I don't know why people are such haters, sure this place isn't the same as Convoy, but I sure like it! It's really small inside (3-4 tables) but never gets super packed anyways. Instead of a hectic environment filled with teeny boppers, it's much more calm, clean & diverse. Great for take out or coming with a friend or two (not large parties, and no board games). The staff is usually college students that are extremely courteous and helpful (mostly cute girls work there as my fellow male companions like to point out!) My orders have always came out within a few minutes as well. The drink menu is much more limited than the convoy location, but I usually just order my regular Thai Tea with boba and enjoy it very much! Not overly sweet and I can taste more of the tea, so I guess it's more of a preference thing. For me, the biggest and pretty crucial downfall is the food combos. It doesn't come with the egg, and ground beef (aka the point of even getting a combo)!! So just save your money and get the regular snack item. Oh yeah, and I still think the whole menu is way too overpriced for what you're getting (but this is true for ALL boba shops). Large Thai tea boba and crispy chicken snack will cost ya around $8.50. All in all, I would still come here after school or whenever I'm lazy to drive since the location is x1000 more convenient. read more

Tapioca Express - Crispy Chicken Combo. Mac salad and corn sucked. Just get the chicken snack - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

I had the crispy chicken combo. Not a bad deal along with a drink. The black tea was good. Pretty standard. The crispy chicken was pretty good also. But the thing that made the combo less than stellar is the sides that come with it. I had a side of corn that looks like canned corn. Also they gave you a side if edamame. Except the edamame was still cold. I wish I could rate them higher because of my love the their other locations but this one is just average at best. I'll probably come back for the crispy chicken but not their combos. The drinks are nice though. But with competition just across the street now, they have to really step up their game. read more