They have to have one of the best made bobas in town. I love coming here, especially in the hot summer days. Not only do the have boba, but they also have great food. I go for the boba though. Parking sucks, but they are close to so many Asian restaurants. Highly recommend this place if you are craving boba. read more

Tapioca Express - Avocado is a must try! Guava was great! strawberries with my coconut, strawberry and chocolate mint. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

My Milk Tea tastes like it has mocha in it. I'm picky because I lived in Hong Kong and while this isn't excellent to me, I still come back for the novelty of having milk tea. the struggle. read more

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

Many choices! Wide selection. I ordered a Matcha Milk Tea with half the sugar the matcha taste was quite good. I was so overwhelmed by the choices they had available. Solid boba spot. There was plenty of seating and does not seem like a bad place to just chat with friends, study, or do some work. read more

Ive gone to this place a few times and have never had any problems with my order. Recently , ordered crispy chicken and to my surprise their was calamari at the bottom of the bag. IM ALLERGIC TO SQUID. If I had wanted calamari then I would have ordered it. Guy played it off like it was nothing and offered to make me a new one but I'm still upset by the fact that they were so careless. PSA: please check what you order at this place read more

I enjoyed the crispy chicken snack that I ate here yesterday. Perfect amount of seasoning. At Tapioca Express they ask you how spicy would you like the chicken to be. My order & drink were ready within 5 minutes. I really like sweet tea, but the iced black tea with peach was even too sweet for me. Next time I'll ask about a tea's sweetness level before ordering. A neighboring table of four people giggled with happiness when a employee asked to take their picture for the Boba Wall. read more

Tapioca Express - Crispy Chicken Snack with sweet n' sour sauce & iced black tea with peach. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

I've been going there for years!!! They have a lots of variety of flavors and we can customize on our own. I always get crispy tofu and fried chicken. I've had fried chicken at other boba place but their quality is better than others. I like Matcha snow bubble with mango jelly yummmm read more

Not the greatest experience being first time visitors. Decided to try this place but the cashier around 6pm tonight was extremely rude. When asking questions, he sounded irritated and gave short answers. Didn't assist in trying to offer options or suggestions. Drinks were ok and not memorable. read more

This place is all right, sometimes the workers can be a little slow but that's only due to the fact that this is one of the most busy tapioca express locations in San Diego. The other one that's located in the UTC area isn't quite as busy due to the fact that it's located in more of a suburban region, while this location is kind of in the center/hub of all the shops. You will find bad most likely if you're trying to come to the establishment at night time because the place is crowded with other shops therefore parking is very limited, try to lay off your horn and not be like me in that aspect. read more

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

This place is really neat decorated, but in the back by the restrooms there's a whole bunch of junk. The decor and everything else is really nice, pretty snazzyyy for a boba place. It is like always packed here whenever I go. Although, the wait isn't too bad. They're still pretty quick and your food or boba still comes out great. The boba is so delicious~ Or snow bubble lol. The boba here is so good and worth the wait when they're super packed. The food is pretty good too, but I usually just get a drink. read more

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

Hands down MY favorite OG Boba place. Love their White Mocha w/ boba. Two great things combined in one amazing drink. Coffee + Boba = Yum! Other places use some weird creamer base in ALL their drinks. Yuck! This place makes each drink individually with the right ingredients. Yummy in the tummy! read more

Tapioca Express - Taro snow bubble w/ coconut jelly, Thai Tea snow bubble, Honey Dew and my White Mocha :) - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Fair price. Fair taste. Fair size. Everyone's go-to boba stop. Although there's nothing too unique at TapEx, I see it like the McDonald's concept. You know it's nothing innovative, but at every branch, the food will have consistent taste, servings, and size. If it's your first time, the popcorn chicken is a must-try. If you like spicy, make sure to get extra spice and ask for ranch. read more

Tapioca Express - Extra spicy popcorn chicken with fried basil - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Average taste. Slow service. Visit here several times. Try every snack on the menu and so far popcorn chicken and calamari are far the best. 4/5 for clean boba place. Staffs work with slow speed. -PT- read more

This used to be the spot when I was in High School. I rarely stop by here anymore just because there are other places to get quality boba without having to deal with super loud music and horrendous parking situation. I think their drinks are just OK. They even ran out of boba on saturday night. Overall, I would only come here if I was in the plaza eating elsewhere and crave for boba after or if my cravings for popcorn chicken really kicks in.... read more

Clean location and probably the largest Tapioca Express I've been to. Lots of tables. I just ordered a Thai milk tea with boba and I was satisfied. It is hard to compare this location to other boba tea places in San Diego because I have not visited alot of them. Thus I can't rate it higher. Great location next to the Crab Hut, tea and dessert is right next door at the Tapioca Express. Limited parking. read more

I've had their popcorn chicken before so I got that, and then this time I decided to try their tofu. I asked for spicy but you can get non spicy. I gotta day I've never tried spicy tofu and theirs is pretty great! Definitely blown away by how tasty this little snack was I'll definitely be back for more! :) read more

See all

I had been coming here for 9+ years when I used to live in San Diego. I just moved back. I came out of nostalgia today. The girl who now works at the register seems to hate her job there. Any response she had to my questions had a resounded tone like there was a large wad stuck up her butt and when I said, "Thank you," for my order at the end she ROLLED HER EYES. That's when I decided to say something. I would have gladly given this place my business forever until the end of time because I love this place but because of the horrible customer service I received today-- f** this place. I'll find a new boba place to fall in love with from now on. read more

Prelims 2/5: Parking. Is. Atrocious. Whoever designed this lot should be cast into a fiery lake of burning sulfur. As a result, parking on the street has become utterly congested, so good luck if you want to eat in this plaza. Ambiance, lighting, decor is the same all the other tapioca express's throughout San Diego - modern asian themed with giant televisions playing overly annoying asian pop music videos. Food/Drinks 3/5: Boba is perfectly acceptable. The milk tea is perfectly acceptable. Neither will break the bank, nor will it leave you regretting buying it (although that can't be said if you're lactose - but you knew what you were getting. It says MILK tea). But compared to the cascade of other milk tea joints all up and down convoy, this place falls squarely in the middle. So if you're craving milk tea and you just ate dinner in a restaurant in the same plaza, this place won't disappoint the cravings. I've gotten their plates, which are very average. Most of the food is quite generic. They also tend towards spicy, so if you can't handle the heat, emphasize it. Service 3/5: Nothing extraordinary. Sometimes they mishear what you order, so make sure they got the right order. You can call it in and they'll make it to pick up, which is a nice option. And pay attention for your name - they don't scream it, so unless you're right there staring into their soul as they prepare your drink, you might miss it. TL;DR Average average average read more

The service here is absolutely poor. I walked in and both workers just looked at me. Very uncomfortable.... 93% of communication is non verbal and let me tell you I didn't feel welcome. Management please tell your employees to at least pretend they enjoy their job because I love me some chicken but the experience is not even worth it at this point read more

Went there with some friends... Sat down and on the wall bunch of ants. Like a stream of 50 ants INSIDE of the place. The worst part, I tell the clerk and don't give a shit. She just says "weird, we never have ants..." Well you have ants and you should go and inspect it. What a joke!! read more

This tapioca has always been my favorite out of all of them in San Diego. I would say that they are the most original one. Everything else taste so different! I was so satisfied with the Calamari combo here. Everything was perfect! I know it's not exactly a sit down restaurant with servers but the quality of the combo looked like they sort of took their time. At other places they just throw everything in there. There's been times where my veggies would still be cold. But TapEx on convoy is absolutely my favorite! And the cashiers are very nice and so helpful. I was happy with my lunch today! read more

So I ordered the chicken battered combo last week, the chicken was a good size. I ordered today about 30 minutes ago and received this size chicken. I literally asked the workers there. Would u be happy if u received something like this? The combos cost me 9 dollars. What am I supposed to do with this drum stick?? Nibbled on it? The cashier ended up giving me a full refund, and I'm usually not the type who yelps or complain, but this was ridiculous. I asked other ppl opinion too, and they felt the same. They would have been mad. Today disappointment made me think rather to come back and buy food from here maybe the drinks but never again food. read more

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

I came in last night to order drinks and crispy chicken. I asked for mild, but the service gave us EXTRA spicy (we didn't realized after we got home). Please pay attention next time read more

TapEx is easiest to say with a mouthful of boba. Too many syllables otherwise. Possibly, I'm just getting on in my years, but is it just me - but it's loud in here, or kids have bigger voices. What? I feel compelled to use the biodome and elephant penis straw that contains my boba drink from the outside world as a hearing device. Friend - J, can you hear me?! J. - Yeah, it's 9:00 pm. Friends - o.O Nommers are the avocado shakes. I do have a desire to come back and try the "snacks" here. The parking lot leaves nothing to be desired. I really shouldn't review the parking lot since it was there before TapEx (mouthful of boba) moved in, but it does contribute to the TapExPerience. Compact parking spaces for cars the saize of my ass blow. read more

To paraphrase Melly Su's FB status the last time we came here: The girl sitting across from me is eating with hello kitty chops sticks while talking in Spanish on her cell phone. Yes, that would be me.....talking to my mom ;D Out of all the boba places I have gone to and tend to frequent, Tap Ex has the best food, namely the spicy crispy chicken....serious noms! Tip: Never get the spiciest level for the chicken or tofu....it's very spicy, even for people who pride themselves on being able to handle spice. I always get the medium. Their boba is good, but I would choose other boba spots if it weren't for their food. It's definitely one of the more eclectic places to get a boba fix. It is more varied in respect to age and ethnicity/race of the people who come in. One major gripe, the wireless internet never seems to work here. wtf, mang? =/ smaller gripes: the cushioned seating is kinda dirty looking and the tables are sometimes dirty, even during slow times. read more

I come here for the Matcha Snow Bubble w/o boba. Excellent drink with just the right about of sweetness and tea flavor. I think they use green tea ice cream to make it, not just powder, milk, and ice like some other places. The reason I give this place only 3 stars is atmosphere. Can this place be any louder? I don't mind it being loud due to just people talking to one another. But they keep the music too loud and the blenders have no covers to deaden the noise they make, it's way too loud. I have to use my 6 foot voice just to talk to someone 6 inches away. To the people with the Fast and Furious cars that always park in handicap. Your not that cool or special. Go park on the street like everyone else. Take my advice, park on a side street and take your order to go. read more

I don't know why I bother going to a place that puts a choking hazard -- for an extra charge -- inside their drinks. Those stupid tapioca balls are so chewy (which I can't stand), but the life-threatening aspect of "the balls" are what really get me. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, though. The place is called "Tapioca Express." I just didn't realize that the "express" meant "an express highway to my own death." The few times I have been, I have gotten the Thai Iced Tea. Unlike other "Thai events" that happen on Convoy Street, there is rarely a happy ending at Tapioca Express...unless I consider still living some sort of silver lining. I'm still deciding. read more

I must've missed the memo cause I accidentally walked into the set of "Fast and Furious IV". I felt like (and probably was) the oldest person there. That' sorta tells you what the ambiance is like - crowded and a little rowdy. There are a lot of young Asian kids just hanging out, many of whom haven't yet reached the legal drinking age so the next best thing for them is supposedly lining up and downing tapioca drinks then let out an ear piercing laugh like it somehow affected their body's chemistry. I guess that's fun if you just swallowed a lot of boba. All of it just rolling around your tummy like a pinball machine gone haywire. For me, I would probably want to go to the bathroom by then. But its all good. I'm not gonna be a grouch. At least their not sitting on the porch smokin bud, drinking 40's, start Crip walking down the sidewalk kicking empty trash bins and causing trouble with the elderly. Anyway, the drinks at Tap Express are not extraordinary. You can get the same at any tea or yogurt shop around the corner and you don't even have to wait. read more

I came here two nights in a row for their scrumptious popcorn chicken. The spicy chili pepper powder wasn't spicy at all but addicting as heck. Best midnight or later snack. Definitely ask for sweet and sour sauce. Their jasmine milk tea was too strong for me, but it's ok I'll let it slide cause their popcorn chicken is da bomb. Service friendly. read more

I used to work at this place... so I believe my opinion has a lot of validity. First of all, they have some of the best honeydew, avocado, strawberry, mango, thai tea, and taro snowbubbles (creamy shakes) I've ever tried. They use real fruit and ice cream for these drinks. Their icy's (slushy-like drinks) are good too, but can sometimes be on the sweet side, but then again, what boba shop ISN'T too sweet? Teas are good, but can sometimes lack the tea taste and become overpowered by sugar. It really varies sometimes. They could work on the consistency. I think what makes this place really stand out is the fact that they have other add-ons that you can put in your drink BESIDES BOBA. They have all different types of jellies, fruit, and pudding. Try their EGG PUDDING WITH A MILK TEA (I know egg pudding sounds gross to you guys who are unfamiliar... but seriously... super delicious). Food? Phenomenal for a boba shop. They have vastly improved over the years and it's not as oily as it used to be. I recommend the Chinese sausage, chicken, calamari and cream cheese wontons. Aww man... I just got super hungry after listing all that. REALLY... their food is so good that even though I worked there for almost 2 years... I still crave it. Now, the one thing that makes me give this place 4 stars instead of 5: THE SERVICE and THE ATMOSPHERE. Their service seriously SUCKS ASS. The people can be nice, but it's not a real nice. It's a fake nice and they are HORRIBLE at faking it. If they're not faking it... they're just plain rude and I almost prefer the the blatant rudeness to the fakeness because the fakeness makes me wanna puke sometimes. Michael (owner of the shop), if you're reading this... seriously keep tabs on your night crew cause they're not cutting it in the customer service department. As for the atmosphere... again, over the years it has vastly improved, but their bathrooms are consistently horrible. Repairs need to be done in there. And the music is just way, way, way, way too loud. It's great to have music, but it's not so great when I'm trying to socialize with my friends and I have to scream into their ear just so that they can hear me. To sum it up folks... this is really a great place and you should really give it a shot because their food and boba drinks are some of the best in town. Like I said... even though I had worked here for so long, you can still find me throwing down my cash to fix my cravings. read more

Snow bubble? Milk tea? Slushy? Icy? Jelly? Boba? Asian music videos? Loud music? Calamari? Squid balls? Fish balls? So many things to take in here at "TapEx", as many people in the "know" seem to call it. The somewhat endless assortment of drinks and drink + foreign object concoctions cease to amaze me. The food is decent, but nothing of culinary greatness. It resembles Asian street food, or at least my perception of it. They offer free wi-fi for you people looking to use your electronic devices. However, I wouldn't consider it a studying environment with all that goes on here though it definitely would be a great place to do some sociological observations. Free wifi + sociological observation + laptop = interesting prize-winning paper! Visit TapEx in the land of Clairemont, otherwise known as the western-most part of Asia and let me know what kind of things you see! I'm dying to know. P.S. Make sure you definitely have car insurance. You'll know why when you get there :-P read more

Their black milk tea did not taste as good as every other place i have ever had it from. Had a chocolate flavor in it? It was really odd tasting and not fresh. Maybe it was powdered? It wasn't terrible so thats why I gave it 3 stars. read more

Some kids grow up eating Otter Pops. I grew up snacking on Li Hing Mui ice pops. This sweet, sour, salty dried plum from the Islands can best be compared to saladitos [although the flavors are different, the idea is the same]. Anyhoo, I thought I'd share a secret with you all...If you order the "Red Plum Icy" at Tapioca Express, it's actually a li hing mui icy! [Okay so it's not really a secret because they have had this flavor on their menu for years, but I'm sure only a few of you have tried it.] Parking is a killer but this is the closest thing to my li hing mui ice pops. Don't all go there at once or there won't be any left for me. read more

First time at this location. The guy at the counter was unfortunately rude. I was looking for something with avocado and coffee mixed together. I know it sounds weird, but its perfectly delish. I explained this to him and right off the bat, "he was like no we don't do that." I asked if he could do the avo snow bubble and just add some coffee mix, espresso or anything and he was just short with me. I was frustrated and asked why, while still being polite, and his answer was just another generalized "we don't do that." Well, a lot of other places do and don't have irritable, rude people that treat a simple special request like its an insult. read more

I found this place to be overwhelming. Too many options on the menu with little descriptions. And the kids behind the counter are friendly but not really prepared to answer any questions. I ended up ordering a mango black tea with boba. I tasted black tea, little mango. Meh. My friend had the jasemine milk tea with egg pudding and she really enjoyed it, though. read more

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

Tapioca Express is a little overrated but occasionally I would crave some of Tap Ex's drinks and foods. I feel that parking can be a drag at times and the line/wait for the drinks is a bit long that's why I kinda prefer Tea N More for its drinks. Also I've noticed that the service at Tap Ex has been going almost down hill, the people that work there are sometimes rude but sometimes they're polite too but I kinda believe it depends on what mood they're in. Oh when its really packed it kinda feels like they forgot about you because sometimes they don't take orders in order. When I go to tap ex I usually go for the typical Milk Tea with boba or a Honeydew Snow Bubble with lychee jelly. At times I get the Green Apple Snow Bubble with green apple jelly too. When it comes to food I really enjoy the spicy crispy chicken. Their drinks and food are not something to die for but its good. I wish the service at Tap Ex was actually better or improving because I'm only going to give them 3/5 stars because of how bad the service is at times. read more

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

I don't really like their food. The lines are seriously long at night. Some of the employees are BITCHES. I went there and wasn't sure what to get so I was just asking about some stuff and this one girl asked me and interrupted me halfway through like, "So, are you going to GET anything?" Whoa, stay away from that girl. I got their squid balls, and they're pretty terrible and poorly made. However, their popcorn chicken is good. Their milk teas are good. It's really the service that really drove me away from this place. It's also more on the expensive side and not that great. I would go to Tea 'n More instead. Plus, not as long lines. read more

I don't really care for the atmosphere which consists of a heavily Asian crowd that is mostly under 21. They play top 40 music or K-pop and it gets really loud at times. The staff is pretty cute but I don't know if they are jailbait. (Asian girls from the age of 16-40 pretty much look the same) I haven't bothered to find out, because if things were to ever go bad I wouldn't want them messing with my food! The parking lot is ridiculously stupid. There are like 30 spots for 5 businesses that can seat 30 people each... In spite of the negatives, this place keeps pulling me back because food rules everything. The Crispy Chicken and Fried Calamari are excellent here. The "Snow Bubble" items are my favorite drink and are above average compared to surrounding places. read more

This place is just down the street and I LOVE IT! I crave for boba like every other day haha yeah I call it an addiction. Everytime it taste so good! Now if you're into spicy food, I would highly recommend the chicken and squid balls. Prices are affordable and it's a hip place for teens and young adults. The cool part I like about this place that they play loud music. It's like having my boba in a club haha. Did I also mention free wi-fi? haha read more

Star for their drinks The cashier didn't care to make a sale, being as rude as she was The Asians that hang out here are loud, tippy, collegiate, etc. and they roll in PACKS Hate the employees, crowd, music It is always loud in here If you're a female, ALL OF THE FEMALES IN HERE WILL STARE UPON ENTRANCE lol Food is alright, the calamari is those chopped/shaped ones, not actual fresh calamari read more

I've been to other Tapioca Expresses around town and this had to have been the unfriendliest visit of them all. The cashier practically yelled at me to come up to her register when the previous customers were still standing in front of her trying to put their change away. She also wouldn't let me finish ordering before she announced how much I owed...twice. However, our drinks came out fast and the food was hot and everything was delicious as usual. So, there aren't any complaints about that! I'll definitely be back, but I'll probably steer clear of that cashier if she's behind the register. I'm still a fan of TapEx and I won't let one person's unfriendly service ruin my review of this business as a whole. read more