I like how they serve a decent portion of food, whether it be stewed beef or crispy chicken over rice with a couple portion of vegetables. The food is ready for take-out (provided in styrofoam boxes even if you're eating in, oh well) and feels like its homemade. Somewhat inconsistent, but always satisfying. Nothing to rave about, but a decent meal for a very decent price. There are not many options where you feel like you get a quick service, pretty good Chinese (Taiwanese?) meal for under $10, including boba (optional) tea. read more

Despite the cool wood and silver exterior and interior, I was not impressed with this place. The prices are ridiculously expensive and the people working there are not so friendly! The drinks are okay. They really make you pay for their renovations! One regular-sized passion fruit green tea = $4.50. Isn't that ridiculous? That would only cost $2.25 in Los Angeles! This Tapioca Express also sells bottled water. Dude, who would buy bottled water here? It would cost $3/bottle!! I think this would be a nice place to hang out after dinner....the inside is pretty large and there's plenty of seating. I did like the new interior. The urban-sheik design with wood and silver is pretty nice. If you have money to burn, then I'd go here. If not, then I suggest another boba/tea place like Tea N' More next to Ranch 99. read more

PARKING SUCKS!! of course. Don't come fri-sat. nights, parking just a pain &a waste of time looking for parking.. Love the spicy chicken, if you love spicy; GET IT SPICY!! The spicy chicken combo is good. I don't really get drinks here because i think its small &i can just walk over to green tea house &get a bigger cup + cheaper :p. I always wanted to try the calamari &still hasn't. The squid ball is okay, not good. Their watermelon slush is good &their milk tea coconut jelly is good. read more

I had yet to try San Diego's Tapioca Express on Convoy. So there I went after another OMGYOGURTWORLDISSOGOOD (yet it still failed to impress me) run tonight. I tried Mango Milk Tea with Boba, which my friend ordered. He passed it around to almost everyone in our party and we all were disgusted. People asked "Who would put mango in milk tea?" indignantly, but that isn't the question. The question should be, "Why is the mango milk tea at /TapEx/ so unpalatable?" Because it is not the issue of putting mango in milk tea. I've had amazing mango milk tea at other places. Just not at this particular TapEx, I suppose. So then I tried my friend's Regular Milk Tea, without Boba. Soy milk? For milk tea? I understand that soy milk is healthier. And I personally love soy milk. But the taste and texture of regular cow's milk is vastly different and substituting soy milk-- when it has not been requested, as well-- is not to my tastes. The sweet soy flavor was too strong for me, so much that it just tasted like soy milk with a little tea added, not milk tea with soy milk or "soy milk tea". Finally, it came to what I ordered. Chicken steak. The concept of chicken steak has always boggled me a little, but it had been delicious at Bubble and Crepe in NorCal.. and here, they had a spicy option! I was intrigued. I ordered the snack chicken steak, and the cashier was halfway through charging me for the chicken steak rice meal. Alright, it was an easy mistake, I'm sure. I'll let it pass. But the cashier/workers there. Weren't exactly what I consider friendly. Not a smile or courteous word was given, and there I waited for my food, holding up my ride and watching as the person who ordered four drinks after me got their order first... well. That I can excuse, as well. The food? I have to admit. It was rather good. It was spicy, and I liked that. It was also about ... Three pieces. (For about $4 plus tax???) I had waited for 10 minutes for a small, instant snack, of about three pieces? It was barely-- no, it was /not/ enough to share. The layout of the store is nice, and a convenient location, and attractive environment. But. Food: 4/5-- except for the portion size? 1/5. Service: 2.5/5 Ambience: 4/5 The food quality was perhaps the slightest thing that redeemed this TapEx-- but even the portion size kind of negates that. I'll keep searching. read more

I frequent 3 boba places in the Kearny/Clairemont area and out of the 3, Tapioca Express is my least favorite solely based on environment. Firstly, the parking lot is atrocious and always packed thanks to some of the neighboring popular restaurants. Why is it that Convoy, a street rich with Asian culture is also so poorly designed? I tend to park on the side street when its a busy night, but if its a slow day then I park in the lot itself. Secondly, the environment is just loud loud loud. Occasionally, it feels like you're inside a club and I find myself shouting at my friends across the table from me. By the time I leave, my voice is as hoarse as Lindsay Lohan after a night of crack snorting and alcohol binging. Finally, the drinks itself. I'll give them credit, their drinks aren't too bad, their food is absolutely awful though. I'll snack on the smaller items, but the entrees are disgusting. I had curry chicken here before and it was so disgusting I only finished 1/3 of it. The chicken was overcooked and dry, the curry sauce was runny, and the pieces of chicken itself were full of cartilage. Yuck. I come here only when its convenient otherwise I go to Tea N More. read more

I haven't been here in years since last night just because it was right next to where I had just ate, Shabu Shabu. (See Review) Now I remember why I haven't been here in years because the parking is ridiculous. It's always crowded. Cars blocking one another. Tight parking. So if you're not a good driver and can't parrell on the streets, then, avoid this place. I'm a smoker but it is horrible business to allow smoking right where the entrance is at. The inside was pretty clean. I ordered a Taro snow bubble. The cashier had an attitude when I asked what a snow bubble was, not the best customer service ever. I don't disagree with hiring young people, but at least make sure they have good customer service. That will either make or break your business. The staff was more concerned with gossiping than serving their clients. The boba was okay. I've had better. read more

Guilty as addicted. This is a regular place for me & my girls! In fact a friend just texted me (honestly) asking if I wanted to go right now. If you haven't had "boba" before, it's what makes these drinks different and is basically a form of large tapioca balls they put at the bottom of your drink. Some favorites of my friends & I.. Snow Bubble (Blended Drinks): -Cookies & Cream -Chocolate Mint -Strawberry Coconut Their Milk Teas are delicious as well! The atmosphere is typically for a younger crowd, loud with music/ music videos & chatter. I love it. ENJOY *open till midnight! read more

This is my one stop shop for boba in Clairemont Mesa. I know there's so many of them in that area (shoot, on Convoy even) but, I haven't had any bad experiences there. Their menu is pretty extensive so hopefully there's something there that will suit your fancy. Yes, the parking situation is atrocious, but, sometimes you can get lucky with street parking. Or, if you're a ninja like me, sneak in and out by parking next door. I haven't gotten ticketed or asked to not park there so phew! My one pet peeve about the place isn't even about the business, but the people who loiter in the front. Man, it makes me think we're in Vegas with all the smoking! Yeah, don't let those fools stop you from getting good drinks. It just sucks that the smoke settles right there....eww. If they can only smoke their cancer sticks away from the establishment that would be awesome. Other than that...get your boba on! read more

This place is always packed Friday and Saturday nights. I think it brings lots of revenue and picks up the economy in this corner of San Diego. The biggest hangout for Asians mostly from UCSD but many SDSU students come too. I came here in my freshman year and I've always managed to make a trip at least every month. There's always a familiar face and the employees are nice. Volume level can get aggravating but it's the best place to be around Asians if you're ever feeling like you need to be around some of your own kind lol. I love the spicy chicken. Gives me something to look forward to. Come here! read more

I've been here a few times with friends and it's always a nice place to hang out. That is, unless it's super-packed with tables inside and outside being occupied. Iit does get loud at times but that's usually late at night. But we always manage to get a table when we get there. Oh, and parking sucks since TapEx shares the same complex with a few hundred other business... sometimes we just park a block away and walk.. The drinks are pretty good.. haven't tried their food yet (which I wasn't even aware of until my second visit). Their milk tea is good and their slush drinks are good as well. In all, a nice place to socialize with a few friends. read more

A lot of people go gaga for their boba tea but I'm not much into putting balls in my mouth (and.....I wasn't trying to be subtle). My stars go towards their coconut milk tea (sans boba) with its soothing effects, empty calories and sugar overload. Bottoms up! read more

This place is WAY better than the one that recently opened here in National City. I dislike the TapEx here in National City because, its too small, too crowded, and those stupid asians can't stop staring at you. Like dude come on, have you ever scene a filipino before yes we are asians too so quit staring bitch. -__- read more

This is the best original Tapioca Express in San Diego the others do not compare. I've been coming here for years when this was the only one Tap X. The food like the popcorn chicken is a lot different and authentic then others in San Diego. There drinks are made way better. read more

Not a boba drinker. But! I do like the deep fried tofu! Spicy too. They serve it hot and fresh and plenty to keep you full til your next meal. It's under $5. Next time I'll try the salt and pepper fries. read more

I'm not a HUGE boba tea person, but If my friends want to go, I won't turn it down. They love coming here so I had to see what all the hype was. And I was pleasantly surprised. I hate and love places with a ton of options because...yes they have a ton of options, who wouldn't want that? But then I have THE HARDEST time deciding because there are so many haha. But I love how many different options there are, and they even have little displays of the different types of bobas and jelly's you can add to your drink which helps so much if you don't really know exactly what you're getting. I ended up getting a green tea snow bubble with small jelly's (snow bubble is where they blend it, similar to a Frappuccino from Starbucks). My friend got the tarp snow bubble with large boba. Both were exactly what you think each would taste like and more! The flavors were amazing, not too sweet. Prices were reasonable and staff was very helpful and nice. Definitely coming back. read more

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When it comes to bubble tea, I think this place falls in the middle of the spectrum as there are better and worst places to go to, but there is convenience in having different ones nearby. I used to get the milk tea with boba, but came to realize as I started drinking drinks from other places that it was overly sweet in comparison and I sometimes forget to ask them to reduce the sweetness so now I just go with something that I know they do pretty well, which is the taro slush. I got a taro milk tea last time here and it felt very powdery so just go with the slush instead. The cashiers and workers have been pretty pleasant to me, but maybe because I don't notice their attitudes like other people have talked about. They could use a little wipe on their tables, but I think it might be hard for them sometimes since they're often busy, but maybe put that into their task priorities. Overall, I would go here if I was really craving it and I was too far away from Infinitea. Parking is terrible, I hate that parking lot. Park on the street. read more

Good place to grab a boba drink for a decent price. They have a pretty large selection. The only thing i don't like about this place is that it is kind of loud in there. Perfect place to stop by after dinner at tofu house! read more

If the high schoolers weren't so obnoxious, this place would be a 5 star place. food is great and drinks are bomb. price is really good also. Parking may be impossible over the weekends and you may end up parking on the street. read more

The go-to spot for boba. Everytime my girlfriend and I go, the cashier lady is always so nice to her. She even recommended us their tea infusion drinks which are very refreshing. read more

This place is okay. Parking is a horrible nightmare, the owner of this lot has way too many businesses to parking ratio. The parking alone will make me never return to these businesses. I went to try out some Vietnamese coffee with a friend, it was sugared down really bad, barely any coffee taste. Kinda overpriced too. No Thanks read more

This Tap Ex offers a lot more items than the ones near UCSD (campus and Regents Rd locations), AND it's cheaper too. ($6.48 for a crispy chicken combo compared to $7.25 or something). But I'm part of the crowd that actually likes the authentic taste of tea in milk tea drinks, so I was a little hesitant to get my usual Thai Iced Tea. Fortunately, they've introduced Iced Milk drinks, similar to the ones you can find at Infini Tea up the street in the same plaza where China Max is. Hoping to get a similar experience, I ordered a large Matcha Red Bean ($4.95 including tax). Compared to Infini Tea, it was pretty disappointing. The egg pudding was at the bottom, stacked with a green tea slush and red bean, and I wasn't able to fully mix them altogether. I ended up finishing the egg pudding first, and the slush ran out of flavor fast, which prompted me to throw the whole drink away with half of it still left. The atmosphere is a good place to hang out and play games, but definitely not for a study environment. They blare top 40 hits and play Korean pop MVs on the TV screens constantly. But if you want really good tea, or even Iced Milk, seek other businesses. read more

Undergrad Randy: "Let's all meet here and hang out" Grown-Up Randy: "Damn i feel old" Pros: - Good boba drinks, always a fan of milk tea and snow bubble. - Snacks are good too, Popcorn Chicken. MMMmmmmm Sodium. - Service is mixed, but never bad. Cons: - Parking SUCKS!!! Good if going there after 4pm, especially on weekends. - Gets overall crowded. Student Orgs, sororities, fraternities, etc. Just big groups of people. "is this chair/table taken?" - Music & TVs don't match aren't in sync. More of my personal thingy than anything. Short and sweet: Loved this place while I was in college, meet and meet up with a lot of friends from my university and other campuses. NOW... it's A-OK. Not like it is super great anymore because yeah... it is mostly still a college student hangout spot. So sometimes, the maturity level of some customers gets really low. The more people, the higher the chances of crazy people. Music and TVs that are playing music videos do not sync together. So while hearing Today's Hip-hop and R&B, there are 2 different Korean music videos that are playing, both different videos. I would rock out to K-Pop, especially watching the dance moves (I'm a dancer *spirit fingers*) but kinda hard to do that with Pitbull playing. Other than that, it's always a good nostalgic feeling ordering my regular: Regular Milk Tea with boba and Popcorn Chicken No Spice... *Sigh* those were the days. read more

Ahhhh Tap X. Positives: Great Drinks. Iced Mango Green Tea with Boba is fantastic. Negatives: Parking sucks, and since this place smells like dried fish, YOU walk out smelling like dried fish. I'm warning you, you may attract cats after leaving this place. read more

Tapioca is good, but what really does it is their crispy chicken meal + milk tea drink. This place is a total "hang out" for college students and there is always a line, but the crispy chicken meal is worth it. We ate it all the team in college - beware, it can cause freshman 15. read more

How can you not love this place? and don't say because there isn't any parking, lol. I have been going to tapicoa express since I discovered asian fried chicke and hot damn it's good. It's like soul food to me. I love the spicy chicken plate and the spicy calamari plate...GET IT SPICYYYY!!!! I recommend the almont milk tea or snow bubble, and the honey milk tea my three favorite drinks, with boba of course! It's a great place to hang out/study, and watch korean music videos. FUN! and it's done. read more

I make it a point to visit this place when we're in San Diego. I love it, but as any super busy place with delicious snacks and boba, there are ups and downs... GOOD: - Delicious Boba - Delicious Snacks - Friendly People - K-pop Music/Videos BAD: - Slow, but because they are busy - Limited seating, again, when it's busy (My tip: take it to go and chill somewhere else) - Terrible parking I'm a big fan of milk tea boba, the fried chicken, squid balls, and calamari. I LOVE the chinese donuts. read more

This was probably the fanciest Tapioca Express I have ever been to! My new favorite order is the Matcha Snow Bubble (Green Tea). That drink is more amazing than the green tea frappacino at Starbucks or Peets. I also got to try the coconut strawberry snow bubble, which blew my mind. I don't recall ever having coconut and strawberry together? They also have many snack and meal choices, more than the usual Tapioca Express. The decor of this place is worth noting too. They don't just use regular old chairs. This place has a hipster modern feel to it. There are more than one flat screens hanging up as well, set on a korean music channel. Which is funny because they play english music concurrently. I had to knock down one star because of two things. Firstly, their parking lot is pretty cramped so be prepared to circle the lot a couple times. Second, their customer service can be better. Cashiers can definitely be more friendly. In conclusion, I've become a Tap-Ex snob. I still have yet to find a Tap-Ex in the bay area that will measure up to this one. read more

I used to work right around the corner from this place and I came here every day... so, they must be doing something right. Thank god for my pocketbook I'm working in Hillcrest again. At least now I blow all my money on meals alone as opposed to meals AND designer drinks. Unfortunately, I recently found out that they no longer carry one of my favorite milk teas: Earl Grey : ( Losing the Earl Grey is a huge disappointment for me, but I'll live. I can't speak about the food they serve here, but, IMO, who comes to a Boba place for food anyway? I like the way it's set up, kind of an Asian Starbucks, whatever that means. They have a lot of cool magazines lying around like Thai Cosmo, etc. That type of thing. Even though I can't read any of it, it's fun to page around anyway. And I love the Teas and Snow Bubbles! I think their standard Milk Tea (Jasmine flavor) isn't that great. I like mine real perfumy and theirs is just a little bland. My favorites are: Matcha Snow Bubble. This is basically a Green Tea flavored ice cream slush. It's really creamy, super aromatic (just how I want my green tea) and I like mine with Boba AND Red Bean. Sounds a little funny at first, but it's really good. Watermelon Milk. Mmmm.... This one's really good! Basically just fresh watermelon blended with milk and maybe some sweetener, not sure. This one's great on a summer day or anytime really. Might be my ABSOLUTE favorite. Banana Milk. Same thing as the Watermelon Milk, but with banana. I don't even really like bananas but I like this drink. Second favorite on the menu. Peach Tea with Rainbow Jellies. Now, I've got to be in a certain mood for this, but it's really good if IT'S really cold and the weather is REALLY hot. Every once in a while it gets too hot in San Diego for Milk Tea. This is just peach iced tea with little tiny flavored rainbow colored jellies. I had to get it twice before I knew I liked it. read more

I actually really like this place. The service can be pretty slow at times, especially if it is busy, but the boba and drinks options I found to be quite good. The food was also awesome. The Chinese Donuts were a little bland but the other stuff was good. The one complaint is that the mild on the chicken steak felt like it was HOT! Still, it was great. The parking to this place sucks (well parking in general in the area sucks especially during lunch and dinner rushes). So be prepared to wait to find a space. read more

Stumbled upon this place right after a disappointing food encounter at BABS (a burger joint in the same plaza as Tapioca Express). Having said that, the parking situation can be difficult. Park on the street. The best drink here -- cinnamon chocolate chai milk tea. Get it large with boba. You will not regret it. Your taste buds will revel in its wonder! The bf actually ordered this drink and I ordered the jasmine milk tea with boba. After I tasted my bf's drink, I had to go buy myself one. The jasmine milk tea didn't taste as wonderful after having the other drink. We also ordered squid balls but I didn't know they'd be so spicy. Even though I ordered it mild, it was still too spicy for my taste. Next time we're in SD, we're coming back for the cinnamon chocolate chai milk tea. It is AMAZING! read more

Below average food and drinks. I'm a fan of cafe snacks but these are both over salted, seasoned and tastes like it's full of MSG. I know it's bad because I can handle my salt and MSG, just not in these kinds of doses. I shared the fish cake and squid balls and they actually made me feel sick after. The fries have the texture of reheated frozen fries with just some extra seasoning salt on top. They give you a lot but it's barely edible. The drinks are way too sweet as well. They should follow the lead of other tea stations and ask you if you want to make it a 1/3 or 1/2 as sweet. But judging from the food and the way the workers treat you, it doesn't seem like anyone in charge of this place actually cares about quality. Don't try to come within 20 minutes of closing time. The chairs are all up, and they're done serving. I have a lot of high school memories coming here but I after revisiting, I don't think it's good for anything except meeting up with a friend late night. You would basically pay for the seating, if it's worth it to you. read more

I used to love going here regularly but something has changed. My most favorite snack here is the crispy chicken. We'll either they got a new cook or changed the recipe or something...it is not the same anymore. I used to order it MED spicy. And my mouth would be on fire. But now I have to order extra spicy and it's nothing close to spicy. Just a bunch of powder cayenne on top. There used to be a flavorful taste with salt, pepper and I believe curry powder or something but now it's just bland. I've came here 3 times now in the last week and it's different. I might change my idea from coming back to get the chicken now. The drinks here are okay too. Weren't really that good to be ordering it everytime. This place might slowly lose business due to consistency. read more

We usually only come here when we have to wait for Crabhut or if we are too lazy to drive to our regular boba shops down the street. The boba drinks here are okay, nothing mind blowing -The Jasmine milk tea tastes more like regular milk tea. -The Thai tea with lychee jelly is pretty good. -I've also ordered the milk tea with egg pudding, that was also good. They always have kpop on their tv's which I love. It's so hypnotizing, it's hard to stop watching. Especially if it's BIG BANG! Haha. I love that they banned smoking outside where their tables and chairs are. Sometimes, you just want to enjoy your boba outside without having to worry about second hand smoke. Especially if you have your doggies or kiddos with you and can't stay inside. read more

What happened to this place??? I dont know if the bubble teas are just better in SF or what, but my drinks from here yesterday were such a letdown! My go-to jasmine milk tea didn't have a hint of jasmine (as in, where's the tea?!) and the watermelon icy was a lot of pink ice for $3+. Overall, it seems to me that the prices have gone up while the quality has dipped down. Perhaps it was an off day, but I'm not in The area enough to give them another shot over some other places. What a bummer!! read more

The crispy chicken and tofu combos are great. I order it spicy and take the included jasmine green tea with boba. Comes with rice and veggies all for about $7ish. Loud place with music, they should make it into a mini club lounge on weekends. Wi-fi is unreliable. read more

Tapioca Express is too cool for school! I'm a regular at this location, and it's great being able to pick up food quickly without it actually being fast-food. If you're a tea, coffee, slushy, or smoothie fan, this place is a must. The menu selection is so huge it'll make your head spin. But that just means you have more options! So what makes this place different than a typical cafe? You can ask for Snow Bubble (aka: Boba, Tapioca) in your drinks. Yes, this is such an "Asian" thing, but it's worth giving a try. One of my favorite drink orders is the strawberry smoothie with snow bubble. The food is great too! It is cheap, yet delicious. The Spicy Crispy Chicken Rice Combo is to die for! For $6.95 this combo comes with rice, crunchy vegetables, crispy chicken, a fried egg, and your choice of bottled water, iced green tea, or iced black tea. For dessert, try the fried Chinese donut with a sweetened condensed-milk dipping sauce. The parking lot is terrible here so try parking on the street. But the food and drinks are worth the trouble. read more

This place is honestly my favorite place that serves Popcorn Chicken and Boba. I've been a regular for a few years now and even today, it is still my favorite to get my fix for chicken and Boba. The quality of the food has been consistent the past few years I've been going and same for the boba. It's a nice place to come to with friends and to socialize, but the only thing I don't like about this place is how it gets at night on the weekends. It turns into some kind of club for a bunch of teenagers. The music is too loud to talk over, you literally will have to raise your voice and it is very popular, seating is limited, even though the place in size is decent. I definitely suggest this place, but to avoid all the things I dislike about it, go during the day or before late evening. Maybe during the weekday. The parking is the same as how the place gets during nights and weekends. read more

I love going to this place during their off hours when it's not swarming with dressed to impress teens who seem like their drunk on sugar because they can't manage to talk with their indoor voice (*bangs cane on porch). It's often compared to other TapEx in San Diego because no other TapEx comes close to its being the best. Aside from the the teeny bopper clientele, another drawback is the chaos stricken parking lot, unless if that's your thing. I usually get some type of snow bubble and pair it with spicy chicken or calamari (sometimes with fried tofu when I kinda care about my diet). Although I don't come here as often as I use to anymore, I think this place is a good place to quickly cure the "hangry syndrome." If your significant other is feeling hangry, take him/her to this place. read more

Crispy chicken is just not the same anywhere else! Even at other tapex places. I realized this last night after being away from San Diego for a few years. There's something about the Convoy location - it's just so good! The fried tofu is also good. The drinks are also awesome. read more

Tapioca Express - crispy chicken combo, comes with a drink! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

We got the popcorn chicken combo and beef stew combo. Both very good. It's decently priced, too ($8 across the board for their combos I think). Bbbuuuttt, their durian smoothie was less than stellar. I've never seen such an orange durian drink in my life, as the fruit itself is a custardy yellow? Anyway, it tasted nothing like durian which was disappointing to me. I thought at least it'd be frozen durian like at other places. Needless to say, I threw the whole drink away. Booo! At least the black tea that came with the combo was good. read more