I didn't think there was a bubble tea I wouldn't enjoy, until i tried it here. The WORST milk tea I've ever had. Its never very flavorful and tastes very watered down. I thought maybe I just made the wrong menu choice, so I've given it 3 chances but it's been terrible each time. Also not the friendliest service. Save yourself the disappointment and get your milk tea elsewhere. read more

I am a regular customer here since its food portions here do the job. The only problem I have with this place is the inconsistency. At least with the tapx location on campus (UCSD), you know what you're going to get (quality and quantity-wise). With this location, since the kitchen is run by many different workers, its a hit-or-miss. I've had some great meals here with large portions and with that said, I've had some TERRIBLE meals! For instance, today's crispy chicken combo contained roughly 8-9 small pieces of crispy chicken, undercooked rice, a stale dumpling and uncooked veggies. Paying $7.50 for this combo was totally not worth it. I think I get more crispy chicken from their happy hour half portion. Aside from my rant, look for the older looking gentleman. He's probably the owner and he gives TONS of crispy chicken. Hungry or not, whenever I see him working, I'd come in and buy crispy chicken for the hell of it. read more

This place was great to grab a quick drink! I got the thai tea with boab and it was great! The placed was packed and they got our orders out fast! They also offer free wifi if you need it:) read more

This TapEx really sucks! They pale in comparison to the one in Convoy. I even told the guys that work in the Convoy one that their boba and food is so much better and they agreed. I will never betray them by coming to the UTC TapEx. Let me recap how much this TapEx sucks: 1. Their boba is overly sweet 2. It doesn't taste as good as it's Convoy counterpart 3. They spicy crispy chicken snack is gross. It's mostly the batter (hardly any chicken) and it's not spicy. 4. They are not very efficient...it takes them longer 5. Their staff varies. So you never know what kind of product you will get (the convoy one has a more steady crew) 5. People who hang out here just stare as you walk in and stare as you stand there waiting for your boba. Stop being creepy! Anyway, don't come here. It's awful. I even tried it a second time to make sure it wasn't a fluke but no. Instead, make the trek to Convoy. I also tip more generously at the Convoy TapEx. I have a new appreciation for them. They supply my addiction and make sure it tastes delicious every single time. read more

Honestly, I come here only because it's across the street from my apartment, so it's convenient when I want something cold and sugary. The drinks here aren't the greatest in the world, but they suffice if you're craving boba. TapEx is cheap... not only in pricing, but in quality as well. You can taste the quality, and it doesn't exactly taste like rainbows. It seems like everyone goes cuckoo for crispy chicken here, but it's just "meh" to me because I'm not a fan of the whole "fry the sh!t out of your meat" ordeal. Biting into that chicken feels like biting into fried balls of squishy fat with hot grease spilling out all over my tongue. I tried the chicken steak combo here and wasn't wowed by that either. Seemed like they dropped my entire meal into the fryer--the only things they forgot to fry were my fork and napkin. I don't frequent this place often, but I do come by every now and then to satisfy some cravings. read more

WHAT KIND OF SNOTBALLS DID I JUST ORDER? ...Snotballs are what my white roommate describes boba... and I would have to disagree with him.... until I met Mr. Tap Ex in La Jolla. I ordered a regular Boba Milk Tea and my friend ordered the Jasmine Green Milk Tea. My Boba milk tea tasted like chocolate milk!!!!!!!!! I usually purchase boba at boba cafes because I can't make boba as good myself.... but I am DAMN SURE I can make some bomb chocolate milk with some Nesquik. My friend's Jasmine Green Milk Tea was flavored like a root beer float. I AM DAMN SURE THAT I CAN ALSO MAKE A BOMB ROOT BEER FLOAT. Please Tap Ex... can you just TAP OUT... NOW?! read more

Sorry one star is good enough for this place! I'm not being mean, I'm just being honest! Surely yelpers want the real review right! The reason I give them one star bc their drinks are not good and the food is bad! It's totally overprice with this bad quality! read more

I once had a teacher who disappeared for three months without any explanation. When he returned, he informed us that had been away because his "guts had fallen out." He proceeded to give us a visual demonstration of what his guts falling out looked like. I re-enacted this scene with gusto after my recent visit to TapEx when it, indeed, felt like my guts were falling out thanks to whatever Tapioca Express decided to put into its food. Although the botulism flavor was toned down from the UCSD Tap Xpress location, the after-effects on my digestive system were even worse. $2 milk teas before 6? Not a bad deal though and I doubt that's what caused my stomach to explode, so it gets a star or two for that. Rather loud location as other reviewers have noted, but surprisingly spacious inside. Steer away from anything that might have giardia, salmonella, ebola (yes, I know ebola's a virus and it's impossible to transmit this way, but I wouldn't put anything past TapEx and it certainly felt like my intestinal lining was sloughing off a la ebola), whatever in it. read more

I love their strawberry boba better than there other boba and I don't like the food that they have

Went back again after a long break... Their signature snack, crispy chicken, used to be way too dried and overcooked. This time it was actually pretty juicy. I'm glad they've improved this. Other things they could do better : -- better side offerings - all they offer in meals is 1 fried dumpling and a bit of corn. where is my egg and ground pork over rice? -- get rid of the corn and replace it with green veggies -- cook their crispy chicken with basil' -- drinks taste powdery Basically they need to cook their food more like the Tapex on Convoy. read more

I had to update because this place is way better than "just alrite". After I visited multiple other locations, I realized that Regents tapx is WAY better than 3 stars. The workers are SO NICE and friendly.. none of that stuck up attitude you get at other places. Very generous food portions. Delicious drinks!! The atmosphere is a lot quieter/less hectic than Convoy. AND the best part? This is a GREAT place to hold a fundraiser. The owner is just so freaken supportive of student orgs!!! Even in this recession! read more

If you don't mind the smell of fried chicken (or maybe it's just "fry" in general) as you study, this is a great place to nurse your bubble tea as you work because they have FREE WIFI! Unlike Peet's in La Jolla, you don't get booted off the 'net after an hour. And unlike the Starbucks in La Jolla Village Center, you're not waiting in a Disney World ride-sized line to get a table. The bubble tea is not bad, either, and it's pretty clean, especially for the number of students and young people this place sees. Plus, the last time I was here, the girls at the next table were having an epic conversation about bacon and food. I couldn't help but overhear and smile. So yeah, I think we can safely say this place is good for working, and at the very least, people watching. read more

Having gone here for many, many years, I can say that the food varies depending on who's cooking. Sometimes the chicken is dry and burnt, other times it's moist and crispy. It's really a crap shoot. What I will give them is that you can call in your order before you come so it'll be ready. Plus, they introduced me to strawberry milk tea years ago. A good place to get quick or post-workout food. Always go for the meal if you want a drink because you save money. read more

I love Tapioca Express in Convoy but I keep forgetting that this is a franchise so one location can be super fantastic and another may be just mehh! I have family in town and about 2 nights ago we came into this location because we saw there was a Tapioca Express around the area and I wanted my family from Europe to get the bubble tea experience. Fail. When we entered (we came in with a party of 6 ) the tall caucasion cashier that was working at 9:00pm Monday night on August 8th was being a tad impatient. My cousins don't understand English because German is their main language so they had to figure out the menu and see for themselves what drink they wanted to order. Anyways, the gentlemen was pretty impatient and made us feel bad for wanting to order a lot of drinks! I mean customers shouldn't have to feel stressed and time pressured to order. The guy at the counter made it such a bad encounter for my family and I and I regret taking them there since that was their first United States boba bar encounter and they have heard so many great things about boba bars and tea spots in America. I will never step foot back in here again. Their drinks aren't even made right. I'd much rather go to the Convoy Tapioca Express (even though parking is limited, I don't mind parking far for better drinks and better service). read more

Cha For Tea and Tea Station are better boba places, but you can't really complain with the late night happy hour special: 10pm or later - buy 1 drink get one 50% off. read more

The other day my drink tasted plasticky. I convinced the girl behind the counter to remake it, which she remade like, from scratch so to speak, where she just guesses at how much of everything to put in, instead of using the ready-made jasmine milk tea blend. It was plasticky again, plus it wasn't sweet because she didn't get the proportions right. This was first thing in the morning, right after they'd opened. Then she was so rude about it and didn't even bother trying to figure out whether it might be the boba, or the straw, or (what I now think's probably most likely) the plastic lid that's heat-sealed onto it. She didn't do anything but say that there should be nothing wrong with their drinks. I told her I'd had that same exact drink at least 50 times before, at least 10 times AT THAT STORE, I know what it's supposed to taste like; but she was just rude, rude, rude and didn't believe me. I'm never going back here again. read more

Prelims: standard TapEx that you find all across California. The location doesn't really affect the various décor decisions within each place, and the design of each little cup and lid is all the same no matter where you go. This place has got free wifi (or least it did when I was there) and there are plenty of small little areas that you can section off yourself from all human interaction while eavesdropping on conversations or you can combine to hang out with friends. Your choice. Lots of happy hour deals - check online or go between 3-6. Food is pretty decent. I've had their popcorn chicken and while it's not the best, it's standard and you can get it no matter whichever TapEx you go to. I like the popcorn chicken combo deal because you get a drink for free along with the meal. The milk tea is not as sweet as other places I've tried, and it's actually less sweet here than other TapEx places I've been to. I usually get half sweet at TapEx but that's almost undrinkable here. The balance of flavor is nice because it meshes well with the other food items on the menu. I would recommend just getting the normal milk tea if you here for a grab and go. Prices are standard to all other places. TL;DR Standard TapEx but slightly less sweet. read more

Meh. I've experienced better really sums up my feelings about this place. The milk tea here is pretty standard, nothing to get excited about, but it still isn't very expensive and the boba is only frozen some of the time. But the food? disgusting. Everybody raves about the crispy chicken, but when I tried I couldn't believe that I actually paid money for something so bad, and the eggrolls? The ones you find in the freezer section are much better, so much so that I couldn't finish the ones I got here, and I almost never leave food behind. I've never really had a problem with the people that work here, but I've also never really paid attention, but I have heard horror stories from a couple people I know that used to frequent this place. Either way, I probably won't come here anymore since I don't live right next to it. read more

I'm actually sitting here using their internet right now :P I used to like this particular TapX because they had served Hong Kong style Milk Tea. Which is a little more bitter and a different taste you just have to acquire. They no longer serve it so today I got a jasmine milk tea. Waaay too sweet, way to milky, and this is after I asked them to add more tea into it. Now this place isn't a bad place to study, and it is nice that they will try to fix your tea up the best they can. However, if its bad tea, its just bad tea and additions of whatever can't solve it. They do have happy hour which I think is well worth it. 1.99 for chicken and a boba milk tea? Not bad at all and a great deal. Too bad it is only Mon-Fri. read more

This is a great place to satisfy my watermelon with pudding addiction. The location is great for UCSD, I like it better than the one on campus. For years, I have been here to study, but I must readily admit I never get any work done. Too busy people watching and internet surfing. TapX, please go on tapping those great asian music, I'll be back. read more

Stopped in to get a snack with a friend before going on a "hike." It was a mid Sunday afternoon and it was pretty empty in here. Plenty of seating and free wifi though. I got the mango green tea with boba. Typical TapEx drink. My friend also got a steamed bbq pork bun as a snack. A kinda odd snack to have - not sure I've seen it at boba places before. But I had a bite and it was decent. Tasted frozen and then steamed but decent. We hung out for about an hour. There was a good amount to traffic getting to go drinks but it was stayed pretty empty most of the time we were there. read more

Ok, so I basically lived here my first year of law school. That's what I loved about the place. I hate the library and can't study at home, so this was where I went. I could get a drink and sit there for 8...sometimes 10 hours (yes ladies and gentlemen, sometimes, that's the life of a 1st year law student). The people that work(ed) here are cool though. Far as I can tell, they were about 90% UCSD undergrads. That said, their drinks and food are avg. Very avg. I love popcorn chicken. When it's dark meat. They use white meat. Their chicken steak meal is inconsistent. When it's good, it's really good. When it's bad, it's god awful. Most of the times, it's average. The drinks are good but unexceptional. So...A-OK. Disclaimer: I was able to study here because I'm REALLY REALLY good at tuning out noise. Even ear-bleedingly loud ones like what you'll hear here several times a day. read more

Not a big fan of this TapEx location. The atmosphere is a bit depressing... not much light comes in from the windows and the layout makes it feel somewhat stuffy.The service, although friendly, is slow, even when it's not busy. One thing I like at this location is that they offer "happy hour" specials (Ex: $1.99 milk tea or $1.99 crispy chicken snack from 12-6pm). Other than that, the only reason why I'd go to this location instead of the Convoy location is if 1) I were craving boba/crispy chicken and 2) I'm in the La Jolla area and I don't have the patience to drive to the Convoy location. read more

If you're looking for fresh, tasty boba~ this is probably not the best place but it'll satisfy your craving if you need a quick fix while you're in La Jolla and are too lazy to drive to Convoy. I'm pretty turned off by the little effort it takes for them to make your milk tea drink; mostly everything is already pre-made and kept in tubs in a refrigerator where they ladle your milk tea into your cup. You don't know how long its been sitting in there! I know its a franchise and everything but even still..milk tea to me, powder or not, should be made on the spot to ensure freshness. To get the most bang for your buck, drop by for HAPPY HOUR M-F BEFORE 6PM --$1.99 Boba milk tea --#1.79 Crispy chicken snack Other pros: -friendly staff -decent amt of outlets -open late read more

I can't remark on the boba here. I feel like it's pretty standard with standard pricing. I like their thai tea and their jasmine milk tea. Occasionally, they make the jasmine milk tea too sweet, but in general I can't complain about the boba. So why do they get two stars? Well, the last time I was here, my boyfriend and I both got the happy hour chicken snack. Usually, it's a great snack. I always get ranch dressing to dip the chicken in. This time, however, they gave me food poisoning. And I know that it was this place because I hadn't eaten anything else earlier in the day. Also, I immediately felt better after I threw up the chicken that I had eaten hours earlier. And let me tell you, it's HARD for me to get food poisoning. I have a very strong stomach. For example, just this past winter break I went to Vietnam for a vacation and spent two weeks there and ate street food and I was fine. They are definitely not the most hygienic people over there. I washed dishes at my grandpa's house with pond water, and still didn't get sick at all lol. So yeah. Food poisoning. Very unpleasant. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't the chicken since my boyfriend also got the chicken snack and he was fine. I'm betting it was the ranch. So people who work at TapEx, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE refrigerate your ranch dressing properly and throw out any old containers of ranch dressing you have. Or for you fearless diners, just stay away from their ranch dressing haha. read more

Out of all of the boba places I have been to, this Tap-Ex is by far, without a doubt, hands down, the worst boba joint ever. I say this with confidence even though I've only been here twice, but God knows I will not step foot on their premise for a third time. So what makes it bad...first of all, the service. I don't know how much they pay their employees, but judging from their faces, it can't be much. The employees don't look like they want to be there. And it looks like they can't be actors either because they can't even pretend to smile. I received no acknowledgement, smiles, or friendly service. I've tried a couple of their drinks, first was on their "to-try" list, but I can't remember the exact name. It was a mixture of two types of tea. I remember it being too sweet, and it just wasn't good. I tried the grapefruit green tea with boba the second time. And it turned out to be worse than the first drink I had. I saw the girl pour Ocean Spray ruby red grapefruit juice into my cup. REALLY?! Then she must have added some green tea to it. But the two did not go together like pb&j. I can't remember how much I paid for it, but it was over $3. I could not be more disappointed, especially when I was craving a good boba drink. If you're just looking for a place to hang out, go to starbucks. I will not be going back even when I am just looking for a quick fix to this boba addiction. read more

My review is for the popcorn chicken. Extra crisp, and a huge portion (almost 2x as much compared to the one near SDSU) for the combo. Pretty clean and friendly staff. Me likes :) read more

I'm surprised at how many negative reviews this place has. I've been to this location numerous times in the past few months and not once was I disappointed with my drink or their service. The staff there is very nice and I get my drink/food within 5 minutes. I like to swing by here whenever I want to grab quick snack and I often come here to study as the place offers free wifi. In terms of the drinks, I tend to get a mango green tea with light sugar and no condiments, or an almonilla milk tea with boba. I mainly get the milk teas with boba, and both the small and regular sized bobas are soft and flavorful. Whenever I want to indulge a bit, I get lychee jelly with my mango green tea and its absolutely delicious. If you don't have that big of a sweet tooth like I do, you can easily just ask for light sugar. I tend to stray from fried foods as best as I can, but I often find myself coming out of the store with a drink and either chicken wings, or fries. The fries are a-m-a-z-i-n-g and I definitely recommend people to try them. All in all, this boba spot is definitely one of my favorites because of its quick service and delicious drinks. read more

I keep reading mixed reviews of this place, but I've had nothing but good experiences. HUGE selection, easy access with lots of parking, open long hours, reasonably priced. Service was never anything special but nobody has been particularly rude to me. Good location, so it's great and easy to swing by after dinner. Just diggin' it... read more

I love this place! Tapioca is like a little pearl of happiness! Very fun! Lots of different drink options and flavors to choose from. The place is cute, but always a bit crowded. There is WiFi so a lot of people hang out with their laptops. The service is typically pretty fast though. read more

The boba is super clumpy and wouldn't work drinking it with a straw and the mango green tea is eh ok. The kids working there do not smile or even say hi, which is rather weird. Took me a long time to get my tea despite not too many people. Parking is a problem too. read more

I've tried a variety of drinks here (about 10 different ones) and I thought all of them were quite mediocre - maybe even below average compared to other boba places. I think their bobas would be much better if the actual tapioca balls were made right. Unfortunately, the tapioca is always hard and bland - which make the overall taste of the boba drink quite bland. I live within walking distance of this place but I drive all the way to Convoy to get better boba. This place needs some improvement. However, one thing I really like about this place is their crispy chicken. Their very hot is extremely hot - just the way I like it. :) read more

I used to love hitting the bubble tea places in Toronto and this chain does it well. It has my two major cravings, Taro Milk Tea and Fried Spicy Chicken. Oh boy. It's packed. Major laptop city with the cram session of Asian UCSD students. Not that quiet but who cares, your lips are on fire and you can quench it with some milk tea. Extra spicy please. read more

I ordered a Vietnamese sandwich, 30 minutes later they handed me a burnt piece of nastiness. I know I'm crazy for ordering banh mi at a boba chain. I didn't expect complete authenticity, but something edible would have done the trick at the time--and it was hardly that. This was a while ago, I hope they've taken it off the menu or figured out how to make a sandwich by now. So.... don't eat here. That said, I've never had a complaint about the drinks because they are decent. I second Cherie Y. on the Carmel Snow Bubble--it's good. Best boba in the UCSD/UTC area (sadly it's mostly because it's the ONLY boba in the area.) read more

Great summer memories here! I took the bus everywhere during college. Hopped on a bus after work to go to my friend's apartment so we can exercise together. Afterwards, we would walk here for spicy crispy chicken and boba for post workout nutrients (I do not recommend this plan for others). A yummy treat somewhere in the corner of this quaint place. Tasty, summer memories. read more

Your average Tapioca Express located at a corner of a shopping center. I prefer this tap-ex over the convoy tap-ex since there are always parking, lots of CLEAN tables to sit at, great place to study, and the drinks taste better as well. The baristas were also really nice. They bring the drinks out to your table if its not busy! I will be coming back here more if I'm craving boba nearby or need a place to study at. read more

Worst customer service ever! I've given this place multiple times to redeem themselves and the always disappoint. They always get my order wrong- it would be ok if they would be somewhat remorseful but they are not and give a mean look instead! I want to also mention that they charge me for their mistake! Really!?! Here's some free advice tapioca express...just be nice! I won't be going back here. read more

Not as good as their Mira Mesa sibling since they do not have the Grapefruit Green Tea, but still pretty solid. Perfect for grabbing a tea and hitting a movie at the AMC 12. The food is bad enough to make me want to stay hungry but the tea is what you expect. The prices are moderate for the specialized tea places. Basically if you have a craving go check it out. read more

+ Very quick service + Friendly staff - Drinks tastes okay, have had better I usually stop by here whenever I'm in Mira Mesa, and that's only because my friends come here as well. I don't know any other boba spots around town, so yea lol. The service here is friendly and quick.. I always have a honey-dew milk tea at any spot I go to. And for all the times I've been here, they've tasted okay. Not as sweet as the other spots I've experienced. I'd come back again though because on service alone, they're great. read more

Ew! Came to this location for the first time... my drink tasted just like water and my friend's drink tasted so weird, she ended up throwing it out. Not only were the drinks bad, but so was the service. I have never seen a worker as cranky as one of the girls who works here. While waiting for my drink, I watched the girl behind the counter take someone's order and after a bit of confusion on the customer's part, the girl called the customer a bitch under her breath. It wasn't like the customer was being deliberately difficult nor was the confusion a big deal (she just didn't know the right name... bobble instead of bubble... and repetition of the order...) But wow, if I could hear you, I'm sure the customer who was ordering was too. Could you be anymore rude? Grow up. read more