I know... 5/5? But surprisingly I do like this location a lot. Their service is always quick and drinks are always consistent. They definitely don't have anything unique about them but if you are craving a milk tea and crispy chicken snack, then this place will definitely hit the spot. read more

Fantastic. We have been going here for a long time. sometimes getting old favorites, sometimes trying things we haven't seen anywhere else. have never been disappointed. the owners are super nice too. read more

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

Eh.. this one's alright. I feel they dont have as broad of a menu and it is pretty small and the lighting and interior is kind of dark and gloomy which puts me off. Also, it's always crowded with UCSD students trying to study...even on fri/sat nights. sad/pitiful..... sometimes they are very good at getting your orders out quickly but sometimes they just take forever and a day. so i dont know... read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!! They sell boba, milk tea and more! My favorite is the chocolate snow bubble without boba it is so good and is 1/6 of the calories in a chocolate milk shake but tastes the exact same you should totally buy from there it is so good when I discovered this I thought it was either crazy expensive or tastes awful when I got my first one, I LOVED IT! it is so addicting but not too sugary. When my brother introduced me to this I was skeptical bu t it is great. It's not too expensive and is sooo yummy read more

Not sure what to say about Tap-Ex that hasn't already been said. They're like the McDonald's of boba shops, a big national chain that's known more for convenience rather than quality. That said, if you know what you're getting they're not that bad for a quick fix, just don't expect anything amazing. This location in particular (or maybe it's all Tap-Ex) I feel is always stingey with the amount of boba they put in their drinks. I feel like other places usually put 1.5x-2x the number of tapioca balls/jelly. Other than it's your run-of-the-mill quick powder mixes but at least they're usually pretty quick preparing drinks and the staff is generally very friendly. Average boba shop = average rating. read more

Their service is pretty fast at all the times I've been there. Their drinks are pretty good. Their tapioca isn't the best but it's alright. Their crispy chicken meals is the best :) very very goooood read more

This is a regular spot for me and my 2 sons on our bicycles. Happy hour 1.99 for milk tea with boba. That's what we always shoot for...just get there before 6pm. read more

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

Stopped in for a boba quick and it was about a 10 min wait due to food orders ahead of us. Ordered a matcha milk tea and it was really watered down. I asked for them to add more matcha, but that actually seemed to make the drink worse. While waiting I noticed the place wasn't very clean- trash can was overflowing and there was trash strewn along the ground outside. Overall, not the best experience. read more

Tapioca Express - Matcha milk tea. - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

I would have to say that I am very unhappy with the service I received at this location. The staff act as though they don't want to help their customer nor are they engaging. I ordered a chicken snack and a Vietnamese coffee since I had a craving for it. Max on the side of the counter asked I asked what levels do they have. He proceeded to point at a sign a ways over (of course I didn't see it) like he didn't want to tell me the levels. What? How many seconds does it take you to tell me the spice levels? I even told him this, but he proceeded to collect my cash and finish my transaction. As if he just wanted me to get out of his face. I am huge on customer service and I have visited the other Tapioca Express around town. And I have never felt or been treated like this. Not to mention the same chicken snack that I get just did not taste the same. Maybe it was the fact that I already had a bad taste in my mouth from the service or it was just that different. You already know that I will not be back! One customer lost read more

The boba drinks here are ok, this place is way over-rated.

I love the staff here. They are always so nice and friendly. The drinks are good and tasty. I really like how the chicken here isn't too oily, yet still superduper good. Another thing is that instead of ordering the full regular crispy chicken, you can order a half size, so it comes in a cute small paper bag. There are a lot of students that come to this Tapioca Express with their laptops to use the wifi, do homework or just hang out with friends. They have a good music selection and I just have nothing but good things to say about this place! I don't even live in SD, but every time I visit, I stop by here. read more

I love the green tea w/ boba & rainbow jelly yumO! The customer service here is exceptionall =) I came in today after work and Steven, Brian and Duncan were friendly and funny great way to end the day. Great drinks, food and people...what more could a girl ask for :) read more

I've been to this location a few times and only when I am doing some grocery shopping for work at the Vons next door. That's usually when I remember that Tap Ex is just a few doors down. The last time I came here I actually remembered to check in and snap a photo. It was nice to not see a huge line but that could have been because it was right when it opened. I imagine that this place sees more business from the college students in the late afternoons and evenings. As with other Tap Ex locations, menu has lots of variety and boba balls are done A-OK. Service was friendly when I was there. I would not hesitate to come back here whenever I am in the area for work. As a previous poster pointed out though, the chairs look a little suspect so I would not recommend sitting down unless you absolutely have to. I suggest to them that they switch out their fabric armchairs and get something wooden and easy to clean. Enjoy! read more

Tapioca Express - So many choices! - Coffee & Tea Near Me - San Diego, California

Out of all the Tapioca Express's I've been to, this one has the best boba with the right texture and chewiness. I'm a fan of the happy hour here (M-F before 6 PM). I always order the milk tea with boba and small crispy chicken which comes up to only about $4 total. I love it when the crispy chicken comes out piping hot, extra crunchy and almost overflowing out of the bag. What can change are some of the girl cashiers that I've encountered here. A smile and a positive attitude would be nice once in a while... read more

Boba is okay compared to other places. Need to step it up on the laziness of mixed drinks.

NO no no! This place has always been a solid 3 but today the girl working the register couldn't count change and shorted me a dollar. She also did not apologize and blamed it on the register itself...yea sure OK. And then my Hong Kong milk tea was watered down and flavorless when I got it. What turned out to be a late night boba craving ended up me drinking a sad cup of iced milk. I would've been better off just going to sleep. Fail TapEx! read more

This place is SOOOO SLOW. It's not even busy at all and it's taking over 15 minutes for an order of fries and popcorn chicken. The fries weren't even piping hot when we received them so I'm not sure what they're doing back in the kitchen.. The time it takes to get out the food is longer than the time for me to write this yelp review. Also, fries came out cold and popcorn chicken was 80% batter. read more

Wasn't too busy on a Monday night! I love boba although my bf is not a fan but he still loves this place because boba is a choice! I got the passion fruit snow bubble with boba. It was delish and not too sweet. The boba itself was good but a little more thick than I'm used to. My boyfriend gets the strawberry snow bubble with no boba which was also really good! read more

we love tapioca express for the convenience! i go there 1-2 times a week. it doesn't help that my yoga studio, core power, is in the same plaza... my fiance loves the passion fruit green tea with extra boba (what can i say, he loves balls!). i prefer the lemon green tea, less sweet with regular boba. we always get an order of the crispy fried fish balls - extra hot if you're feeling adventurous. you should always double check your order. i would say about 50% of the time i ask for extra boba, they forget to add it in. they're really great about remaking it after you let them know. also, if you tell them exactly how you want it, i.e., not too sweet, they will follow the instructions. overall, 4 stars because they are pretty good and very convenient. read more

Once you dodge past the Mormons and skirt through the antisocial students of UCSD, you will find yourself at a place that shouldn't fit into La Jolla-some place cheap. TapEx is a great place to go when you are sick of your roommates, but still want access to internet. Get the crispy chicken (medium) or the fries and a Boba-any kind. read more

man. i just love it here. i've been a customer for 2 and a half years and i dont have any complaints. drinks are deeeelish, food is filling, music is great, and workers care about the customers :D thanks tapex!! read more

Got a matcha milk tea which tasted like mildly flavoured milk. Haven't got a clue where the matcha taste went but I could taste some sort of tea. I may as well have walked over to Von's, gotten a half gallon carton of milk for the same price and added the flavour myself. read more

4 stars for cheap happy hour deals, but overall 3 stars for quality of tea. This place used to be packed with people studying or hanging out no matter what time of day. Lately I noticed this place to be fairly empty-- maybe all the students are out studying or with finals. Tapex satisfies boba cravings, but the quality of tea isn't anything amazing. Wouldn't pay the regular price for a drink here. I'll stick to tea places on Convoy. read more

My last drink was a complete fail! First they made me a milk tea when I didn't want milk tea but i decided I can deal with it and not be a pain of a customer. But the boba itself was very hard, so that was two strikes in one tea and money/tea into the garbage. read more

Way faster than the TE at UCSD. Worth driving over there instead of waiting at the ridiculous line in Price Center. Clean and good vibe. Make everything super quick. read more

i work at ucsd and prefer this location to the one at the price center. the price center is always so packed and sometimes i just need to get the heck out of campus. anyways, i head to this place on my lunch break and every time i have been there, the service has been great. it's rarely packed when im there (maybe i just go during the "down times") but its a nice place to chill/relax/eat with a friend during my lunch break. i am currently addicted to the calamari and fried tofu and they hook it up for u here. there is so much food u can save the rest for dinner. as for the drinks, i've the milk tea, which was fine and the coconut snow bubble. yes, the snow bubble was slightly sweet, but i love sweets.. so i was fine with it. i will definitely go back. read more

Food is fast and drinks are good. Its a cute boba shop in the middle of La Jolla. Would recommend to come to study or to chat with friends. Its in a nice neighborhood too. It also isn't crowded as the other location at UCSD. The drinks are good if you know what to order! I personally like some of the food here better than the other location, bit definitely the other location has more kinds of food. read more

This place has gotten much better. I've been back a couple times since my last review and I'm glad I did. The drinks are way better. The service is unbelievably better. Like, MUCH better. I may actually frequent this place more. read more

I called on and they let me know they don't take phone orders. Staff was friendly when I got there. Drinks and food didn't take too long. read more

free wi-fi !!! living in regencia over the summer and not having my internet hooked up for the first couple days i went to this tapex to get a drink and watch japanese tv shows. it's a super convenient location for all the off-campus students of UCSD because it's inside the vons shopping center. i like to utilize their lunch specials and happy hour specials. i believe happy hour is after 10pm buy one get one half off and lunch is like less than $4 for a snack size crispy chicken and milk tea with boba :D totally worth it. i highly recommend bringing a jacket/sweater/cardigan if you plan to study for long periods because it gets SO DAMN COLD in here. why ?! LOL idk but just bring extra snuggly warm things and you can study while sipping on tea/chewing boba ballsssssssss :) read more

I only like coming here for my tapicoa fix. I always get the jasmine milk tea with large boba and once in a while i'll order some crispy chicken, potstickers, or fried tofu. I love jasmine milk tea and I have not found a place that can make it better than TapX. Their crispy chicken has improved compared to two years ago when they use to be over fried and just plain rough and dry inside. I love their fried potstickers, they are just so yummy. This is my place for snacktime. read more

I love tapioca express, they haven't let me down yet. my go to items include the snowbubble thai tea, honey dew juice, watermelon juice and their chicken snack. read more

After trying several boba shops in town, Tapioca is probably one of the worse ones. The bobas are too soft and mushy and they really don't give you a lot. Every single time the bobas always run out before I finish my drink. I usually order green tea with boba at 75% sugar, which is a bit bitter but perfect for me (I don't like my drinks too sweet). The store also has happy hour in the afternoon and buy one get one free after 10 pm. It is usually packed with people when I go and has in-store wifi. read more

This is a really good food and bubble tea place. The bubble tea is amazing I recommend chocolate or strawberry or coconut. This is a really good place as all the waiters are nice and they like helping out and have your order done fast so you are ready to eat or drink. 1 word. Exceptional. read more

Horrible service, gave out food to the wrong person and did not apologize. Second person person walked away mid conversation. Bunch of college airheads working there. Be warn read more

such a rip off. I ordered a large mango snow bubble with boba & the guy left out about quarter of it. This has happened to me more than once, so I'm taking my business elsewhere from now on. read more

Had to go here because the one on convoy is under construction. Ordered the crispy chicken, which was as expected, however, they don't have the 10-15 sauces you can choose from. They only offered sweet & sour, ketchup & sriracha. They also don't allow you to order pickup via the phone & only accept it thru door dash, grub hub, etc. This is unfortunate if you are driving and they don't have the entire menu listed. read more

i'm not crazy about the menu selection. no complaints about the service. i miss lollicup's wide variety. i'm sure there's one around, but i haven't really tried to find it. *edit i went back the other day and encountered the bitchiest counter girl ever. i had to knock off that 2nd star for that. read more

Not the best TapEx I've ever been to. The inside is kind of sketchy and pretty dirty, and the table setting is a bit awkward. I came here intending to study on a weeknight and managed to get a table + wifi, but I probably won't be coming back. The drinks weren't that great either (I got a hot ginger tea) but I'd say the most disappointing aspect is the setting...you'll see what I mean if you ever visit this place. read more

Really dig the pepper chicken & thal snow bubble w/ bobba, what!?! The girly loves green apple snow bubble, this place is good