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Tapioca Express

3.1 (498 reviews)
Closed 10:30 am - 9:30 pm

Order Tapioca Express Takeout or Delivery

Tapioca Express Coffee & Tea Photos

Business Info

TAPIOCA EXPRESS ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Good for kids
Outdoor seating
Good for working

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Recommended Reviews - Tapioca Express

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Korean Short Ribs Combo
Joey E.

We were around the corner and since it has been a while since we last visited a Tapioca Express we decided to give it another go. We ordered the Crispy Chicken Combo paired with a Sweeten Black Tea and a Korean Short Rib Combo paired with a Milk Tea. Gotta admit that both hit the spot if you are looking for something quick and filling. This location def hits vs some others previous ones that I've been too so if you are in the area and want that Boba Meal combo. Def stop by.

Katherine K.

Randomly stopped here with my guy cuz I was sicky and wanted something cold on my throat. Very unimpressed by this place. We were the only ones here and it still took them over 20 mins to make our two drinks. I got a Taro slush and there was zero taro flavor at all. Very disappointing. Of course I still drank it because the cold felt amazing on my throat. Plenty of other places that are way better than this one. Edit for owner: I stopped by 03Dec2024

Shrimp balls, hoping for Fried panko shrimp balls
Wuchie W.

I had to run an errand and I checked nearby for any boba shops I have not visited yet. There were 2 spots nearby and I decided to come here due to the reviews on the food at this spot. The place is in a shopping plaza, a couple spots right in front and many throughout the whole parking lot. The inside is very basic, nothing stood out in decorations or seating. I did see they have some board games available to play if you end up hanging out. They had the menu hanging above, but it was not that easy to see. (a bit dark) They did have an actual menu in front where you ordered. It definitely looked like more things in the menu vs what appeared on the wall. I didn't see many 'speciality' drinks on the menu. They have the milk teas, the fruit teas, ice slushy, snow bubbles, fruit sodas. These are the items I got: 1. Thai tea with mixed boba (big & small boba) This was run of the mill Thai tea, I could not tell you if this was freshly brewed Thai tea being used, but if I had to guess, I don't believe so. The boba were good, the smaller ones were soft and chewy. The bigger ones were not as good but decent. They skimp on the toppings.  3/5 2. Passion fruit green tea with grass jelly with sea salt foam. I got this for my sister, she noted that the foam was uber delicious, the drink was ok. It wasn't bad nor good.  She noted it had only a few pieces of grass jelly. 3.5/5 3. Mango Fresh Fruit tea with green apple jellies These were different from the slush/icy drinks since those use flavored syrup while these have real fruit. It was pretty sweet. 3.8/5 4. I got shrimp balls, I was hoping these would be panko fried shrimp in ball form, but they are like fish balls but made of shrimp. They did put the seasoning they put on the crispy chicken so that part made these better. These were not bad but not what I was expecting. 3/5 5. Crispy chicken- I came here due to the reviews,  I do think they give you a pretty good portion for the price, but the chicken was overdone, chewy and in all different sizes. I have had this type of chicken many times and the fact it being dark meat but dry and overdone is a travesty. You really have to cook thigh meat to death to make it this chewy and hard OR this was old fried chicken. Let's just say I was very disappointed. The seasoning was good, too bad the meat was terrible. 1/5 I might visit this joint again but definitely not any time soon. Food: 2/5 Service: 3/5 (took a little bit longer than expected and the chicken was still bad!!) Ambiance: 3/5

T.E. Crispy Popcorn Chicken Combo with Boba Milk Tea
Sandy N.

Came here on a weekday to study and it was quite nice. It was quiet and the food was very affordable. You honestly can't get these prices around here, especially during happy hours, these days. Happy hours start at 10AM, so right when it opens and honestly, I was glad because I was going to wait until 11AM to go in. Ordered the Tapioca Express Crispy Popcorn Chicken Combo with Boba Milk Tea which came out to be under $10. They were also very generous with the chicken and the amount provided. The chicken was good. It wasn't the best but it was still juicy and cooked thoroughly. The outer layer was crispy, and their spice level had a nice kick to it. I did wish they mixed it with the other chicken rather than just sprinkling it on top though. Boba tasted like every other boba places. Love that they give boba without additional cost so that's a huge win. Other than that, I would love to be back with my headphones to study since it was quite spacious and staffs were friendly. WiFi is fast and parking is free since it's shared with the other businesses.

Sharon B.

They have a happy hour milk tea special that we took advantage of. They also had a special on their crispy chicken for $3. The milk teas were a little on the sweet side but the boba was good. The crispy chicken was ordered with a medium spicy level and it was delicious! Whatever flavoring that they sprinkled on the fried chicken was so good!

Aidan F.

Why is there half the amount of chicken than usual in my combo? Are they cutting back? Are we in a depression?

Eric C.

pretty butt ngl. i came like 20 mins after opening n the chicken from my #1 combo felt old as hell n tough bruh. rice was dry asf too. some grains were dumb hard. but this is def a bargain for like 11-12 bucks.so ill bump up to a 2 stars

Squidballs!!
D M.

Short story but I was having a tough day and wanted to stop by tapex before going to mt soledad for a picnic. I was greeted by the front cashier Brent, he was truly an angel! He was THE nicest person who's worked at any establishment. Served everyone smiles, and always asking if you're having a good day after your order. I ordered a chi chi fries (fries, cheese, popcorn chicken, some chipotle sauce) so good! Definitely come here for the munchies!! And my usual popcorn chicken with rice!! (Always a good choice in my opinion can never go wrong) this was a HUGE portion! They hooked it up with chicken, other locations skimp out for some reason! Good for 2-3 people!! Squidballs!! Always great, made to order, crispy, and always fills that late night craving. I've had their drinks here as well and they're all great but my usual is taro so you can't really mess that up haha Will come back solely for the service!

Crispy Chicken Meal
Laura J.

Very nice staff, always super friendly. The drinks are usually a hit or miss. If you're looking for something to drink you can't go wrong with either their black or green tea or any of their snow bubble (blended) drinks. I wouldn't necessarily recommend their milk tea drinks, I feel like the ones I had so far can be a little watered down. To this day, the lychee or passionfruit snow bubble with boba are my favorites. If you're getting boba I recommend going in the afternoon or later, that's when they have their fresh boba. Their combo meals are also pretty good and they have great deals for some of them during happy hour. I like getting their crispy chicken combo, along with a snow bubble drink. It also comes with a very generous portion size for the combo meals.

Comes with a dumpling, salad and they always overload on delish chicken yum!!
Quinn S.

My favorite place to eat in all of San Diego. Great tasting food, cheap and boba is delicious. Really close to a nice park, and the actual place itself just feels like it's stuck in the early 2000s (I mean this 100% as a compliment-- it's just cozy). I go here after work, surfing, studying; Tapioca Express fits every scenario, every time. Staff are always super courteous, and they seem to care. I always love introducing my friends to this place, and it's perfect for a small snack or a real meal.

eyelash in drink

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Photo of Jay K.
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15 years ago

Fan of Tapex especially Snow BOBA~!!! and CRISPY CHICKEN!

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14 years ago

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14 years ago

Boba is just okay. Better to go to tea station or tea n more. It's just easy to come here for a quick snack.

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14 years ago

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12 years ago

Busy place, food in ok but their tapioca drinks are great! Recommend snow mocha.

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11 years ago

Staff here is very nice and i love to come here to study. $2 milk tea. Can't beat that.

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11 years ago

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15 years ago

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16 years ago

The spicy chicken is soo good here. But I can't stand the loud ass music and the dirty ass seats or couches.

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16 years ago

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13 years ago

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12 years ago

ok place but the decor is a little raunchy. By that i mean its dirty and used seating. Mocha is ok, nothing special. Prices are good.

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10 years ago

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14 years ago

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14 years ago

a good place to rest the whole afternoon with a cup of bubble tea. their beverage is good. only flaw is that they serve too few food,lol

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15 years ago

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13 years ago

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13 years ago

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Page 13 of 13

Ask the Community - Tapioca Express

Do you have Wi-Fi?

Yes, we do!

Is there indoor seating now (6/28/22)?

Hi Armina, Yes, we have indoor seating again. Thanks.

Do they take all NFC payments (i.e. Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, etc.)?

yes they do

View All 4 Questions

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3.9(235 reviews)
1.1 miUniversity City
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Locally owned & operated
Free WiFi

What we ordered | Rose milk tea…read more Taste | strong rose flavor and had some rose petals in the drink Service | drinks came out fast Parking | plaza Notes | order through kiosk

We stopped in one evening for some after dinner drinks. Liquid dessert so to speak. Have to be…read moretruthful - wasn't a good experience. Started off good though. Lots of parking. In a plaza that appeared to be slow or dead leaving lots of space. I parked almost in front - just off to the side. Walk in and it's order at a kiosk. I get automation as it's something I do, I've done and will do as times change. However, I had questions and ended up just ordering something else as there was no human interaction to answer me. Place is deceivingly small - there are a bunch of seating - I wouldn't go in with a large group but definitely places to sit, chat or work on your laptop (saw several students? hammering away on their laptop keyboard). Not sure, but maybe they also offer WIFI.? Drinks seems watered down in my opinion. And I've ordered the same drinks at other locations and either the ingredients were off or it was prepared differently that didn't quite align to my expectations and taste. However, place was busy so maybe it's just how it's served as business was steady and I saw a few order the same as what I got. Don't live in the area so highly unlikely that there will be a return visit.

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Heytea - Green cloud grape and Kale Boost

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3.6(119 reviews)
0.8 miUniversity City

I've been wanting to try this place the moment I walked past it at UTC. The minimalist interior…read moredesign was simple, yet so lovely and appealing. The space resembled a tea house, but with its own unique elegance that I quickly fell in love with. What we tried: Cloud Longjing Milk Tea - 4/5 Cloud Matcha Latte - 3.5/5 It's okay... I guess I just had better tea drinks at this point. I really enjoyed the Cloud Longjing Milk Tea, but I feel like the matcha cloud and Viennese cream was a bit too much. I guess I'll just get the simpler version of it next time because I absolutely loved the flavor and aroma of the Longjing tea. I think it's also beyond adorable that you can customize a sticker for your drink--I feel like it makes your cup just a little more special. I have also seen a lot of reviews recommending to put your order online through their app and it was the best advice ever! It made getting our order such a breeze. We went on a Thursday midday, and there were still 30+ drinks ahead of us when we put our order in. It was INSANE! So yes, if you don't want the hassle of waiting 30-40 minutes for your drink, just order through their app. I'm not counting them out just yet. I'm definitely going back, but I think I'll try the Supreme Brown Sugar Bobo Milk Tea and Coconut Mango Boom next time. I've seen so many people order it and I'm very curious about those after trying the ones we have.

We came on a Saturday late afternoon, there wasn't much of a line when getting there but it still…read moretook over half an hour to get our drinks, which they did warn us about. I got one of their new drinks the King Jasmine Guava. Unfortunately, I did not really like this, it taste quite bland and the flavor got dull/boring really quick. It wasn't too sweet, and had a bit of tartness to it but a semi weird aftertaste. It did have a nice floral taste to it but I couldn't really taste the jasmine tea or guava, so it felt more like a weird blend of flavors instead.

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Tapioca Express - coffee - Updated May 2026

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