Tapioca Express

I recently had the pleasure of visiting a boba place that has quickly become one of my favorites in town. The atmosphere was vibrant and inviting, with colorful decor and a cozy seating area that made it a perfect spot to relax and enjoy a drink. The menu was extensive, offering a wide variety of boba flavors and toppings, making it hard to choose just one! One of the standout aspects of my visit was the exceptional service provided by a girl named Sumatra. From the moment I walked in, she greeted me with a warm smile and was incredibly helpful in guiding me through the menu. Her enthusiasm for the drinks was contagious, and she took the time to explain the different flavors and ingredients, making recommendations based on my preferences. It was clear that she was knowledgeable about the menu, and her passion for boba was evident in the way she spoke about each drink. I decided to try the classic milk tea with tapioca pearls, and Sumatra suggested adding some fresh fruit to enhance the flavor. I opted for mango, and it was an excellent choice! The drink was perfectly balanced, with just the right amount of sweetness and a refreshing burst of fruity flavor from the mango. The tapioca pearls were chewy and cooked to perfection, adding a delightful texture to the drink. Throughout my time there, Sumatra checked in on me to ensure everything was to my liking. Her friendly demeanor and attention to detail made the experience even more enjoyable. She shared stories about how she got into working at the boba shop and her favorite drinks, which made the visit feel more personal. It's not just about the drinks at this place; it's about the connections and the community that they foster. Overall, my experience at this boba place was fantastic, largely thanks to Sumatra's exceptional service. If you're in the area, I highly recommend stopping by to try their drinks and hopefully meet Sumatra. Her enthusiasm and dedication to providing a great customer experience truly set this place apart from others. I can't wait to go back and try more flavors!

Here me out.... delicious. The location is hidden away. The service was great the food was great and the price was even better.i had the combo meal with rice 🍚 mac salad and Popcorn chicken 🐔 (mild spice lvl) and a mango Tealush all for only $14 ... Def. Coming back, you too should check it out 👍🏼 Aloha 🤙🏽

Giving 2 stars because my first experience here was not great. We waited over 25 mins for 3 drinks while other people who came in after use were receiving their drinks first. I felt real bad there was only one barista scheduled. Not sure if I’ll give this place another try when there are so many other boba places.

Accessibility: there are a few disabled parking spots across from the entrance of this building and there are two ramps to get onto the sidewalk. The doors to enter are pull doors. There are no places to sit outside but there are short tables with moveable chairs inside. Masks: required as of 2-6-2022. All the staff and customers were wearing masks. Experience: this place is a little hidden but it's great! I ordered a peach green tea with aloe and it was very good. It was a stronger flavor than I expected but still good! My friend also loved her drink with boba in it. The employees were all super nice and welcoming!

Everything is five stars, except food. Only because I have a soy, dairy, and nut allergy, they did not carry oatmilk. I hope they start to carry oatmilk soon. I substituted with a green tea and mango with Boba. Which came out to be five stars. Brown sugar frosti milk with boba, came out fabulous. My kids loved their drink. I am a return customer for sure.

June 6th 715pm I waited for ever while 1 worker made all the drinks and the other female worker talked to 2 teenage boys who were acting like jerks about inappropriate things....horrible experience..the manager should be so embrassed of how their staff acts at work in front of customers

Young lady seemed annoyed that we came in. But our order was good . We had the Mango bubble ice /smoothie with mango pearls.

OMG! This place is amazing! Visiting from out of town and just totally love their amazing bobas! Definitely coming back here again before we leave!

I'm writing this review primarily on the service. The three employees I spoke to were helpful, personable, and competent. They explained the drinks to me because I was new to the menu. I wound up with the salted foam coffee (with Boba) and it was exactly what I wanted. The coffee was caffeinated and the foam light, the salt and caramel drizzle nicely balanced. The restroom was not clean, BUT it was open after 10pm, when nothing nearby was allowing customers to use a restroom. That was also a big plus. I don't know what happened to the people who complained about the service, but my experience was completely different. I recommend this location.

I'm honestly not even surprised at this point this store has been going downhill for months, and today just confirmed it. I happened to be in the area and figured I'd give it one last shot. Safe to say I won't be returning. I walked in to find some girl who doesn't even work there lounging at the counter with her feet up right where customers are supposed to pay. Completely unprofessional. The girl who took my order was polite, but the one making the drinks looked like she just rolled out of bed. Hair down, totally not dressed for work... it's honestly shocking how far this place has fallen. Truly disappointing, but again--not surprised. Sidenote, not sure what happened but their store hours are all over the place

This would be the second time I have been to this place and they are all out of tofu. I suggest calling before wasting your gas.

not gonna lie this drink was so gooood but that one lady whos was like ohhh we don't have boba, bruh how do yall run out of boba when your literally a boba place like that actually made me so upset but the drink was too good to just not get anything so im upset.

Food is good but service is very slow. I only have 30 mins for lunch and i didn't get the food till after 40 mins later. People come in and walked out because the worker is by herself not getting any help. Not a good place if you're pressed for time. Boss should come in and help cook and serve !

I had a very disappointing visit to Tapioca Express. While the cashier with red hair was sweet, the other one with curly hair was rude and unpleasant. They forgot our order, and we ended up waiting about 30 minutes. When we asked about it, instead of apologizing and fixing the issue, she responded as if it was my friend's fault, which was completely uncalled for. Additionally, the portion size of the popcorn chicken was shocking. It looked like half of the bag was missing compared to other locations, almost as if it had been half-eaten. Extremely dissatisfied and won't be returning to this location. p.s. the owner should pick an employee who is good at customer service, communication skills and has basic manners.

Placed a mobile order for pick up earlier this afternoon. I ordered 3 drinks and a crispy chicken snack. When I arrived, the cashier (young girl) stated that she refunded me for the chicken because of a fire or something in the kitchen. I had specified via mobile order that I wanted my order cancelled if they didn't have the chicken. She then proceeded to tell me that the kitchen or fire had been fixed and the chicken would be ready in a couple minutes, but she'd have to re-charge me. Ok. Sure. So she rung me up for the chicken. When I left the store and got back on the road, I reached for a piece of chicken. I had to reach pretty far down and upon looking into the bag, the bag of chicken was HALF FULL!! SEE PHOTOS (I hadn't even had 1 piece of chicken when the photos were taken) I was so frustrated. Are you serious? $8.49 for a bag of chicken that was HALF FULL?!?! I called the shop and complained to the cashier that the bag was half full. She stated, with an attitude, that it was 7 oz and she weighed it and some pieces are bigger than others. BUT ALL THE PIECES WERE SMALL! At the end she didn't even apologize or offer to correct it. I'm a frequent customer of the Tap Ex's in SD, and every time I order the crispy chi me snack, I always receive my orders with a bag full of chicken; not a bag HALF FULL. This is my first and last visit ever at this location. THIS LOCATION SUCKS. SERVICE ALSO SUCKS. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND.

Love the chai vanilla milk tea with boba such a great flavor! Highly recommend, I love this flavor so much I wish the drink was endless lol

The service is never poor when we're there! Keep in mind that there is only like two people working at a time. I normally get the almond bubble which is always gonna be my fav. And I add the lumpia on and it's always the best. Their spice can be a bit much for some so think carefully!

Accessibility: there are a few disabled parking spots across from the entrance of this building and there are two ramps to get onto the sidewalk. The doors to enter are pull doors. There are no places to sit outside but there are short tables with moveable chairs inside. Masks: required as of 2-6-2022. All the staff and customers were wearing masks. Experience: this place is a little hidden but it's great! I ordered a peach green tea with aloe and it was very good. It was a stronger flavor than I expected but still good! My friend also loved her drink with boba in it. The employees were all super nice and welcoming!

We waited for 20 minutes to even order with only two people in line ahead of us. We ordered 4 drinks and waited another 15 minutes for one blended drink and 3 milk teas. The staff was unfriendly and missed that we had 3 milk teas and only made one. They quickly made all doordash orders ahead of customers in the store. The boba is consistently fine and they're open late so that's what two stars are for.

The drinks are meh The people who work there don't seem to like their job very much For the price, you can get much better boba drinks from other places.

They have the best regular milk black tea around. It has a back drop of chocolate that is really nice. My wife loves coffee, and absolutely love their ice white chocolate mocha.

I go to school in San Francisco so I'm very aware of good quality boba and overall anything to do with milk teas, tea, snowballs, and juices. I even worked at boba shop during my third year in college and it was the best experience. For those that live in Oceanside, we all know that there aren't that many options to get good boba. You kind of have to take a chance on a place. And being someone who knows quality boba and has a history of customer service for 7 years going to this Tapioca express is the BEST and ONLY option for both. This shop isn't like any average ones, all the workers are in highschool and college. They are SO hardworking and considerate of the customers. They work together as a team and try their best to handle so many customers. During the climax of the pandemic in 2020, this was the only store in the plaza open until 10PM. Hearing the passion of these student workers inspired me to write this review because the reviews on here don't reflect the establishment. People please be considerate and remember workers are HUMAN. I added a photo of a worker there instead of a drink to remind y'all of that. Her name is Mel and she deserves recognition for her hard work. This is the BEST tapioca express in San Diego, because it has real genuine people. I encourage you all to go and try it for yourself, be your own judge

Constant good service and good drinks. And the vibe is always just really good. Pricing is also very good compared to other places.

Open during COVID-19. After being quarantined for a week, my craving for bubble tea drastically increased! I stopped by Tapioca express to fix that and I was not let down. Of course the dining area was closed, but there were a few customers waiting on drinks. I got the combination yogurt frost with boba and it's so delicious! Very sweet, slightly tangy, and perfectly chewy boba. I also got a Thai milk tea with boba for my boyfriend to go. Quality boba and excellent customer service. I'd very much recommend this place.

We went mid day and they were out of The normal boba balls. The person working Said they had the small boba only, they were out of the regular size. I opted to take the small boba and there was DEFINITELY a difference. They are way soggier and little to no taste. My drink wasn't the same.

Honestly, it's a hit or miss sometimes :/ Came today with my boyfriend at around 4:15-4:30 and it literally looks like they just threw our drinks into the cup and didn't even add the kiwi, mango, strawberry on top for our combination :,( When we came last time our yogurt combination looked just like how it did in the reviews with it filled with the fruits on top but idk what happened to ours this time.

I wish I could like this place, but every time without fail the employees are extremely lazy and give off a bad vibe when making drinks. Last time I went my drink was thick and did not taste good. If they put as much effort into making the as they did closing early they'd be fine.

I can sum this place up with DE-LISH-US! Ohhhhh how I have missed a good Boba Tea but my search is over!!! I followed the rainbow and at the end was Tapioca Express. As soon as I entered I knew it was love at first sight! They had me at Milk Tea! This place has a great selection of legit from Thailand teas! Well maybe not straight from Thailand butttt their selection is bomb! I had the pudding milk tea with boba. First time trying the pudding and I'm glad I did. The pudding is actually custard and it is GOOD. This will be my new spot when I'm having my boba withdrawals, which will be on the reg. If you want to step up your Thai Tea game, enter Tapioca Express! You will get Thai Tea street credit PHO-SHOW!

I've returned. And the kitchen is down because they're "pre-frying everything." I see that there's a hiring sign for a shift lead so I can only assume the owners are looking for more staffing. There's so much potential for more business here but each time I come, there's no customer service, the fryer is down, there's at least one customer complaining they haven't gotten the order, or a person comes in saying they've been calling and while I'm there I see them ignore any incoming call. I'm sorry but either the owner needs to come in here everyday, manage, and teach their employees how to run things properly or just shut it down.

Ordered the crispy chicken for nearly $7. It wasn't a long wait (and you'll see why). Drinks were pretty good but just a tiny bit sweet. The real complaint is the size of the chicken served in a bag. It wasn't even filled halfway! We usually go to the convoy location and that one fills the bags!! I ordered 2 bags of chicken. No wonder why it didn't take long and this location has low stars. FILL THE BAGS UP YA LAZIES!

Worst costumer service ever, You can never get food because everytime you order something from the kitchen they always come with excuses, oh we dont have oil or the kitchen is close or we dont have this or that. i've have there multiple times in the morning afternoon and evening and they always say kitchen is closed. Like wtf who the fuck manages this place?

I don't know if there is one owner for all locations. But we live in Oceanside and have been to the Oceanside location about 7 times. And have called 4 times. We go there for crispy chicken. And have only been successful at purchasing it 1 time. Each time we have been told the fryer is down. The fry oil is down, the supervisor is not there to fry the chicken, or we are too busy to make it. Each time I have gone to a San Diego location I have never had the same issue. Is there something that can be done to fix this issue at the Oceanside location?

Please shut down or get new management. This place is always closed during regular operating hours. When they are open, they're always out of food, drinks are no good and staff always has attitudes. What happened?!

Big menu, watered down tea, and psychotic staff. :) If they're watching enough TikToks to think this is cute, they're probably not making the drinks right. Maybe if they stuck to only being soulless and ghoulish on their own time there'd be fewer customer service complaints about this place.

I've been here multiple times, but haven't been here for a few years after other boba shops opened in North County. I finally stopped by for order pick up the other day, and was disappointed in the service and drinks. I don't know what happened to them. They used to have good customer service and tasty drinks. Now the customer service is poor and the drinks taste so artificial. When I walked in, the 2 female staff didn't even bother to greet me or ask if I needes any help. One female just stared at me like, "what are you doing here?" I told them I was there to pick up my order. She looks down at her tablet and says, "the order just came through, so you need to wait." Not sure why I deserved such negative attitude. I was meaning to wait... was only communicating why I was there. Even if the drinks are mediocre, if the customer service is good, then I'll come back if I'm nearby. But frankly, customer service has tanked here, so there is really no need to return.

I had went with my mom and I and had ordered a taro milk tea, house tea and some chicken. Mind you no other customers where in the building and we had waited 20 minutes to even get anything. During that time people came in and still got their orders before us. I only got my order made when I asked for an eta.

Tapioca Express reminds me so much of my college years. We had one on campus at UCSD and I would get Tapex all the time. There's no dine-in here at the moment due to COVID, however they are open for takeout. I got a chocolate milk tea and popcorn chicken, both were pretty good. I like it when boba places have savory snacks and not just desserts. Not a bad place to get your boba fix or to get a snack.

I really like the milk teas never tried anything else but this my favorite place for boba. They only have two sizes to choose from but plenty of flavors and different drink options. Sometimes the wait is long but the staff always hustle to get the line moving and the drinks out quickly.

Only real place to get boba. Like real boba and not at a pho shop. Not many choices in Oside for a boba tea house, so I'm glad there's a TapEx. TapEx isn't my favorite boba spot but it's good enough to satisfy that boba craving! And they have baby boba! Especially being far from Asian places. Drinks are a bit too sweet though, try asking for 50% sweet.

I love that TapEx has not only boba, but jellies and pudding. Many of the items are made with fresh fruit also (cantalope, watermelon etc). Each time I've been here the tapioca is wonderfly fresh too. Also the employees are always super helpful and will make whatever your little heart desires. That's a huge plus! One of my new favorites - the Crispy Chicken (our friend lovingly calls it 'Crack Chicken'). Try it! Here's another HUGE plus (especially for North County): it's open till 10pm most nights (Fri and Sat it stays open till 11pm). Yes!

I am so happy this place is in the North County! There isn't many boba places up here so it's slim pickings I have had this place in Clairemont and it never fails. Their drinks are pretty good I would give this place 3 stars but the cashier was really nice so I gave this place 4 stars. I'm not a huge fan of their boba balls they are too chewy for me also the almond milk tea is just okay. My fiancé had watermelon it was bland and not sweet at all. They have really good fried chicken and rice here try their combos. The atmosphere is chill, modern, clean, and inviting. It reminds me of the other tap exs I have been too. There were some people on lap tops and studying so it's a great place to use the WiFi and hang out. The service was great super fast and friendly. When we went they weren't busy at all the cashier was nice and we had a drink made with minutes. Overall I would come back!

Be prepared for all kinds of attitude and slow service. Expect actual, visible disdain from the staff if you dare to order food, plus a half-hour minimum wait. The hate is palpable. Half of the time they tell you the kitchen is closed. Too bad too, because the drinks and food are tasty.

I had custard in milk tea for the first time so the next day I wanted it again. Didn't even realize we had a tapioca Express in Oceanside. They have egg pudding instead of custard. It wasn't quite as satisfying as custard but still pretty good. The pudding has a less firm but less creamy texture to me for some reason. Thai tea was as good as expected. My son got the vanilla cookie smoothie/milk shake thing I forget what it's exactly called but it tasted like chocolate cookie and was a grey color. We also got the chicken with ranch. Ranch was generic gross grocery store ranch but that's to be expected as well. We got medium spice which is not hot but very flavorful. 5 spice levels from none to very spicy. Medium is 3. This seems to be a teen hangout. There were a lot of high school aged kids there. Overall will return as they have better variety than other tea places in Oceanside

I've called to order and they don't allow it. Kitchen closes early, randomly they'll close the kitchen whenever they want, even when I go out of my way to get there because they won't take phone orders.

Loved the strawberry banana snow bubble with Boba! My mom also liked the Boba drinks, it was her first time trying Boba. Highly recommend it, and I think it's completely worth the price and the price is very good. The personnel were very kind and friendly, and helped me find the drink that I liked. Will come back to try different menu items.

If I could give it no stars I would... As soon I arrived I felt the bad energy...They were rude 10 minutes until closing me and my partner walk inside to get a nice Refreshment after we just had sushi my partner noticed that one of the coworkers shook her head no and automatically the cashier told us "we're not selling any more Boba, we ran out" with an attitude. I didn't really appreciate it although the customer inside had a full boba refreshment

Some fake Blonde chick with glasses that was the register at the boba spot was rude from start till the finish which is fine we all have bad nights but this chick didn't even bother to tell me and my wife our drinks were ready she just put them on top of the counter and went back to mopping like sheesh we showed up like 25 minutes before closing time not 5 minutes looser

I feel bad writing this because the first lady helping us was so sweet. Nevertheless, the full experience was disappointing. We arrived and patiently waited a good moment to be served. I wanted some crispy chicken and was told the kitchen closed at 9pm (we arrived before 9pm by the way). The woman who jumped in, possibly an owner or manager, did not seem to care about that and seemed like she wanted to rush us through. We ordered a taro snow bubble and chai vanilla drink both with boba. The boba was hard, not fresh. The experience was unpleasant. I do not recommend this location.

Horrible service. Would rate 0star if possible. I ordered these an hour from 4:27pm and was supposed to be ready at 5:27pm. Got there at 5:35pm. First thing when i get there i told them im here for a pick up. Crew members completely ignored me for 10 minutes. I asked again im here for a pick up. And they said they didnt have anything ready or no one ordered anything. I asked them to check and they did. Their excuse was "ooh, sorry we are the new crew, the other crew might of accepted it and never finished the order." They told me that they can make it, but will be 25 minutes. I was frustrated and asked to speak to a manager. I left and this wasnt the first time they do this to me.

My drink didn't really have enough flavor and the pudding was bland as well. I wouldn't come back again.

The place is not that good.The Taro and Thai Tea boba we order was bland and tasted water down.I could barely taste the flavor of the Taro.Workers look like they hate their job and did not want to be there.Feel like a waste of money and time.Very disappointed. Will not be coming back.

Firstly, the service was pretty subpar. No greeting, no acknowledgement. The only way I knew it was my turn to order was because there was someone at the cashier and nobody in front of me. The cashier didn't acknowledge me at all. The experience was very transaction-based. The bathroom was disgusting. Wet floors, no paper towels, and the toilet paper roll was left on the rails. The air had a sweet, thick, density to it. A few of my family members had to leave because they felt sick from the sweet-humidity. I wonder if there's any sort of ventilation? The drinks where decent at least. I would look for another boba place if possible.

I've been a regular here for many years because I love the boba drinks here, but the service is terrible 9 times out of 10. Everyone who works here look like they hate their job and I don't blame them because of the lack of management/bad pay. Whoever runs this place needs to step it up. Your employees are clearly unhappy and there seems to be no supervisor or manager ever on duty. Additionally, the place looks shabby and unclean. Recently I feel that it's gone super downhill. Every time I get a snow bubble there's huge chunks of ice in it and the employees have a bad attitude. They don't want to be there and it shows. Maybe if the owner payed better or got a decent manager it would make for a better experience both for the customers and staff.

Drinks are cheap here, both in price and quality. I ordered a honey jasmine milk tea, and it was horribly artificial tasting. The best aspects of my drink were the milk was perfectly frothy and the drink was quite hot. Nothing here is very fresh; it's all syrups and powders. My buddy ordered a tapioca something, and actually threw it away. The people working here were friendly, but service was super slow. In fact, there were two customers waiting when I arrived, and the employee was in the back. I almost walked out and regret not doing just that. The huge menu of daily specials hanging on the wall is absolutely pointless as they don't honor them in this location. The Friday rose green tea caught my eye but they said it's only available down south. Overall, I do not recommend this chain. JB Juice and TnL Boba are much better for boba, tea, and smoothie fixes. They use real fruit at both places. My LA and OC Yelp buddies are way lucky; they have sooo many decent boba tea places to choose from. Pros: - friendly - large interior, plenty of seating - open late Cons: - crap drinks - only one size cup - false advertising on wall - drink prep area not clean

I was on a vacation with family in Carlsbad and kiddos were craving Milk Tea and me as well of course : ) The closest Milk Tea place from us was Tapioca Express in Oceanside 6-7 miles away. We stopped by right before lunch and they were not that busy. Very clean place that serves good boba tea and other assorted drinks. The service is fast and professional. The people here are nice. The drinks are all good, I have tried so many and not had a bad one yet. It's enjoyable to just relax here, and it's easy to get to and park. On this particular visit we all order different drinks and they were yummy "no complaints" I don't even remember what we each got but you may check the pics. Service 5 Stars Location 5 Stars Milk Tea 5 Stars

Compared to the many other boba options in SoCal, this shop is decidedly sub-par. My gf and I went there on a Sunday afternoon. The service was not bad, a little slow but good from a distancing and safety perspective. However, when it comes to the actual boba tea itself, the product was disappointing for the 20 minutes of wait. The tea itself was not well flavored. Both my taro milk tea and her jasmine milk tea were too heavy on the milk without much tea flavor. Her jasmine tea for what we could taste was also too overbrewed and bitter The tapioca pearls themselves had pretty good texture, nice and chewy. However they had very little taste, without any of the usual brown sugar taste that most other places cook into the pearls. Overall, would not recommend

Clean store, varied menu and polite employees. I like to swing by here when I'm killing time before my brow appointment at Ulta. I like the basic flavors here, milk tea, Thai tea and even the chai tea with Boba. They have fancy blended drinks too if you're into that. The wait can be a little long if there is a line but I've never had issues with that personally. I'd always prefer this place to Starbucks any day. There's usually only one employee working so patience is a virtue. The tables are clean as are the restrooms. Plenty of seating and is a nice pit stop if you're shopping in the complex. Definitely check it out if you have a hankering for Boba!