Tapioca Express

It’s closed.

Renovating? Closing? Craving some boba and ended up at an empty store… Noooo this is the closest boba place to me :(

Worst Tapioca Express I’ve ever been to! The service was terrible and they did not have any food, pudding, boba, or jelly! They shouldn’t be open if they don’t have what’s listed on their menu. I ended up ordering an iced mango green tea (my usual order when I go to any tap ex). I took a sip and it was so gross I threw it out! Don’t bother wasting your money here.

I went there about ten minutes ago and when I walked in the lady was speaking another language to another girl looked over and rolled her eyes at me said hi and took my order. It was warm and as I was driving trying to drink it there was a block of boba at the bottom and I wasn’t able to drink it. WORST BOBA PLACE EVER!

Horrible and disgusting pretty much describes my experience. Went in and the worker was talking to her friend. As I was asking my family what they wanted the coworker stared at her friend and giggled and whispered; a little awkward but what ever. My husband took our four year old to the bathroom after asking the worker if they could use it. I stepped up to order and asked for the chicken. The worker responded, «Oh, our kitchen closes at 6». I check my phone and it was 6:44pm. I looked at the hours posted on the door and they said open until 9pm. (Weird that a business would be open but only servered certain items at specific hours). I order my daughter a mango snow bubble and sat down. Then my husband opened the bathroom door and called me over. I walked over to find out the bathroom had no toilet seat covers, no toilet paper and no paper towels. He asked the worker for toilet paper and she apologized and walked to the back. She came right back out and saw another customer, walked past my husband, and was about to help the next guest, but quickly realized she was not done helping my husband and made a quick turn to him and said «we are all out». Then continued to walk to the front to help the next customer. Luckily I had tissue so I handed it to my husband. I got our drink and asked if she had paper towels at least. She responded, «we only have what’s in there». So I replied, «there is nothing! No seat covers, toilet paper, or paper towels.» A simple sorry was the end of our conversation. She then turned to her friend to continue talking.
Management should have been called ASAP. A note on the door would be nice to let future customers know. I really don’t want to know where workers went to the bathroom, what they were using to clean, nor do I want to know how long this lasted. Very disappointed that this location is representing a company that my family and I have enjoyed for years. If their bathroom is any sign of how they maintain the rest of the restaurant (food and drinks) I am surprised they are still in business. Needless to say we just threw our drink away. No point in possibly getting sick from uncleanliness.

I usually go to a different boba shop, but I was in the area and was craving boba. I brought my sister and we each got boba. First, they need to make sure the plastic covering on the cup is secured. I always shake my boba to mix the powder or whatever they use and the plastic was not secured so boba spilled all over my car seat. Not only did that upset me, but also how the boba tasted old. There was a huge ball of boba. It was like they melted together and formed a giant ball. I do not think I will come here again. I love boba, but this is not acceptable to me.

I was on the way here to meet up with my bf and his family on a Sunday night. he asked what I wanted so he can order for me because they close in 6 minutes. Apparently, the dude working told my bf that they were closed, yet there were 6 minutes until closing time. My bf’s family asked if he can pretty please make our drinks and he did!
I don’t know whether to think «Aw, that’s so nice of him to make all of our drinks» OR «The store is still open. are you allowed to close early when there are customers?!» We did tip him though!
Just like almost every review stated, there is definitely a WEIRD VIBE IN HERE! I had no idea this Tapioca Express location even existed. I thought that they just opened this place because it seemed so empty and unfinished. I was surprised to find reviews dating back to 2008!
The boba was the worst I’ve ever had! FLAVORLESS! A big blob of boring boba. The kids started shooting them out with their straws because that’s more satisfying than actually eating it.
The tapioca milk tea was nothing bad, but nothing great. Pretty much the same at all locations.
If you reeeaaaaallllyyyy want Tapioca Express, there is a slightly better one on Walnut — 2.7 miles away!

The Snow bubbles are my favorite! Mango is hands down the best, but chocolate is pretty good too! And I always have to get an order of Crispy Chicken. it’s a must!
Pretty cute and small place. Parking is a little frustrating, but you’ll find a spot somewhere. The staff are pretty relaxed and nice too. Love the food though!

2014 Unilocal 365 CHALLENGE — ¹³⁶⁄₃₆₅
This TapEx sucks. I’m from San Jose and the TapEx closest to my house is AMAZING. I figured it would be equally as good in Irvine, but apparently not.
My bf and I came here recently in the afternoon, around 4 or 5pm. The place was pretty empty except for 3 people sitting at one of the many tables they had inside. They had 3 girls working behind the counter. I don’t mean to be racist, but they were pretty fob. I felt like the girl taking our order had a hard time understanding us.
The place was actually pretty clean. It didn’t look dirty at all. They also had a TON of tables, so definitely a lot of seating. There were a few tables outside, too.
I used the bathroom while we were waiting, and they didn’t have toilet seat covers OR paper towels to dry your hands… so that was kinda annoying.
Our drinks came out quickly, but it was because nobody else was there. I ordered a taro snow bubble with egg pudding, and my bf got a peppermint mocha snow bubble.
My taro snow bubble was terrible. WAY too much ice, not enough taro. Also the egg pudding was flavorless. I didn’t end up finishing my drink because I was basically just forcing myself to drink it. I might have been happier with a milk tea drink, but their blended drinks were definitely not good.
Also, another downside to this place is that they close pretty early. Most boba places are open until around 10pm-​11pm, and even later on the weekends. This one closes SUPER early, at 9pm on Saturdays!
Overall, I definitely do not plan on coming back to this TapEx. I was seriously disappointed.

THE WORST MILK TEA BOBA
I was so disappointed because I was expecting delicious sweet milk tea but I got a weird funky tasting milk tea with hard boba. Couldn’t even finish it because it was that bad.

I will never come back here again. Every time I’m here at night, the place is always empty. I only come here because I always get phở next door and sometimes I feel like some boba.
However the boba here is NOT good at all. It’s soggy and flavorless. It’s like they don’t put any sugar or honey in it and the boba just feels WAY too soft and then it falls apart. Not in a delicious melty kind of way, but in a crumby one.
I got a regular boba milk tea. I already said what I needed to say about the boba. The milk tea however is typical standard tapex milk tea. I’ve been to three so far (1 in the 626 and 2 in irvine) and they all had the same exact flavors for milk tea. At least that is consistent. I don’t think it’s the best though.
The workers are always friendly here, I’ll give them that. And it’s buy 1 get 1 free, the free one being a choice of green/​black tea or regular milk tea. Add-​ons to the free drink cost extra.
I’m not giving them 2 stars because that seems pretty harsh, however I still think that 2 stars is really close to accurate as far as drink quality.

I’ve been to some pretty good TapEx locations, but this is by far the worst. There is a strangely empty feeling when you walk inside, almost as if the store was half finished before it opened and was left that way. There was a BOGO deal so I got a honey green tea with aloe and a regular green tea, both half sweet. It took awhile to get my drinks because there was only one guy taking the orders and making the drinks. When I finally got my drinks, my honey green tea was missing the aloe. I was already in my car when I realized this so I had to get out of the car and walk back inside to have them add the aloe. I almost regret doing this because the aloe was nasty. It was really sour! Also, I know I asked for half sweet but it’s like there was no sugar added at all. At most TapEx locations (or boba locations in general), when I ask for half the sugar it is more than sweet enough for me. Not sure what this guy used to measure «half sugar» but it seemed off.
Drank ¼ of my drink and threw it away. Wasted $ 3.74. :(

Sherri G hit the nail right on the head… there is a strange vibe at this location.
Stopped by tonight after eating next door. It was about 7:45pm and it was empty! Sure, it’s a Sunday evening but still, all the restaurants in the shopping plaza were buzzing with people and for them to not have a single patron was just weird.
We walked in and there were 3 girls behind the counter. Do they really need 3 workers when it’s obvious they don’t get any business? Anyway, the 3 of them just stood there, staring at each other and barely moving. Not a «can I help you?» or «hello», not even a grunt. They lacked energy and emotion to the point they seemed like mannequins.
I ordered a Coconut Pineapple Jelly Milk Tea. Fortunately the drink was decent. My brother wanted Grass Jelly as his add in. They were out. He asked for Coffee Jelly. They were out of that too. Really?!? It’s no wonder they have no business and the lowest Unilocal average of any boba place in the area.
There are so many better choices for drinks in Irvine. This is the first and last time I’m coming here!

Are they coming or going? Strange vibe upon entering…
I’ve been to a few TE’s in the area and this one seems to be the saddest.
We arrived shortly after opening at 11am and he said they were still making the tapioca! WHAT? Shouldn’t they be doing that way before opening? Should they be renamed «Express» because they’re out of tapiocas when they opened?
There seemed to be only one employee working and it looked like the store was just robbed of their flat screen TVs because there were only brackets left on the wall. The «sign» noted a discount to Woodbridge students but it looked old and worn out. There’s nothing really inviting about the store, not that a drink store has to be inviting, but it shouldn’t resonate an empty sadness either.
Because they were out of tapiocas, we had to eat lunch first next door then return for the drinks. :(Wasted shopping time!
«The tapiocas are for your chewing pleasure and not to be swallowed whole».

It’s so close to home that the convenience has made me a regular. There’s only one person behind the counter who takes your order and then makes your drink. Not like they need more people working here since there aren’t really any patrons every time I come.
Drinks are just alright. There are way better boba places with better deals out there. They normally have the buy two drinks get one free milk, green, or black tea weekend special which I always avail of. No stamp cards offered here like other places do.
Honeydew milk tea, blended taro, or milk tea with coconut/​lychee jelly are the way to go for me. They can be inconsistent but they do the job for a quick-​fix when I’m craving.

I can understand if the drinks leave something to be desired, however, I went to this TapEx location on a Friday and they have buy-​one-​get-​one free popcorn chicken!!!
I hate when popcorn chicken is chewy and it was not chewy here! They didn’t cut all the chicken all the way through though, so it was kind of hard to eat.
Best thing: I had an extra order which I could kindly offer to coworkers, which inadvertently made me seem like a really nice person. :)
Nice and crispy, not too greasy. I would have no problem coming back on a Friday for this deal.

The boy and I went here this past Saturday to get some drinks to go with our tea since it is in the same plaza that we got our pizza in.
This is a really cute Tapioca place; very Asian-​esque. I like!
For drinks, I ordered their Large Almond Milk Tea with Boba and the boy ordered the Regular Almond Milk Tea (I think). Since we were ordering two drinks, they threw in another tea for free — I took advantage of it and ordered a Regular Green Tea to have for later.
My Almond Milk Tea was perfect, as was the Boba. My boyfriend said he liked his tea as well. I drank the Green Tea the following day (it sat in the fridge overnight) and it was still great the following day.
All in all, I’d come back to this place next time I’m visiting the boyfriend and want some Boba.
Cheers!

This is my neighborhood Boba place. Whenever I am here, the servers/​cashiers are always very friendly and I’ve never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a drink or food order.
I also like that the servers are willing to help you try something new. They will make mini versions of the drink so you can determine whether or not to order it. Also, they are really great at helping you pick new drinks based on what you drink already.
This place is a cute little shop in the Woodbridge Shopping Center. It’s right next to the golf shop and Layer Cake Bakery.
Pros:
–Nice servers/​cashiers
–Yummy drinks/​food
–Clean store
–Awesome food specials throughout the week
Cons:
-$ 0.35 charge for using debit cards
–Parking can be tricky during peak hours

First time I went in here I arrived about 5 minutes after they opened and ordered a milk tea boba.
«The boba won’t be ready for another 25 minutes»
As all I really wanted was to feel those gloppy balls rolling around on my tongue, I left with nothing.
I might not be the smartest turnip to fall off the cart but don’t you think Business 101 teaches that when you open your doors for business you should have your product ready to sell to the customers? I don’t know anything about boba but if it takes 30 minutes to prep and you open at 11am then you should start prepping it at 10:30am. Am I off base on this?
Flash forward a couple weeks to today. I gave it another try but came in an hour after they opened and ordered a milk tea boba. The guy quickly made one and I was on my way. It was a decent drink.
If you want a boba here I’d suggest you don’t come in until noon or later otherwise you may be disappointed.

Not bad. Tried milk tea for the first time here yesterday… coconut with boba. Pretty good and many other flavors to choose from.
Place is a little dirty… employees need to clean up after customers a little better. They seemed too busy talking amongst themselves to leave their spots behind the counter, even though the store was empty except for me.
Was nice that they have a couch, movie playing, magazines (although some were very old and/​or in bad condition) and video games.