Tapioca House

I went here for the first time a couple years ago and had a horrible experience. I remember the place was filthy, they had an old mattress laying against the wall and it just wasn’t a place I wanted to chill/​have drinks at. Because of that, I told myself that I would never come back.
A few months ago, a friend told me that Tap houses milk tea was the BEST. Being a fan of milk tea, I decided to try it because I haven’t been there for years. I noticed that they changed the place up and it looked so much better than it used to. I could probably sit there and chill with friends now. Anyways, I got the Milk tea with pudding, because my friend suggested it, and after that… I instantly became a fan of this place! The milk to tea ratio was perfect, it’s not too sweet & the pudding has the right amount of sweetness as well. The two combined is just PERFECT. I’ve been addicted to their milk tea ever since and have been going back regularly.
I was a little hesitant to give this place 5 stars because I’ve only ever gotten & tried one drink. But I’ve been to so many other boba places and tried multiple drinks from them and haven’t been as addicted to a drink as I am to Tapioca House’s milk tea. Because of that, I’m giving Tapioca house 5 stars because I know that there IS a drink here that I’ll enjoy and can always turn to. (Hopefully they keep making this drink consistently because it’s one of my favorites!!)

I purchased a coconut boba tea & wasn’t impressed. The tapioca seemed old, there was little to no ice, so it was room temp & the flavor was anything but coconut. The menu is large & a bit overwhelming. I also tried the watermelon juice which lacked it flavor. It was more like sugar water with a hint of watermelon. overall, pretty disappointing.

I’m really not a fan of powdered Boba drink mixes (strawberry banana smoothie) but the tiramisu wasn’t terrible at all.

tapioca house is hilarious. the first time i came in here to see how it compared to java land’s bubble tea, the girl in front of me shouted to the cashier that the milk in her bubble tea had gone bad, which led to the cashier scrambling around for milk… only to discover that they didn’t have any more. i bolted out the door after hearing that and made a beeline for java land.
the second time i was here was a little frustrating. i got a coffee milk tea, but the girl was super adamant about their credit card minimum even though i told her i didn’t have cash. i decided to order a red bean milk to reach the minimum and was actually quite excited for it… until she handed me a slushie. i asked her what it was and she said it was the red bean milk. i pointed to the menu and clarified that the menu literally says «red bean milk» — nothing on there indicates anything about it being a slushie. i told her i didn’t want it and wanted something different, to which she responded «it’s what you ordered.» not wanting to play that game, i stared at her and demanded that i get a new drink of equal value.
overall, i have mixed feelings about this place. both my coffee milk tea and regular bubble milk tea were surprisingly tasty — very creamy and not too sweet — but i doubt i’ll be a regular here just because… it’s tapioca house. it’s so hole-​in-​the-​wall (not the good kind) it’s hilarious.

Yikes, did they change owners? It used to be a Taiwanese place with very consistent workers and drinks. But I was surprised to see the different interior and also the Vietnamese music blasting through the speakers. All of the employees were Vietnamese as well. I guess they either got bought out or hired new workers.
This is my favorite place to get Jasmine Milk tea, the price is very affordable and they snacks are good. the last time I went here, the drinks didn’t have the tea flavor as before :/​and also their fruity tea drinks were kinda. nasty. Java Land is alot better if you want fruit drinks! For milk tea, i would still say this place is the best so far.

This place for me can either go well or go bad. They have a huge menu but for me I’m a milk tea person so I always get that. The tea tastes fine, actually it’s one of my favorites. It’s the boba that gets me. Sometimes the boba is cooked just right and other times it’s too mushy. Like when I try to sip it, it doesn’t go up the straw. Also there was this one incident I’ve gone with my friends and we all got stomach aches afterwards. A pro is that it’s open later than some other tea shops in town.

Tapioca house use to have the best spicy chicken nuggets but with my experience today, the nuggets are now bland and not spicy (even though I asked them to make them as spicy as it’ll go). Also, no more basil with the chicken nuggets. I also got a milk tea and the boba were all stuck in clumps and would not go through the straw. On the bright side, they have remodeled so it looks nicer but I will not be coming back especially with Java Land and Magic Cup offering better nuggets and milk tea.

Tap House definitely got a lot cleaner after the renovation! It is a huge upgrade and it looks very modern and neat! I assumed they renovated the place due to their competitor Java Land right next door. I do prefer Tap House over Java Land in terms of their drink selections and popcorn chicken! Everyone knows Tap House has one of the best popcorn chicken! It’s well-​seasoned and it always comes out burning hot which it’s the way I like! I just wish they can add more fried basil with the popcorn chicken. The amount of fried basil that was given has always been inconsistent. My go-​to drinks are honey milk tea and fruit black/​green tea. The honey milk tea is super addicting and the fruit tea is very refreshing! Come to Tap House for drinks and Java Land next door for waffles and cakes! YUM!

Overall: Not a bad place overall. Glad I finally found a Taiwanese owned Boba place in the area. However, they need to bump up tea quality and the WiFi is a bit of a dog.
Drinks/​Food: Had a Passion fruit Green Tea with Boba. Tea Strength is solid and the syrup has a great flavor to it. However, the boba is gummy and sticks together, which is a bit of a disappointment.
Service: The service is friendly and they speak both English and Chinese very well. They are fast and try their best to get the drinks and experience right.
Seating: Ample seating. They have some booths and half booth setups which are nice. Their chars are really cheap, made out of crappy plastic that won’t be comfortable for extended sitting.
WiFi/​Power: WiFi speed here is pretty lousy at 2 Mbps down and 1 Mbps up. This speed was bench marked at a quiet of the time during the day. During peak hours, it will probably get much much worse. Power wise, there are a few spots where you can plug in, but it’s slim pickings.
Parking: The lot here fills up here quickly because there are too many restaurants in the plaza. You might have to park on the street to get a spot. It’s not the worst, but not immediate.
Atmosphere: They play good chart topping music at a Beat per minute that keeps you moving. Not too shabby for a hangout. For a date place, I’m not so sure. On an unrelated note, I would really like them to put in baby changing tables for parents.

I come here very frequently and would have easily given them 5 stars in the past; however, the last three times I have been there the drinks have been terrible quality. I’m not sure if they are under new management but something has definitely changed here. The boba is always hard or sticking to each other. I try to take a sip out of my drink and boba gets stuck in my straw. I can literally proceed to lift my straw and pull out giant chunks of them. Don’t know what happened, but they’re definitely doing something different.

The only explanation is that they’ve changed owners. That MUST be it.
I used to really love coming here. I’ve been coming since 2012. Their interior is now better, but their service has gone the other way. They no longer have staff that understand the Chinese printed on their menu. They’ve noticeably lessened their amount of tapioca per cup. This time I got double tapioca yet had barely any. When I walked up to the counter to order, the staff seemed unhappy that I interrupted her conversation with the others. I don’t think I’ll be coming here much anymore. Java land next door has much nicer staff, and Tasty Cup has much better milk tea with more generous servings of Tapioca.
I’m so disappointed my long time favorite has become like this :(

I never give out one stars, but this came extremely close…
I’ve been here a couple of times and each time has been a different experience, but each outcome has always been the same. That outcome being… regretting not going to a better boba place.
I always just get a classic milk tea with bubbles but this place always somehow seems to be able to mess it up. Either the tea tastes strange or bland or the bubbles are just disgusting. Most of the time. the bubbles are disgusting that I have to spit it out. WHY HAVEN’T I LEARNED TO STOP GETTING BUBBLES HERE? Or the better question. why do I still go here?
Today I got the same thing as I always do… milk tea with bubbles, and one sip and I wanted to throw it away. Too bad I had already driven away and I got a large…
The only upside… they’re open later than most boba places.

Update: I’ve added some pictures of how the place looks inside now. They’ve remodeled it to look a bit more modern with newer chairs and tables. I think in the past they didn’t even play music but the last few times I’ve stopped by they have music playing, so it’s a little livelier. I didn’t recognize any of the people working so I wonder if the staff has changed altogether. The spicy basil popcorn chicken is as good as ever; love it and love the green onion pancake. However, there was no soap in the ladies’ restroom and the tapioca pearls were overcooked (very soft and mushy; hard to get up the straw ’cause they clumped together into a huge mass at the bottom of your cup).

I used to hate this place because the teenage workers would talk badly about customers like me in Chinese thinking I didn’t understand, the service was slow, and it was extremely dark smelly and dirty inside. The drinks were also extremely powdery and bland. Back then, I would have given this place 1 star.
Fast forward to now, my first time back to this place in over a year and they’ve remodeled the place making it look brighter and cleaner. I like how people of all ages and ethnicities are here. Right this moment there’s and elderly white man talking it up with the cook haha. The two girls working the front were polite and spoke English excellently unlike the past employees here who could barely take my order. The to drinks were made well, no more powder consistency and just enough sweetness. They have redeemed themselves to me and I am now back to being a happy customer.

Food: Menu is standard for bubble tea places and will let you customize your drinks however you’d like. Friend asked for a jasmine green tea with milk (instead of half & half or creamer) and tapioca. They do tell you that while they can make it however you’d like, they can’t guarantee what the result would taste like… With that said, the staff do seem to know what they’re talking about and I wouldn’t really recommend that you make your own flavors. It probably won’t end well…
Service: Friendly! Speaks both English and Mandarin.
Ambiance: Even though this might be the most reviewed and recommended place in Richardson for bubble tea… they’re not that great. By any means. Clean and bright space though! With good choice of music (Asian and American) playing in the back. It’s a nice space to chill, but not great enough for repeats.

Taiwanese popcorn chicken. That’s what we call it in the West Coast. So the «crispy chicken nuggets» threw me off a bit when I wanted to order one. But they’re the same thing.
Wish their portion sizes were bigger. Calamari was too little. And I had more veggies than the actual «chicken nuggets» that I ordered. Shame.
Boba tea is okay. I’ve had better Taro milk tea. And the Thai tea is a little bitter, needed a bit more sugar.
Overall, this place is okay. But thanks for satisfying my Taiwanese popcorn chicken craving!

The tea here is pretty good. It is pretty water downed so the flavor is not that great.
I came here spontaneously because I was in desperate need of a drink. I came with my mom and we weren’t really greeted well. The cashiers were alright but not amazing in helping us with what drinks they have/​best ones/​etc.
We ordered our drinks and got them in a decent amount of time. We both ordered a fruit tea and were surprisingly satisfied. The tea is tasty and the prices aren’t bad at all. Four stars for the overall experience.

This place has been very consistent since I have been here.
I have been to many boba places and somehow I end up back here. I order many and different things while I’m here. I’m glad to see that they’re not using powder for their drinks, so that’s a plus. Their tapioca aren’t hard and are just right. They use the right amount of sweetness and flavor… And most of all, I’m so glad that they use black tea instead of green in their milk teas. I always seem to catch myself craving for their boba in particular along with their snacks and food.
Speaking of their food – they’re great. I always order their calamari, fried mushrooms, chicken nuggets, crispy tofu, pork/​chicken nuggets meal, etc. to snack on or for lunch. The smell of it reminds me of the streets in Taiwan. And who doesn’t want to be taken to a place where boba was first invented?!
Fast service. Good quality. Flavorful. Variety. This is as good as it gets.

The only thing I like here are the chicken nuggets. They’re so good.
I usually go here for lunch and order the chicken nugget meal. I’m not a fan of their vegetables. It seems like it’s been made a while back and they just heat it up… But the egg that comes with the meal is good. And of course, chicken nuggets are pretty bomb.
But their drinks aren’t that good… The one in Austin tastes so much better.
I’d only recommend the chicken nuggets. Hence, 3 stars.

I mainly come here for the extra spicy crispy chicken nuggets. I’ve tried this at many bubble tea places but does not compare to Tap House. As for their bubble tea, it’s okay. Nothing spectacular. However, they do offer great combo meals with bubble tea under $ 6. I like that they also have other food items on their menu.
This place has been in business for quite a while so it’s a bit run down. Service is okay. FYI, not a good place to study due to the loud noises from others (foreigners).