I went to Gordon Ramsay's burger chain and had one of the worst fried-chicken sandwiches I've ever tasted

Ramsay has more than a dozen restaurants dedicated to burgers on three different continents. He's also shared a myriad of homemade burger recipes, including a 10-minute bacon cheeseburger that I absolutely love.

The Michelin-starred chef has yet to open one of his burger spots in California, where I'm currently based. But during a recent trip to London, I finally got a chance to see if his restaurant burgers lived up to his reputation.

Ramsay opened his first Street Burger in September 2020, a month after announcing that he planned to open 50 new restaurants across the UK — and another 200 in Asia. The "MasterChef" star revealed he wanted to create a "billion-dollar dining proposition" after earning more than £15 million in 2019, according to the Daily Mail.

Ramsay has since opened nine Street Burger restaurants in the UK over the last two years, as well as a location at the Harrah's Cherokee Casino Resort in North Carolina. The chain has seven burgers on the menu, each priced at £16, or around $19, with a soft drink and seasoned fries.

Street Burger is different from Gordon Ramsay Burger, which has a more extensive menu and locations in Las Vegas, Boston, London, Chicago, and Seoul.

As I walked in, I was surprised to find that the restaurant was nearly empty. I had made a reservation for 7:30 p.m., but there was no need — there were plenty of available tables.

The laid-back interior reminded me of Ramsay's Street Pizza chain, which offers bottomless pizza slices for £16, or around $19, and has locations throughout London. I visited both during my UK trip and noticed they had the same floating glow-stick lights and graffiti aesthetic.

My friends James and Jonathan — UK natives who helped me try the burgers — said Street Burger's design was indistinguishable from the other popular burger chains in London.

The menu listed three beef burgers, along with a lamb burger, a fried-chicken sandwich, and a vegan and vegetarian option.

I should note that we tried to order the Where's The Lamb burger, which gets its name from the iconic "Hell's Kitchen" episode in which Ramsay angrily asks about a dish's missing lamb sauce. But our server told us the kitchen was out of lamb that night, so the question remains unanswered. Part of me wondered if there was even an actual lamb burger — or if it was the ultimate prank by Ramsay.

We also decided to order a £30, or around $36, margarita pitcher for the table, which the waiter told us was a new addition to the menu. Made with Don Julio tequila, Cointreau, agave syrup, and lime juice, the pitcher had just the right amount of sweetness and was extremely easy to drink. It was honestly one of the better margaritas I've recently had at a restaurant.

The Hell's Kitchen burger features grass-fed Hereford beef, smoked cheese, smoked sriracha sauce, and a jalapeño and padrón salsa.

Before digging into the burger, we sampled the sweet potato fries — an extra £2.50, or around $3 — and they tasted absolutely delicious. The fries' crispy exterior had a great crunch, and they were soft and warm as we bit into them. My only wish was that we'd been given more fries. I was also surprised when the restaurant said they didn't carry barbecue sauce, which I consider an essential condiment for a burger restaurant.

The patty was cooked perfectly and couldn't have been juicier. I thought the burger would be quite spicy from the jalapeños and sriracha, but it had just the right amount of heat without overpowering the overall flavor.

Each bite was tasty, moist, and surprising — a total slam dunk. Now I definitely had high expectations for the next two burgers.

Ramsay's #BAE burger features grass-fed Hereford beef, treacle-cured bacon, an over-easy egg, plus cheese. It's all topped off with a tomato relish.

I could tell the over-easy egg was cooked to perfection as its golden yolk stared back at me invitingly, peeking out from underneath the top bun. The bacon looked thick and luscious, while the lettuce added a nice dash of color.

The yolk burst all over the burger as I cut into it, adding some much-needed richness and moisture to each bite. The treacle-cured bacon was also nicely cooked and had a lovely subtle sweetness.

Unfortunately, though, the patty was disappointing. In my experience, it was quite dry and chewy, which was completely different from the ultra-juicy Hell's Kitchen burger. While the #BAE burger had a lot of great individual ingredients, the meat just wasn't up to par.

The J.F.C. burger features fried chili-spiced buttermilk chicken created by James "Jocky" Petrie, a Scottish chef who serves as the executive head of development for Ramsay's restaurant group and has also made appearances on "Hell's Kitchen" and "MasterChef."

Jocky's fried-chicken burger also has a hash-brown patty, cheese, iceberg lettuce, and Petrie's special sauce.

We also tried the regular fries, which were solid but unmemorable, in my opinion. I far preferred the sweet potato fries, and was once again surprised by how few came with the burger (maybe I'm just used to American-sized portions).

If you've read any of my reviews, you'll know it takes a lot for me to call something really bad. If a disappointing dish has at least one positive factor, I still try to mention it. But there was nothing to love about the J.F.C burger.

My main issue was the hash brown. I love fried chicken and I love hash browns. Do I think they belong together in a burger? Absolutely not.

Everything in the J.F.C. burger I ordered was dry. Each bite was all crunch and no flavor, in my opinion. The chicken and hash brown pairing was so overwhelming that I barely noticed the chili sauce. Sure, it makes for a very Instagram-worthy picture, but I'm extremely shocked that Ramsay has this burger on one of his restaurant's menus.

I'd only order one out of the three burgers I tried at Street Burger again. And I was shocked by how much I disliked the J.F.C. burger, which had been the dish I was most excited to try. James and Jonathan agreed and said the cheaper UK chains Honest Burgers and Byron Burger were far superior, in their opinion.

But Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen burger was incredible, and I wouldn't be against going back to try his more classic O.G.R burger (and have another margarita pitcher).

Until then, I'll be sticking to the Ramsay recipes that have never let me down at home.