A Cheshire branch of KFC has been branded the "worst" in the UK by online reviewers, with 1.5 stars out of 5 on Tripadvisor, and 175 1-star reviews out of a total of 233.
CheshireLive reporter Jonathan Blackburn paid a visit to see if the outlet really deserves the title...
It has its critics but on behalf of CheshireLive I was determined to put Northwich KFC to the taste test to see whether it deserved better than its "worst KFC in UK" moniker.
Through the door, and the place is clean, modern, airy. Not the windowless, basement abattoir I expected.
At the till, the cashier and I struggle to hear each other over the din of the kitchens. The vats hum loud and low under the clanking metal and beeps of ovens.
It was £4.99 for a vegan burger, it doesn't come with chips.
"There's no lettuce, supply shortage. Have we got a vegan burger? Last one. Your lucky day," I was told.
It was £5.39 for a bag of chicken and a tiny bag of chips.
I turn to my sorry-looking vegan burger, and choose the plant-based, lettuce-less substitute as my first victim.
And it's not all that bad really. Yes, some greenery would be nice, but this is certainly worth more than a one-star review, even if the price made me squirm and the lack of chips was befuddling.
But any optimism that the plucky wee Quorn burger fostered was extinguished by the pint of grease that was to follow, as I turned to the chicken.
A crack of the dry batter, and out gushes a torrent of liquid fat. The chicken uses my mouth as some sort of fat fryer drip-tray as I struggle to contain the oil slick - the environmental disaster ready to pour onto my scarf.
With nowhere for the oil to go but down, I sup up and swallow.
As I write, I can feel the arteries narrowing. And worse, it was all for nothing. Tasteless, besides the salt, which quickly dried up any last drop of the small bottle of orange I washed the whole thing down with.
Though I will never return, I was surprised to find a clean, pleasant establishment, a thoroughly OK place. It's just a shame that they forgot to tell the food.
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