For some people, there is almost nothing that hits the spot better than a homemade chicken pot pie -- but not everyone has the time or ability to make one when the craving strikes. What's the next best option? Finding a restaurant chain that serves chicken pot pie.

However, the quality of a chicken pot pie can vary depending on the chain, and there's nothing worse than craving a food item and being let down by what you receive. In a perfect world, the dough on the outside of the pot pie would be buttery and nicely golden-brown, while inside the chicken would be tender, the vegetables soft but not mushy, and the gravy sauce would have just the right amount of thickness and flavor.

That's what a classic chicken pot pie should deliver -- although there have been some unique variations, like this chicken Parmesan pot pie recipe and this chili pot pie mashup, that are surprisingly good. One thing is for sure: A restaurant pot pie should be better than one that can be easily picked up from the frozen section at a grocery store.

To inform you on which restaurant chain chicken pot pies are up to par and which ones miss the mark, here is a list of 10 chicken pot pies from chain restaurants ranked from worst to best. In order to compile the list, we searched for customer reviews that went into detail about the quality, taste, and texture of the pot pie. To learn more about the evaluation process, see the methodology slide at the end of this article.