Bulbs & Fittings Ideas

i’ll start this review by saying I have sold grills for years and am a huge fan of the big guns such as Weber. Sadly do to living in a condo i can only have electric grills. In the past Char-Broil has made some sub-par items. Not this time. This is THE best electric grill option for under five hundred bucks. the people bashing it have obviously never grilled or assembled somthing as much as legos.

1- ITS EASY TO PUT TOGETHER- All these people on here complain as to how hard it is to put together. WHY? It took me a bit over an hour and a half working slowly and I didnt even curse once. Thats a miracles in and of it self. Simple tools, easy instructions, and not a ton of steps. There is a bit of lining up holes at one point but thats it. If you even have the slightest ability to put things together you’ll be fine. Putting together Ikea furniture is WAY harder than this.

2- IT HEATS UP BLAZING HOT- Another complaint was that it didnt heat above 150 degrees. Mine will get to 600 degrees if left for a bit, within 20 minutes probably. It says in the manual don’t keep lifting the hood it lets the heat out. This is true. If you keep it closed you should have not a single problem.AND I even use an extension chord which it suggests against and it still heats fine. Cooked a full london broil in under 12 minutes.

3- ITS ELECTRIC NOT CHARCOAL- Keep in mind its an electric grill. Its not gonna taste like a charcoal or gas grill. Wood chips help but its still not the same. But it is your best option by far if you dont have another option.

This grill is awesome for what it is. Ignore the bad press seriously. Char Broil has done right by this one. If your in an apartment or condo and dont want to drop 0 dollars on stainless steel electric monsters this is your grill. Happy Grilling

The Bottom Line: 3 Stars and Rising.

The Patio Bistro does its intended purpose. I like this grill the more I use it. It gets, hot, is easy to clean, and has a nice large cooking area. With time my rating may improve as the painfull memory of assebly fades into the past. This would be a nice choice for use where charcoal and propane grills are not allowed.

As of this writing I have owned the Patio Bistro Grill for a little over 1 month. I own and have used various charcoal and gas grills, smokers, and barbeques over the past 30 years. I consider myself as very experienced in outdoor grilling.

This remainder of this review will be in two parts.

First the Good! The Patio Bistro Grill Does Cook Food quite Nicely: 4 Stars

Once assembled the Patio Bistro is quite a nice little grill. It has a nice large grilling surface, and heats quite adequately for grilling and roasting. Once the lid is closed, the temperatures easily rise to over 400F.
I never let it get much higher than that, though I expect it would get above 500F if left on its own.

Heating time is quite reasonable. When compared with a charcoal grill it is very quick (if you include the time it takes to light the charcoal).

I have roasted chickens, grilled hamburgers and steaks, and, using a non-stick pizza pan as a griddle have cooked bacon, eggs, and toast quite easily.

The grill surface is fairly generous in size for an electric grill; useable for cooking a dozen burgers at a single time. It even comes with a removable warming rack located at the rear of the grill.

The knobbed electric dial used to specify cooking temperature has a nice range, and the included on/off light is usefull for levelling off interior temperatures once they have been reached.

The grill surface is relatively easy to clean off, and cools quickly when unplugged. The greatest virtue of Electric Grills is in not having to buy, carry, store or ignite fuels, and KNOWING that the grill is turned off, simply by ungplugging the unit.

Second the Not So Good: Assembly: 1 star

As other reviewers have stated, this grill is unnecessarily difficult to put together.

In this day and age of premanufactured and buyer assembled products, there should be no need to designe something that requires so many different tools, different fasteners, and lengthy instructions.

It took me the better part of 90 minutes to assemble this correctly. The instructions were only marginal.

Also, Once Assembled the whole product can be a bit wobbly, so you will spend time tightening and retightening nuts and bolts.

The Bottom Line: 3 Stars and Rising.

The Patio Bistro does its intended purpose. I like this grill the more I use it. It gets, hot, is easy to clean, and has a nice large cooking area. With time my rating may improve as the painfull memory of assebly fades into the past. This would be a nice choice for use where charcoal and propane grills are not allowed.

As a condo dweller, I’ve been a fan of the earlier model Patio Caddie for years. Reliability, fast/high heat generation, and never running out of fuel have been huge advantages. I’ve known about infrared grills for years, but knew they cost up over a grand. ‘Saw this new Infrared Bistro model and had to have it! I gave my beloved Caddie to my son (who loves it!) and got this new model.

Putting the grill together was logical and straight forward. It did not go together instantly, but what’s the big deal? I took it step-by-step and it came together just fine. When completed, the Bistro looks good; much more substantial and better styled than the ol’ Caddie. Plus, the grill size is substantially larger.

‘Plugged it in, turned up the power, and WOW! This sucker was up over 550 degress in about ten minutes. As I’d done before, put a small handfull of hickory chips into a foil pouch, poked a few holes in it, and tossed it on the grill and closed the lid. In a few more minutes the awesome aroma of hickory smoke wafted through the patio. Our first test was marinated sirloin skewers. As the meat hit the grill the intense sizzle was terrific. These cooked fast and clean, with that terrific hickory smoke essence.

I’ve now been using this grill almost daily for a couple of weeks with chicken, beef, pork, veggies, and shrimp and I love it! Guests are amazed.