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Breville BGR820XL Smart Grill

Breville BGR820XL Smart Grill

By Breville · Electric Griddles · Kitchen & Cooking · More from Breville

  • 1800W heating elements embedded in plates
  • 260 sq in grilling/griddle surface (BBQ mode)
  • Removable dishwasher-safe non-stick plates
  • LCD display with preheat and cook countdown
  • 6 adjustable plate heights

Lowest price seen
$349.95
from $349.95 at ChefSteps (Breville) · Checked Oct 18, 2026

New
Used, refurbished, open-box

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Problems, parts and running costs

Summary

An 1800 W indoor contact grill and panini press that opens flat into a 260 sq in griddle, with its heating elements built into the plates rather than under them. Two things to check before buying: it lists for $349.95 direct from Breville, and the line is winding down, so stock and parts are thinning out.

Strengths

  • Food & Wine’s lab found the most consistent surface temperatures of the 31 smokeless grills it tested.
  • Serious Eats named it its Best Splurge Smokeless Grill and praised its contact-and-open versatility.
  • Embedded plate elements and Element IQ give even searing with no cold zones on steaks, burgers and chicken.
  • It presses paninis and opens flat into a 260 sq in griddle.
  • Plates and drip tray are removable and dishwasher-safe, and replacement plates are sold.
  • Six plate heights and an adjustable tilt fit thick sandwiches and drain fat.

Weaknesses

  • Price: at $349.95 direct it costs nearly four times the $89.99 value pick in the same lab test.
  • No spare or griddle plates are included.
  • Replacement plates run $70 to $100 each, per one owner.
  • It is heavy and large for a countertop at 19.4 to 22 lb and 16 in wide.
  • The line is winding down: AJ Madison lists it discontinued and Best Buy shows it sold out.
  • Parts support looks uncertain, as the flat-plate accessory page carries a discontinued banner.

Verified specifications

ModelBGR820XL / BGR820XL/A (manual issue A13).
Power120 Vac ~ 60 Hz, 1800 W.
Heating1800 W elements embedded in the plates, not underneath, with an electronic thermostat.
Element IQboosts heat to recover plate temperature when cold food goes on the pre-heated surface.
Temperature rangedigital dial 320–450 °F.
Cooking surfaceopens flat into 260 sq in, with a ribbed plate for meats and a flat plate for eggs and pancakes.
Plate heightsix settings, and it opens fully to 180° for flat cooking.
Plate tiltadjustable to drain fat, or flat for eggs, pancakes and paninis.
Platesremovable, dishwasher-safe, PFOA-free non-stick with a titanium-infused Quantanium coating.
LCDshows temperature, preheat status and a cook countdown, with a °F/°C button.
Auto-offyes.
Dimensions14 × 16.7 × 5 in (W × D × H) closed, per Breville.
Weight19.4 to 22 lb, depending on the source.
Includedribbed and flat plates, a removable drip tray and cord storage; no spare plates.
Warranty1 year limited.
Full research notes and sources

Versatility and cooking

The BGR820XL is a contact grill and panini press that opens 180° flat into a 260 sq in grilling and griddle surface. The ribbed plate is for meats; the flat plate takes eggs and pancakes. Six plate heights keep the top plate from crushing food, the base tilts to drain fat or sits flat, and the drip tray works in both modes.

Lab tests and searing

This is the rare indoor grill with instrumented lab coverage. Food & Wine tested 31 smokeless grills with infrared thermometer readings and found the BGR820XL’s surface temperatures the most consistent of any it tested; burgers, chicken and fish came off with deep marks resembling an outdoor grill, and the dial tops out at 450 °F. Serious Eats tested 8 grills and named it Best Splurge Smokeless Grill, equally good at kebabs and paninis. In a head-to-head against the Cuisinart Griddler Elite, OffSiteKitchen called the Breville the winner for performance and precise searing, with no cold zones. SimplyTheBest scored it 77.8 out of 100, with a sear subscore of 92 against the Hamilton Beach’s 84.

Running costs and parts

Beyond the purchase, the grill needs little. Breville sells a replacement ribbed cooking plate for $54.95, and a factory-remanufactured unit is sold as RM-BGR820XL. One owner puts replacement plates at $70 to $100 each and estimates about $30 a year in ownership cost. The flat-plate accessory page carries a discontinued banner, while Breville Canada lists the flat plate at $69.99 out of stock, so check parts before you rely on the flat mode long term. The warranty is 1 year limited, and there are no documented user-serviceable internal parts.

Fresh US pricing is scattered. Breville lists it at $349.95, Walmart at $199.00, and a review summary puts the average at $269.99 and notes street pricing around $320. At the 2022–2023 test era it sat near $350. Availability is patchy: AJ Madison shows it no longer available and Best Buy is sold out in new condition, while a niche reseller lists $471.00.

At $199–249 it is a strong buy for a premium indoor grill, with lab-verified temperature consistency, flat-mode capacity, 1800 W embedded elements, dishwasher-safe plates and a 1-year warranty. At $250–299 it is fair to good if flat-grill versatility and sear quality matter. Its edge is versatility and measured consistency, not raw capacity.

Which model this is

This page covers Breville “the Smart Grill”, model BGR820XL (also documented as BGR820XL/A, manual issue A13), in brushed stainless steel with cast-aluminium non-stick plates. US identifiers are UPC 21614053206 and EAN 0021614055576. Don’t confuse it with the Smart Grill Pro (BGR840/800GRXL, 2400 W, discontinued) or the newer Sear & Press Grill (BGR710/BGR700). The US listing is ASIN B003SIN0BC.

Sources

Manufacturer:

Independent reviews:

Owner reports:

Parts and stores:

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