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Contact grill buying guide

Updated: 23 October 2026

You are looking at health grills, panini presses and indoor contact grills on amazon.co.uk, and the boxes look interchangeable until you open the cupboard and find a machine you will not clean. This contact grill buying guide puts plate removal, the hinge, programmes versus a probe, and the plug ahead of any star line, so you leave with a shortlist shape rather than a crowned winner. The eleven listings stay on the [contact grill comparison](/hub/grills-and-barbecues/contact-grill). Prices are GBP shelf figures from the captures. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are looking at health grills, panini presses and indoor contact grills on amazon.co.uk, and the boxes look interchangeable until you open the cupboard and find a machine you will not clean.

Our top picks

Tefal Tefal OptiGrill Plus

Best overall

Tefal Tefal OptiGrill Plus
9.4/10about £155.55
View offer
Philips Philips Contact Grill 5000 Series

Alternative

Philips Philips Contact Grill 5000 Series
9.2/10about £64.00
View offer
George Foreman George Foreman Small Fit Grill

Best value

George Foreman George Foreman Small Fit Grill
9.0/10about £19.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What you are actually buying
  2. 2.Plates, hinge, and the drip tray
  3. 3.Power, programmes, and a probe
  4. 4.Plug, voltage, and price bands

What you are actually buying

A contact grill is a mains electric appliance with a hinged top plate. In this set that covers four shapes. A George Foreman Fit, small or medium, is for toasties and one or two portions: a stated 3-pin plug, and plates reviewers wipe rather than lift off. The Immersa unclips its control panel so the listing can claim the body goes in the dishwasher. The title says Medium, a bullet says Small, and a field says Outdoor. Those are listing conflicts, not a garden barbecue. The OptiGrill Plus and Elite trade bulk for programmes and a thickness sensor. The Philips 5000, the Tefal SuperGrill and the Morphy Richards ThermoGrill open toward 180 degrees, with or without a probe. A twelve-programme Elite is the wrong spend if lunch is a cheese toastie. A 760 W small Fit is the wrong size for four burgers cooked through.

Plates, hinge, and the drip tray

Cleaning decides whether the grill stays on the worktop. Removable plates count only when the listing says so. Dishwasher-safe is a separate claim. A floating hinge matters for thick food: the small Fit lid is meant to move for thicker bread, and Philips 5000 reviewers describe selectable hinge heights. A drip tray has to stay put. The small Fit’s clip-in tray falls off when the grill is lifted, and the AMZCHEF’s rear tray misses fat unless the front is raised. If you will not wipe fixed plates, skip the Fit pair. Bread versus a family plate is settled on the contact grill or panini press page, not in this feature order.
Tefal Tefal OptiGrill Plus

Testsieger

Tefal Tefal OptiGrill Plus
9.4/10about £155.55
View offer

Power, programmes, and a probe

Wattage here runs from 760 W on the small Fit to 2,200 W on the Philips models and the SuperGrill. More watts heat a larger plate faster. They do not make a burger safe. OptiGrill programmes are lights and beeps, not thermometers. Expert Reviews found an Elite chicken cycle longer than the meat needed, which is one reason to check the centre. A probe in this set sits on the Philips 7000 and the Morphy Richards ThermoGrill. The 7000 carries coating peel notes in a 4.1 from 57 reviews. The ThermoGrill shows 5.0 from three reviews, and wattage is missing from the capture. Pay for a probe when you will use it. For toasties, a fixed-heat Fit or the Philips 5000 dial is enough. Burger and chicken temperatures are on the burgers and chicken page.

Plug, voltage, and price bands

UK portable grills need a BS 1363 13 A plug and fuse. Electrical Safety First says so for contact grills as a class. In March 2026 the Office for Product Safety and Standards rejected a SOKANY grill import whose plug failed BS 1363. That product is not in this set. The plug check still applies. Only the two George Foreman Fit captures state a 3-pin plug in the box. Check the others on the rating plate. Listings print 220 V, 230 V or 240 V. UK mains are nominally 230 V. Confirm the plate on the unit. Faulty goods sit with the seller under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Captured prices sit in three bands: about £20 to £35, about £60 to £120, and about £150 to £200. Those figures are not a live check.

Common questions

Do the plates have to come off?
Not if you will wipe them after every cook and the plate is small enough that burnt-on food stays manageable. Removable plates become worth the money when you cook fatty mince or sticky marinades, or when you want a dishwasher claim that only some listings actually make.
Is dishwasher-safe the same as removable?
No. Removable means the plates lift off. Dishwasher-safe is only true when the listing says so: the OptiGrill Plus, the Elite highlight, the SuperGrill, and the Immersa with the panel off. The ThermoGrill listing says it is not dishwasher safe. The Philips 5000 and 7000 say the plates detach without a dishwasher line on the capture.
How many watts do I need?
For one toastie, 760 W on the small Fit is enough. For a family plate that opens flat, the 2,000 to 2,200 W rows in this set are the ones with the larger footprint. Wattage is not a food-safety figure.
Should the plug be a UK 13 A plug?
Yes. Look for a BS 1363 plug and fuse. Do not rely on reviews alone. Electrical Safety First treats the plug as a hard check for portable grills.
Is a sensor worth it if I only make toasties?
Usually not. A sensor OptiGrill is built around programmes for meat and fish. If lunch is bread, a Fit or a panini-style press is the cleaner match, and you avoid a 5 kg body on the worktop.
What if the listing says 220 V?
Confirm the rating plate covers UK 230 V mains. Several captures print 220 V while the manufacturer page for the Philips 7000 states 220–240 V. Do not guess from another model’s listing.
Fixed plates or a higher price for the Immersa?
Fixed Fit plates are fine if you wipe them and want a 3-pin plug at under £35. Pay for the Immersa when the dishwasher claim after unclipping the panel is the reason you will use the grill, and accept the Medium, Small and Outdoor field clash on that listing.

Related pages

Best contact grill

Contact grill

Contact grill burgers and chicken: cook them through

How to use a contact grill: preheat, load and clean

Contact grill vs panini press: bread or family meat

Sources

Public UK sources used for this comparison. Listing prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures for these ASINs. Retrieved 21 October 2026.

  1. Food Standards Agency: Cooking your food (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. GOV.UK: Burgers (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. GOV.UK: Cooking food safely (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK: Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK: UKCA and CE marking by sector (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. OPSS: SOKANY grill maker, 27 March 2026 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. BSI: BS EN 60335-2-9 household grills and toasters (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. legislation.gov.uk: Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  9. legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 19 (retrieved 21 October 2026)