The Breville Panini press is a special sandwich maker that has a ribbed top plat to provide that gourmet grilled look to sandwiches and a flat plate on the bottom section that can function as a griddle.

There are no specific on or off buttons or any sort of temperature controls. It’s as basic as it comes – you simply plug the machine in and on it goes. No fiddling around with controls, just simple plug in or pull out! There is a level on the side that you can slid into position to “lock” the Panini press down or to a different position of the lid to adjust whether you want to grill, melt cheese, etc.

This press is really a sandwich maker, but it can double as a griddle since the bottom section is essentially a griddle. I use it once and a while to prepare bacon and eggs. I was actually quite impressed as the food was delicious.

If you are looking for a more complicated sandwich press out there, I’m sure you can find one, but the Breville Panini press is stupid simple, which makes it all the much better. Trust me, I’ve had several other sandwich makers in the past but I rarely used them – there were just too many darn controls and things to mess around with. The Breville Panini press is simple and effective for what it does – produces delicious Panini’s.

Pros

- Stainless Steel, handsome, and aesthetically pleasing. You won’t be ashamed about putting this on your counter to stay.

-Heavy duty build. This thing was built to last. The controls are simply but it’s quality materials. The cord is also very durable.

-Get’s super hot in minutes. It only takes your a couple minutes to get your sandwich perfectly toasted.
Cons

-You can’t remove the plates. This is actually my biggest complaint since it would make the clean up so much easier. It’s not a deal breaker but it would be nice to be able to remove them. However, it doesn’t take too long to just clean the plates with a wet rag.

-You have to plug the device in to turn it on and pull it out to turn it off. It’s simple and effective, but I still wish there was a button. The lack of  temperature controls, timer, or alarm might annoy some people. I didn’t really mind.

Overall:

This is a very good Panini maker. It does what it claims and the price is reasonable. I’ve gone through several of the more expensive Panini makers and even though they offered more in terms of features, something about the simplicity gives this one an edge. I recommend the Breville Panini press to anyone who wants to make delicious, hot sandwiches.