Bellini Compact Flatbed Microwave Oven

Flatbed has significantly larger usable cooking area – We've had this unit for about 10 months and given it a pretty good workout in that time. We've even cooked a several chooks over this time and it's done them well. We live in the SA outback, during summer it gets very hot here and we don't like further heating up our kitchen with a conventional oven when we don't have to thus a microwave oven is… Read more

great. For example we use it nightly to warm up our pets food (mince from the fridge) and the most recent heavy job was a 2.5kg chook we cooked in it. The chook was cooked in a microwave proof casserole dish (rule of thumb is 25 minutes /kg in a 900W microwave) and it was cooked beautifully.

It's all metal, aesthetically pleasing and mostly the all metal case, mirror finish means easy clean /wipe clean.

To do a big cook like this chook (in use cooking-time was almost an hour), the microwave does get very warm-hot though compared with our previous plastic cased microwave ovens. Bearing this in mind It was still nothing compared to the heat of our traditional oven though and our air conditioning wasn't competing against the oven to cool our kitchen.

The following 2 points deal with the major points for us in choosing to buy this and we think it was a good decision after weighing up the pro's & con's. Firstly it had a flatbed which makes for a significantly larger usable cooking area (I'd estimate about 40% bigger compared to a glass plate & turntable). The more usable space is nice but the lack of a glass plate is great!!! Seriously, break those plates and you might as well just buy an entirely new microwave oven because of the cost/difficulty in replacing it. So it gets big ticks for usability and for durability. Often it was in the washing up those plates were broken too, this is much easier to clean because it is flatbed and wipe clean. Secondly it is also a griller. You might think this to be gimmicky but I assure you it isn't and gets used often for a quick lunch etc. The griller is not centrally located in in the cook chamber though but sited to the rear. It isn't as big as the conventional oven's griller either, it's ideally sized for 2 slices of grilled ham & cheese toast. Anything from under this griller eg a plate will come out very hot, essentially the grill part is completely conventional. That's another tick but not a big one, basically it's nice being able to grill but if you're wanting to grill anything bigger than a couple of slides of bread you must reposition during the cooking process for evenness. One thing about the griller though is that if what one is cooking/heating up in the microwave is going to spit the food should be covered, the alternative means that muck will spit up, stick to the cook chamber's ceiling and cause a smoky mess when the grill is used.

The biggest drawback of this microwave is it does get HOT (not combustion hot) . I would advise against putting anything on top of it eg plastic covered cook books or plastic doilies etc. The stainless steel /polished metal appearance is aesthetically pleasing and more durable but metal is also a great heat conductor and whatever heat is from the cooking plus the microwave electrics gets distributed by the metal casing. I'm not mentioning this as a negative point but it definitely must be a consideration. If you have kids I wouldn't suggest placing it on a countertop or bench within reach of little fingers.

If you have an enclosed dedicated microwave cavity then I'd check it's size (40cm recommended clearance) but most cavities aren't totally enclosed. Our cavity has a clearance of 25-30cm on top but is partially backless and not all of the top is covered (it opens up lots where the cord goes). The sides also have ample clearance. In other words our cavity doesn't literally meet that recommendation and we don't have any issue. Take these facts with a pinch of salt if you must but consider we do live in a hot place, we do cook in the microwave for long periods at a time and don't precisely have the recommended minimum clearance and have no problem.

I was aware of all of these things from other reviews and YouTube videos before purchasing and still chose to do it and don't have a single regret. We aren't typical users who just heat up frozen pizza etc either. We do use it for lengthy periods of time (eg the above mentioned chooks) and have nil complaints.

I hope to update this review periodically if Product Review Australia allows because I believe a review over a longer period carries greater weight and greater value. For now I'm closing with this, I highly recommend this product but also heavily suggest it be kept out of little one's reach as young skin is more sensitive.

We purchased from Target online and the price was about $130. You'll be very hard pressed to find better value for your money.

*Friday 4th June 2021* It's still working perfectly!

Does job – Easy silver target Bellini microwave Like the flatbed Easy to clean But looks cheap the control panel But doing the job only owned a few mths Strong clock light Heats food will Grill used once for garlic bread was ok Just need to play with time required Show details

Performed like a Piece of junk HOWEVER Target are ALWAYS excellent with returns & refunds – This was the last one in the store the demo. I got a good discount however it did not prove to be worth it. It was only purchased to heat up drinks and snacks. Used it lightly for 3 months now it has frozen up and won't start. Buttons kind of Work but no functionality. It won't reset and cannot clear the timer clock symbol off the display. I… Read more

returned it and got a full refund so I am always very confident in purchasing from Target.

Also no option to change the light bulb. Why make them so I have to call a technician to change a light bulb. Not practical at all. I would not buy one like it again.

As for cleaning around the flat bed section - it is not very good either.