Mistral 3.5L

Perfect for everyday cooking – If you are small family ,it's perfect for everyday cooking. Easy clean, perfectly cooked. Bought as a trial but and it's more than an year to use. Show details

Terrible control panel that is hard to use – I bought this airfryer to use in my caravan, as I have another brand one ar home. Yes, it cooks well, but the controls are a nightmare. Not user friendly.at all. I will never recommend anyone to purchase this brand for that fact alone.

After three months of operation it caught fire and smelt like burnt plastic – Plugged into for lunch for my kids nuggets and chips and went to check it nearly burnt down the house not worth the money payed even if it was 50 dollars Show details

Mistral 6.5 L Air Fryer – Even though I have only had it for 2 days. I love it and wouldn’t use anything else anymore. Got it at Countdown and I’ve heard nothing but good things about the brand. Show details

Perfect. Love it – Bought the 3.5l airfryer from Woolworths to try and it is amazing. I've had this now for almost a year and cannot fault it. Improved home cooking everything turns out perfect. Show details

I was surprised – Honestly I thought it would be a fail but it’s the best kitchen appliance I have bought! Saves so much time and no need for fatty oils, kids love it too Show details

Did not even get to use once – Bought this item in Woolworths. Prepared it for the first cook, started it up and was heating up then both lights went out and will not work. Have tried unplugging/replugging, different sockets but green light will not come on. Absolute waste of money! Show details

Not a bargain! You get what you pay for - A very poorly designed and manufactured air fryer – SUMMARY PROS - Cheapest air fryer on the market and readily available - Compact, lightweight design - The temperature and timer dial controls are very reliable and work well so it does the job - Safety cut-off switch operates when cooking bucket is removed - Separate ON and HEATING indicator lights - Relatively quiet operation - the cooking… Read more

bucket when correctly inserted into the air fryer firmly locks in place. This prevents it from accidentally falling out when moving the appliance - Perfect for heating frozen potato fries and hash browns, chicken schnitzels and crumbed tenders, Chiko rolls, meat pies, frozen crumbed fish pieces etc

CONS

- Very inferior, vented, single bucket design has many serious problems!!! - Poor hot air circulation (doesn't reach bottom) resulting in uneven cooking necessitates the need to turn over all the items half way through cooking. So very inconvenient. This is regardless of amount being cooked. - hence its not recommended to put more than a single layer of food into the bucket as it just wont cook properly. - Vents on sides of cooking bucket allow oil and grease spatter to circulate and get baked on surfaces all around the inside of the air fryer including the heating element area so creating a massive if not impossible cleaning problem. - Inferior ultra-thin non-stick coating comes off very easily with just minor scrubbing, especially from the all-important vented bottom plate - you cannot simply tip out the cooked items as the loose-fit bottom tray just falls out all over the place and could burn you. Hence you need to pick out each item with metal tongs. Again, so majorly inconvenient! - cleaning is rather inconvenient since the loose-fit bottom tray must be handled separately by hand. It might be too hot and burn you or otherwise be full of grease and oil which gets all over your hands...Yuk! - Cooking raw meats such as steaks, chicken, sausages, pork and roasts is NOT recommended as they cause problematic splatter to circulate, settle, collect and bake solid all around the air fryer. Your air fryer will quickly become inefficient and unusable and will also become a haven for cockroaches (applies to all air fryers).

NOW FOR THE DETAILED REVIEW AND COMPARISON WITH MARKET LEADER

This Mistral air fryer is as cheap as you get but it does work, even if not quite satisfactorily. It is no comparison to the market leading Philips air fryers So don't expect to pay $49 and get the same quality and results as a $145 to $200 air fryer They are chalk and cheese. Totally different in all respects - build, quality and design!

Unlike other reviewers here I have both a Mistral and a Philips air fryer so am best qualified to give a thorough and most informative, unbiased review and explaining all the pros and cons. So here we go....

Firstly let me say that you should clean all air fryers immediately after every use. Otherwise you risk permanently baking on grease, oil and cooking splatter and hence creating a wonderful haven for cockroaches! Also its just plain unhealthy not to clean them every time! Hence both ease of cleaning and durability becomes a very important consideration in any air fryer.

The Philips air fryers are a market leading innovative design that cook well, clean easily, are reasonably durable and are certainly built to last. You can use them over and over again provided you clean them regularly. In contrast this cheap $49 Mistral air fryer has a very inferior design that wont last very long before you decide to throw it out. It's totally different to the Philips ones.

The Philips air fryers have a metal cooking basket with stainless steel mesh at the bottom, sitting sealed within an outer metal basket to contain both the heat, the excess oil and the splatter. This clever design allows for optimum hot air circulation for even cooking. It also allows you to lift out the inner cooking basket by the handle and conveniently tip out your cooked food. Then clean it immediately whilst the oil is hot and easy to wash off. You can even use a non-scratch plastic scourer on them if you must due to the fact that both baskets have a durable, high quality Teflon style non-stick coating. As a result Philips air fryers heat very evenly without the necessity to turn everything and are quick and easy to clean.

This Mistral air fryer doesn't have any of this. It has just one unsealed cooking basket with vents around it and a loose-fit vented bottom tray. End result is uneven heating due to poor hot air circulation and if you are cooking meats (not recommended) the cooking splatter goes absolutely everywhere! I mean all around both the inside and outside of the cooking basket as well as up and around the heating element and fan. Then it just gets baked on making for a very difficult if not impossible clean and thus a very unhealthy proposition. It doesn't help that the Mistral air fryer has a cheap, thin coat of black non-stick paint sprayed on the metal basket. As you would expect this painted surface can rub off very easily with minor scrubbing so you must exercise great care when cleaning using only sponges and dish brushes. Using a plastic or metal scourer to remove baked on grease and oil will remove the non-stick coating very quickly. For a heavy duty clean its better to soak the cooking bucket and tray for an hour or so in hot, soapy water or even overnight or alternatively just spray with oven cleaner. Note that caustic oven cleaners are harsh and hence may also eat away the non-stick coating. Hence consider the Mistral Air fryer a limited use "throw away" appliance if you are going to be using it for cooking meats rather than just heating frozen foods, and especially if you are not going to religiously clean it thoroughly after every use. Note also that the loose-fit vented bottom tray just falls out as soon as you try and tip the food out. Hence you must pick the food items out individually with metal tongs. This also presents a burn risk if you handle this bottom tray by hand immediately after the food is removed.

On the plus side both the dial timer and the dial temperature settings work very well and are very reliable. I suggest avoiding air fryers with digital settings. As any electrician will tell you - Digital circuit boards, high heat and moisture are just not a good combination!

What I strongly suggest is limiting use of the Mistral air fryer to heating frozen foods such as fries, potato gems, crumbed fish pieces, chicken schnitzels, Chiko rolls, frozen pies etc. . i.e. stuff that just requires heating up and does not splatter or cause any greasy mess inside the air fryer. Its certainly good for that as long as you wash the residual oil away after every use. If you read some of the positive reviews here you will see this is the ideal purpose for which air fryers are being used. So stay well away from steaks, sausages, pork or anything that requires cooking and/or causes splatter as such. In fact I would suggest this for all air fryers. Contrary to what they suggest in their marketing, air fryers are not a substitute for grilling in or on a stove or cooking/ baking in an oven unless you want to throw your air fryer away in a hurry!

Cooks everything perfectly. For a while – Bought this 3.5l air fryer 5 months ago and has cooked everything beautifully until last night when we heard a loud "pop" and fryer stopped working. Only used 2 or 3 times a week. Won't buy another one Show details

Exceeded Expectations – I've had this about a week. I wanted something to make nice chips considering I won't be allowed to dine out anywhere due to not having a government mandated injection. So, I've done chips from scratch... really nice. Fish bits, corn fritters, mini pizzas, fish fingers, chicken tenders and more. Did a marathon spring roll for dinner and it was… Read more

better than any hotbox fried one in a matter of minutes. I reheated some cinnamon donuts. Lovely. Easy to clean. Doesn't heat my caravan up for cooking in the summer. Really, really happy I bought this.

Took forever to cook a bit of chips – I don't recommend this air fryer at all , definitely wasting of time and money, it took so long to finish a bit of hot chips... simply don't buy it , maybe pay a bit more and buy a good one Show details

A bargain! – Saw it on special at Woolworths for $34.00 and thought if I didn’t like it it wasn’t a big outlay - I LOVE it!! So quick-marinated chicken, homemade chips etc Easy to clean-wish I’d bought one earlier!! Show details

This product is no good – I was given a brand new Mistral Air Fryer a couple of months ago. I decided to use it for the first time today, all was well for 15 minutes then it stopped and will not work again. I have tried unplugging and replugging it in but it will now go in the bin. I have no receipt so cannot take it back Show details

Mistral 3.5 kg airfyer easy to use – I like it easy to fry mistral air fryer 3.5 kg I was bought it on June 6 suddenly not working yesterday only 3 months is it any warranty covered Show details

Smokes real bad – Smokes really bad would not recommend it to anyone very disappointed with it. I certainly want buy another one. Everytime I have cooked with it once had to open my doors and windows Show details

3.5 litre air fryer – I bought 3.5 litre air fryer last week suddenly it stopped working no power no lights. I am looking for warranty. I want to know where to contact to get this fixed.

Warranty – Hi Mistral Twam, I have bought my Mistral 3.5L air fryer from woolworths, 3-4 months back. Its not working. And i dont have the woolworths bill with me. Please advise how can i get it repaired or possible a refund. Show details

Love this, so much better than a microwave – I use it for chips, veggies and heating frozen meals. it's been great so far. I do need to use a container for loose or mosit foods as the base tray has holes. Show details

Perfect little appliance for small families – A very economical item which I bought so my teenager can cook snacks without using the full sized oven. It’s fast and efficient and suits the small bench space we have available. Easy to use and easy to clean. Great for fries, nuggets, wedges and chicken wings, all of which come out perfectly crispy. Great value for the price.  Show details

Did not heat – So. Thought awesome yes jump on that airfryer bandwagon. Did not heat. Which was kinda crap during the middle of preparing dinner. Bought from woolies, so I guess back I go to get a refund or exchange. Show details

This is Amazing – I bought this product from Woolworth.Easy to cook veggies and frozen food for 2-3 people at a time. Cooking time is very less as compare to oven that takes 30 min. Ready in 15-20 min.Easy to handle and clean.

Recommend – I used this for two months, so far it is working properly. I bought different models from Aldi and Kmart. I think this one is better than those. It suits two persons. Recommend .  Show details

Exploded and burnt out our kitchen – Loved using this but after only a month, the air fryer had an electrical fault and after cooking a batch of wedges, it made a "pop" noise and went up in a blue flash into white flames. Clearly an electrical fire as it was at the top and back and damaged mostly the electrical systems and chord. The wedges were almost edible after the fire fighters… Read more

put everything out, so not a person error or food caused fire! It is a risk and probably not one I would take ever again...

Took a $47 risk, totally worth it – Bought this on a whim from Woolies as everyone has been raving about Air Fryers, in general. Family of 5 so this is probably not big enough for us but I have used it heaps over 6 months easily. Still works well and have had No problems. If it breaks now I've had more than my money's worth. I've cooked pumpkin, browned meatballs, frozen fish, chips, capsicum, the list goes on. Easy to clean. Great little machine and it's still working.  Show details ·  1

Great little air fryer under $50 – I didn’t want to get caught up in the AF hype , but thought I’d give this little one ago . I wasn’t expecting much but I was delighted with its performance. I’ve cooked chops , they are so good , snags , chips , cutlets , fish you make it ! It doesn’t come with all the expensive buttons or pre set dials and sometimes I question the timer , but if… Read more

you want to start this little beauty it excellent. Sometimes cheap isn’t so cheap . Great gor a couple or single easy to clean and pork belly under one hour excellent. I’ve recommended this little air fryer to all my family and friends

So far so good!! – Have had this airfryer for about 2 weeks, and I have loved everything I have cooked in it. I have tried fish, chicken, steak, potatoes, cauliflower and frozen pies. Cooking for 1-2 people, this appliance is perfect, easy to clean and easy to use. Show details

Mistral air fryer – Have to admit only bought yesterday. 10th March used twice first time as lets try it on day of purchase. Was impressed. Today l tried Spud Wedges from fresh. Plus pork chop. Ummmmmmm perfect. Yes recommend. But only for single person  Show details

Great little fryer – I picked mine up just before Christmas it was so handy with the veggies as my oven was under the pump. I’ve had great success with pork and lamb chops the fat went crunchy and the meat moist . I love it so much I purchased one for my sister and told my friends to get one . Best Buy for the bucks . If you are thinking of getting one definitely trial this one it’s small and great for a couple or small family  Show details

Surprisingly Good – Compact with enough capacity for small families, it's hard to go wrong with these. With simple, no frills operation , we're rapidly developing a renewed taste for potato chips, wedges and cubes. Quick and efficient these units will cook, or reheat most grills, with a minimum of fuss. Cleaning is simple. A wipe with a paper towel works 9x out of 10.