Sunbeam Cafe Style 4-Slice Sandwich Press & Maker SPM4000SS

You can do just about anything with this grill , sandwiches , toast bread, eggs, bacon, steak, you name it . I am replacing two units I have, one is an overpriced Tefal Optigrill and a Breville Toast & Melt Sandwich Press . I did a review of the Tefal so you can check that out, and the Breville was an older model which is still current, the only… Read more ·  1

downside on that one was there was no variable height adjuster , it was in fixed increments and a bit uneven . The Sunbeam however has a lot going for it, nice flat plates, a lip on the bottom plate so you can do eggs etc without half of it ending up on the floor, 2400W of power and that nice variable adjustment top plate which can be locked in place at any height,and of course a 2 year warranty all at an affordable price. I , so far, have done sandwiches , a long roll and a steak on this grill. without squashing the life out of them and that is why I bought it, I wanted cafe style sandwiches and rolls not compressed food wafer thin. When doing the long roll though, I found in order to get the top grill to sit flat you needed to place the roll towards the rear of the plate, no big deal, and it worked fine. I can't think of any negatives at the moment only to say it's a reasonable price and your not paying for AI, flashing lights and numerous other things that are of questionable use. After all , it's just a grill , with two hot plates . Highly recommended

Almost perfect – Recently replaced our old sandwich toaster for this beaut upgrade. We shopped around to see what was available as we hoped to find one that we could fit 4 decent size sandwiches in, the Sunbeam is a familiar name so it caught my eye. It offers a slick ‘anyheight’ side lever to lock the top section into a fixed position so it’s easy to melt cheesy… Read more ·  1

tops, it’s a simple and effective solution. My only issue is the 4 sandwich thing, they must be small slices to fit in. If you expect to fit any hi top bread you will need to accept only 2 at a time which means longer cooking time. The smooth heat surfaces and perfect as they are so easy to clean, you can even do an omelette in it. And lastly it heats up super fast.

More than a sandwich press – Tried the 4-slice sandwich press and maker in it’s obvious way - for a grilled cheese toastie and then as a pan, making some eggs with baked beans. Quite happy with it, the lid works well and it was really easy to clean afterwards. Happy that I went for 4 pieces, making it easier to cook up a few things at once (think brekkie board with eggs,… Read more

tomatoes, mushrooms). Pretty much makes the frying pan redundant!

Haven’t used it for long yet, but seems quite sturdy as well as practical to store (an upright position is helpful).

The Perfect Press for a Perfect Toastie – The Sunbeam Café Style 4-Slice Sandwich Press & Grill is a great size for making multiple sandwiches at once. It is easy to use and even easier to clean. Highly Recommend it. Show details

Good quality and heavy duty sandwich press – I had a small Sunbeam sandwich press and decided to upgrade to this bigger sandwich press. I was so impressed with its quality and the result. When I unboxed the product, I can feel it’s a good quality product as soon as I touched it. The plastic bit is thicker with smooth finishes than what I had. The non-stick surface is very smooth and does… Read more

not feel like the cheap one you can find at Kmart. It feels like a heavy-duty sandwich press that you find in a cafe.

Out of curiosity, I used both machines to make the same sandwich and wanted to see if there’s any different. The heat up time was about the same. However, the new sandwich press comes with a lever that you can adjust the height freely which made such a different. With this feature my sandwich is less squash compared with the one in the old machine. As you can see the cheese fell out and melted on the plate. The toasted area is more even compare with the one cooked by the old machine. Overall I like it, it’s simple to use and does the job well.

Lightweight with Smart Additions – We are super happy with how convenient and fast mealtime and clean up can be with the product. The product was very easy to use and handle as the level adjustment doubles to lock the plates securely and the standing feature allowed it to be moved around easily. A nice compact size for our bench top. The lid does feel like it will tip backwards… Read more

sometimes when opened. I like that the bottom plate is deep enough to contains pills. The stand feature is great but it tilts slightly so worry whether it’s steady enough to remain standing. I think this café grill with the added feature above makes it just so versatile and indispensable in the kitchen really. We cooked steak and bean Sprouts on it. Simple and easy. There wasn’t an even browning on the bottom because of excess water but the top could have browned more if the meat were of similar height. Otherwise it was just a matter of getting used to it to get the best out of it. The bean sprout were a breeze to cook. Toast and toasted peanuts came out great too. Heats up quick and depending on what you are cooking its done in a flash really. Clean up was done in a matter of minutes. I like that it was also lightweight and that it had a great handle that was easy to grip. Overall a great versatile product.

Quick and Easy – I have owned a sandwich press for many years, it was looking worse for wear, so my daughter bought me the new 4 slice Sunbeam sandwich press. What I like about this sandwich press that I didn’t have on my old one was the fact that this can be stored away standing up, doesn’t have to be stored flat, this now gives me extra space in my storage… Read more

draw. I also like the any heigh control lever. I have made Wraps and French toast in this so far. I was amazed at how quickly the unit heated up, and how quickly it cooked. The French toast cooked in no time, I didn’t have to wait for one side to cook and then turn to cook the other as I do in my frypan, I placed the French toast straight onto the plate, no butter or oil required, closed the top and within a minute it was cooked, amazing result. Then I just used a dish cloth to wipe over. Recommend this unit.

Not just a Cafe style sandwich press - it is so much more – I was given this to evaluate - but I've been honest with the following review. My simple assessment. I found this sandwich press to be really useful. Ever since I received this, I've used it multiple times a day for most days. I found that while it could produce sandwiches, I was able to use it for a variety of other things that I would typically… Read more

cook on the fry pan. This was mostly successful. I found it was quick to heat up and quick to cook most foods. I felt it gave sandwiches that extra pzazz. I'd recommend the sunbeam press.

My more detailed assessment, grab a coffee and have a read. I found the sandwich press was packaged very well. There was very little movement inside the box, due to the Styrofoam packing. I wonder if a more earth friendly option may have been considered, such as pressed cardboard. The accompanying instruction manual Is reasonably useful. Minor Observation: Removing the vinyl sticker from the top of the sandwich press was easy to do, however seemed to leave a very faint shadow that eventually cleared after the first few days. Minor Observation: I did notice an instruction to remove this label however that instruction was very small and difficult to read. If the label had been left on I expect it would have caused an inconvenience to the user.

Everyone now knows about QR Codes Instructions and packaging have a QR code that links back to sample recipes. The small QR code on the label - yep - the one I mentioned above - directs users back to the Sunbeam site – but not the recipes as it implies.

But does it make sandwiches? The manual claims that Preheat is done in 2 minutes. While using it I found it took about 1 min to heat up; This probably added to its usability for us. It took about 1 minute to melt simple 1 cheese sandwich. The brief reference to cooking steaks and other foods in the manual got me thinking...what else could I cook. I’ve used it to grill tomatoes and bacon to place in a sandwich. It’s also been used to reheat tiropita [cheese pies] I've even made my own bruschetta. Things with an amount of fat don't cook the best i.e. sausages, but anything that is dry is OK for this. We experimented with the taste- thin steaks fried with butter tasted pretty much like those out of the frypan. I noticed my kids trying to press down on the lever to flatten their sandwich. 1/ they should let the weight of the lid to that for them 2/ I saw it lift rear of the press when pressing too hard on lever.

The other - equally as important stuff? Cleaning was easy with the flat surface - and yes...it is new - I'll be interested to see how it is after a year or so. The cord is long enough to allow the press to be placed in a preferred location - without having to move things around. The cord can be wrapped neatly and the unit stored upright (as recommended in the manual) minimising the space taken.

In Summary: This has become our new 'go to' quick cook device. The kids have used this as a replacement to the frypan for cooking bacon as it is a lot quicker and easier makes less mess. We now use this most days - and often multiple times a day.

Handy features make this better than my old one – I enjoy using this appliance. I have been impressed by the improvements made over old models. Whilst new things are always great, I realised that this is a big step over my old toaster. Which was about 12 years old, so time for as new one. The biggest feature for me is being able to store it vertically - takes up less space when being stored. The… Read more

locking lever on the handle is a great thing too - it can be positioned lightly on the food, or completely away from the food if required. So much better than the steps on my old toaster which the lid used to just drop onto. The compactness is handy - it still has space for 4 bread slices, whilst being less "chunky" on the bech top. It can be used to cook many things other than toasted "cheesies" - the packaging shows hamburger patties, which is something I have done for years. Good to show versatility to anyone that is tossing up buying this device and it could be used as a mini Teppanyaki plate.. One thing that is not a deal breaker is that the plate does not have any fat drainage, like my old toaster. This is really a minor matter and may suit some food items. As another reviewer mentioned, the power cord could be longer, but it is long enough for me. It heats up fast - couple of minutes and you're toasting or 3 minutes and steaks are ready to go. Cleaning is easy - the plates are flat and you just need to let the machine cool down. It heats evenly, it feels solidly made and is priced around $90 - good value. Well done Sunbeam.

Great features, simple to use and easy to clean. A favourite tool in the kitchen – I was never a big user of a sandwich press, it was something that I’d forget about in the cupboard and was a hassle to use. But using this sunbeam 4 slice press has changed that quite a lot. It has a few key features that make it more convenient to use than any other press I’ve owned in the past. The lockable lid is awesome, it can lock in any… Read more

position so you aren’t limited by set heights, I didn’t realise this would be useful until I started using this press, but it’s come in handy every time I’ve used it.

The cooking plates seem like great quality, I haven’t had any food sticking to it even though I’ve been cooking on it every 2-3 days. The bottom plate also has a nice deep lip all around it which keeps liquids in. This meant I didn’t have to sit and watch for drips, I could move around the kitchen doing other things and just let the press do its thing. Although the top plate isn’t as great with drips, when it’s lifted the drips run down and all over the bench and hinges.

The final feature that really makes this press different is the ability to store it standing upright. It takes up less space and is easy to grab by the handle. This point has a pretty big negative too because it’s too tall to actually fit inside my regular cupboards. I have mine stored next to the microwave on the bench but it’s not going to work for those who plan to keep it in a regular height cupboard. I added some photos to demonstrate it.

Overall I'm happy to give it 5 stars because the pros greatly outweigh the cons in my experience and it's quickly become a regularly used tool in my kitchen. I've found myself preferring to use it over frying pans many times.

Pros: • Cooks bacon (and other items) really quickly and simply. • Can lock the top at any level, there are no set stages. • Stores upright. • Really good lip around bottom plate meaning things don’t spill out. • Heats up fast and evenly all over the plates. • Cleaning is really easy even when left to completely cool. • All of the parts feel like very good quality.

Cons: • Drips run down the top plate when lifted covering hinge area and bench behind sandwich press in mess. • The cord wrap isn’t really functional because the cord keeps unwinding itself. • I tried cooking wheat tortillas on it, and it just didn’t work. Possibly the heat is too low for that kind of bread cooking. • The upright standing storage function is too tall to fit inside regular cupboards. • The top plate doesn’t sit flat as advertised, it’s always angling slightly back.

Space saving and even cooking – This is a great sandwich press with some innovative features. I love the fact that it can stand and takes up less space on the bench top when not in use. We love the fact it’s easy to clean up after use by giving it a wipe down with a damp paper towel. The other great function is the ability to lock the height of the press. I’ve heated up pies… Read more ·  1

that doesn’t get squashed, toasties melt with perfectly melted cheese, wraps held together well that were all evenly cooked.

If you’re deciding between a 2-slice vs a 4-slice, I’d recommend going for the 4-slice as that allows you to toast a whole unwrapped pita.

My only complaint is the short cable length.

Update 10/07/2022 We recently bought some roti from Costco and instead of using a pan, I thought I'd try the sandwich press. It turned out awesome and cooked in about 2 minutes, compared to about 10 minutes on a pan. We love this sandwich press even more now.

First time using a sandwich press - very impressed with this sandwich maker – We love toasted sandwiches which I usually cook in the oven. This Sunbeam Cafe style 4 slice sandwich flat press is a very quick alternative, heating up in minutes and then around five minutes to cook evenly on both sides. The TINY manual says no need to use butter, however for my first test sandwich, butter on the outside tasted so much nicer.… Read more ·  2

Everything tastes better with butter!

In the photo of the sandwich on the press, the left side is without butter. As you can see, very even cooking with or without butter.

I like to cook/heat my wrap first before assembling. Precooked supermarket wraps took 30 seconds to cook. Make sure you stay close and monitor.

I tried cooking four sandwiches at the same time and the appliance did not cook as evenly as it did for two.

Cleaning up spilled melted cheese was so easy using paper towel then a warm sponge. Love how easy it is to clean.

You can stand the unit on its' side for storage if your shelf is high enough. There is a section to wrap the cord as well which I liked.

No recipes in the user guide and the QR code link takes you to one recipe only that I could find which was disappointing but not a deal breaker. As it is a sandwich press, use your own imagination and do test runs first to work out cooking times.

The locking feature means you can set the height of the top part if you do not want to press down on your sandwich or anything else you are cooking.

A 2 year warranty is an incentive to buy this brand. TIP: take a photo of your receipt AND stick your receipt in the manual. Not doing this means the 2 year warranty is useless to you because no receipt, no warranty claim.

As I use the press more, I will add updates and photos to this review. As it stands, I love the convenience and speed using this sandwich press.

EDIT: I have added photos of souvlaki made from leftover cooked chicken. I used tin foil for ease of cleaning. Chicken heated up in just over a minute with lid down.

If you want to make more than a toastie, then go with the six slice – When first asked to try the Sunbeam Cafe Stlye 4 or 6 Slice Press, I was excited as I have been wanting to try one out for some time. I received the 4 slice model. This one comes with the flat top and bottom. When compaired to its larger brother, that features a grill top plate and flat bottom plus a fat drip tray, I was a little deflated to find… Read more

that these options were not available with this one. As far as a toastie maker goes, it was ok at its job. But I can't say I loved it for anything else. It heated up very quickly, which was great, no waiting around. The lockable adjustable height is handy - but not life changing. It did toasted sandwiches evenly, and did not squash them. The compact size is great. It fit 4 sandwiches no problem, while taking up very little banch space. I also follow some of the other receipes online, but was not impressed. For cooking a thin foccacia , it was no good. It burnt the outside before the inside had started to cook. Pancakes cooked evenly, but left the outside harder than normal, almost chewy. I tried with the lid closed and adjusted to the right height and they either couldn't rise properly or didn't cook on to top; so also tried with the lid open, and it worked better although flipping was needed, so it was just the same as cooking on the stove. To cook any kind of meat on was no good at all, as the fat had no where to drain away, and the lip is not very high so there would be overflow with larger cuts. In summary, it's not a winner for me. With limited space in my kitchen, I don't see the point in using an appliance that only does one thing, when you already have appliances in the kitchen that will also do the same thing. It did have some good points like easy clean up, size, and fast heating. But do these alone make me want to tell my friends about it.... Sadly no. If I was to try again, I would go with the six slice with more options for cooking. But for now, I'll stick with my George Foreman grill.

Its just amazing – Happiness is…a Cafe style crispy Triple Decker sandwich! I’m in love with the look of my thick sandwiches. With School and work lunches its a winner as I can make 4 sandwiches in one go making it quicker when you have a bigger family. A winner feature of Sunbeam Cafe Style 4 Slice Sandwich Press Maker Flat Press is that it heats quickly and the… Read more

adjustable height allows for various thickness of bread. Its so convenient to adjust it to the any height I need and use it. Its really so versatile and besides toasted sandwiches I’ve tried it for wraps, pizzas, pancakes, eggs, French toast, hash browns and it turned out amazing. Wipes clean with a damp cloth and paper towel and easy to store. It has been a great new addition to my kitchen. . Sandwich lovers, I have an important question to ask...Do you like yours thin, medium or thick? Let me know in comments.