Sunbeam Cafe Press GR8450 / GR8450B

As the name suggests it is a toastie press as well as a grill. The floating hinge allows well filled toastie sandwiches to be cooked without being squashed during cooking. The adjustable height enables one to grill as well. I have grilled bacon, eggs, peppers, zucchini slices, hash browns etc. In this mode my favourite is banana pancakes. (Mix together 2 whipped eggs with 2 mashed banana's pour onto plate cook and voila! 2 min breakfast.) WOW. Wipe clean everytime with a paper towel. I just love this machine and so do my grandchildren who use it almost every day. Other points of interest: Does rolls, wraps, croissants etc. Heats up very quickly, 2400 watts power. Power indicator light as well as Ready indicator light. Cord wraps around bottom ensuring easy storage. Good looks with its stainless steel housing. I highly recommend this machine.

The cafe press heats quickly and the adjustable height allows for various thickness of bread.

The best feature about GR8250B is that it is simple to use. It is easy to clean. In having a flat cooking surface ,it eliminates the squashing and cutting up of the food.

This Sandwich presser has a classy finish design.We bought this approximately about a year ago and it still looks brand new. I have recommended it to colleagues, friends and family. Highly recommend it.

My first press, and more than impressed. Could not believe how quick it was to heat and still melt cheese.
Solid build, easy to use. Did not realize how many things I could cook in it. Thankyou reviewers for expanding my culinary horizons.
If you see this Trish, what are "pigs in a blanket ? "

I purchased my Sunbeam Cafe Press a couple of years ago for around $100. It smelt when I used it at first but after a few uses the smell went away. This machine was great for making toasted sandwiches and was easy to clean. Unfortunately it stopped hearing up. When I plug it in the green light comes on but no there is no heat at all on the pad plates. I only got to use it a couple of dozen of times so I’m very disappointed with the quality of this product.

I absolutely love this little machine. So versatile and besides toasted sandwiches I’ve made pikelets, wraps, pizzas, pancakes, bacon, eggs, French toast, hash browns, roasted pumpkin and I’ve browned meat for the slow cooker who knows what’s next! Wipes clean with a damp cloth and paper towel and easy to store.

I bought this Sunbeam Cafe Press four years ago. It gets minimal use. After about a year, one of the indicator light covers broke off. About a year after that the other one broke off, leaving an obvious hole in the lid and revealing what seems to be a view into the electric workings of the machine. I would have thought that this is dangerous. I then phoned Sunbeam and was told that they did not have the spare part.

Unfortunately, without having read these reviews, four years after my purchase, I bought my daughter a Sunbeam Cafe Press, not realising that it was the same model. It seems that if this was a fault, one would have thought that Sunbeam would have fixed the item at the manufacturing stage by now. It seems that this has not happened. I recently visited a friend and saw that her indicator lights were also broken. This led me to peruse this PRODUCT REVIEW website. Other reviewers have reported the same issue.

This seems to be a manufacturing fault. Does someone have to suffer a serious injury before it is fixed?

The ACCC website states that goods are to be of an acceptable quality - the goods must be safe, lasting, have no faults and be fit for purpose. Does the Sunbeam Cafe Press meet these requirements?

Other than this issue of the broken indicator lights revealing the apparent accessible electrical workings of the machine, the press works very well. Is there no way to fix it to make it safe for use?

While visiting my sister for lunch she cooked asparagus wrapped in prosciutto on her Sunbeam sandwich press, she said she uses hers for cooking all sorts of things. I bought one for a friend I was staying with and together we cooked a full fried English breakfast, followed by Turkish bread rolls for lunch followed by fillet steak for dinner with everything coming out well. I bought one for myself and my friend and I send each other photos of whatever we are cooking, so far she has make onion marmalade, pikelets, crumbed lamb chops and seared vegetables on hers, I have made Welsh drop scones, pigs in blankets as well as toasting bread and heating sausage rolls. Having a lid that has a height adjustment makes keeping the top plate at the right height for perfect results. It is so easy to clean with just a wipe with kitchen roll.
Even if you only use this for making sandwiches it is a good addition to your kitchen. I would recommend this appliance.

Cleans easily and quite versatile. I used mine to grill bacon and egg today, so it is not just for sandwiches. I like the hinge lock for use and storage. Just about to buy another one as a gift, so hope it is as good as my 3 year old one.

I used this a couple of times now, and it is fantastic! It has high heat and sandwiches turn out great,panni,kebabs too.It was a replacement for a deep fill sandwich machine, which didn't heat up and burnt the edges,I'm glad I chose this types it will get a lot of use.

As per another review - I have this press and the smaller press and the plastic red and green light covers on top of both have broken leaving a hole in the top of both machines - both just over a year old and still look new except for this - very annoying - Surely they should carry these as small replacement parts???

First time out of the box. Hinges moved freely while cold. Turned on to "season" as per the instructions. Once it heated up the hinges stiffened up and the base lifts with the lid. The heat from the plates was transferred through the hinge and into the handle. The side of the handle was as hot as the plates. Returned immediately to Harvey Norman.

Does everything you expect of a sandwich press. Quick. Hot. Has a lock mechanism so is easily stored on it's side. Easy to clean - just a wipe over with a damp cloth. I have noticed there is a scratch where I used a metal spatula to lift the sandwich - even tho it says "won't scratch". I use plastic spatula now.

I purchased this product to replace an older model Sunbeam Cafe Press that failed after the hinge screw fell out and could not be fixed. After owning the current model for just over a year, the plastic covers on the indicator lights (red & green) became loose and fell out. They could not be put back in as the clips had broken off. After contacting Sunbeam to request replacement covers, I was told these parts were unavailable and not in the catalogue of spare parts for this unit. Very disappointing considering this is their current model and no parts available?! I was also refused a replacement. I am reluctant to use the press now as there is a hole in the top allowing possible debris to enter the exposed components and I'm concerned it could potentially cause a fire risk. This product has failed to meet my expectations due to poor quality, failure to have all replacement parts available and the unsatisfactory aftersales support. Since this is the second Sunbeam Cafe Press I have purchased with a problem, I will not reconsider the future purchase of another Sunbeam product.

Update - So it seems the issue of light indicator lenses falling out is quite common with this product, yet Sunbeam choose not to offer spares. Unacceptable Sunbeam, your product, as well as your customer service, has failed your customers. I choose to no longer purchase Sunbeam products.

Our Breville Toast n Melt 4 Slice toaster which we had for a couple of years was on it's way out over the last 12 months, as we had to wiggle the power cord to get it to work. In the end it was sparking and so it was time to ditch it. Decided to give the Sunbeam a go and we are very happy with it so far. It toasts the bread evenly and the sandwich contents are hot. The old Breville was way too hot and so it would toast the bread without melting the cheese, so we were never really happy with it. From what I've read of the reviews from both appliances, I think you can be unlucky and get a lemon. I'm happy to say that this time we got well working appliance and I am happy that we decided on the Sunbeam!

Couldn't live without it. Heats up quickly and cooks the best wraps and sandwiches. My husband cooks our big breakfast on it on Sundays which includes egg, bacon, mushroom and tomato. Not sure if we should, but it turns out great and the machine is still working as new after 20 months. BUT they could have made the cord longer.

Easy to use, fast and clean. Best snacks ever! Makes toasted sandwiches quick, easy and stays so clean. No mess No fuss......best electrical product in my kitchen!!! Don't buy any other ones...this is one you are looking for....Doesn't squash your sandwiches, set to the thickness you want and it locks there for next time...........

This unit I purchased from the Sunbeam shop in highpoint and it replaced a smaller model that I had purchased from Aldi . It was great at the beginning but eventually it was taking longer to heat up and eventually it wouldnt heat up some times.
One day the unit was tripping the safety switch on the house so I packed it up since it is swill under a year old and took it back with my receipt.
Sunbeam replaced it and it has been 3 weeks with the new one and the screw on the right hand side is coming off on the hinge lid. It is a security type screw so I can't screw it back on with out buying a special screw driver.
my wife said that they have Breville at her work and everyone uses it all the time and never had a problem.
Would not buy this again if I had a choice. Let's see how long it lasts.

Since I published this review I have desposed of the toaster and have yet to purchase another. It was falling apart the light on the top had caved in and the screw on the side was constantly falling out.

After only a year of casual use two to three times a month, the Teflon non-stick coating began to disintegrate on one side of the bottom plate - seemingly due to uneven and over heating on one side, which had been a problem since day one - got around to contacting Sunbeam as it became worse a few months later. Asked for a replacement or a discount off another one, but despite an automated promise of a response within 24 hours, I didn't hear back from them. Have decided to replace with a Breville (with variable temperature control, and, hopefully, a higher quality non-stick cooking surface) Very disappointed.

The Sunbeam Cafe press is great. Nothing is faster or easier than a toastie, and you can fill it with whatever you want. The plates are good size so you can do several at once (I recommend the smaller one for singles or those with small appetites though). The non-stick surface is superb and easy to clean (make sure to season it once in a while).

I don't think it is easy to do an even "open melt" because the top element couldn't be perfectly flat, but I don't think it's possible with the floating hinge design. I mainly do both sides at once anyway. I tried char grilling some zucchini on it but with no place for the steam to go it didn't work so well (maybe I just did too much).

I like being able to store it vertically when not in use. It does have a few flaws though, firstly the stainless steel exterior gets extremely hot, hotter than the Breville we have at work. The rubber feet are also small, so on certain benches (like mine which is a very slick marble with a perpetual thin layer of grease due to its proximity to the stove) it is not non-slip (which you need to use the latch to push down).

These two combined mean to effectively press down on my toastie, I often need to use a silicone pad on the very hot top surface.
Good seal on toasted sandwiches, even heat, easy to clean
Gets very hot externally. Non slip feet do not grip bench top very well.

I have the compact one, bought it because we have the grill model at work & that one is brilliant.
This one would be fabulous, except it doesn't toast very well on the bottom! Always have to flip sandwiches over to toast the other side (would be pretty impossible with an open sandwich!)

I know it's not something I'm doing wrong, as I've tried every possible variation to make it work - no butter on the outside, a little, more, lots . . . .
I thought I just had a dodgy model, and Myer exchanged it, but the new one is the same.

Called Sunbeam, who weren't very interested, and told me to take it back to the retailer and try 3rd time lucky. I suspect it is just an isolated fault, but one that's affected a whole batch, rather than just one item. I could exchange it again, but my patience for going through the whole thing a third time is wearing pretty thin.

I think I will take it back, but will reluctantly try a different brand this time.

Very disappointed, as I love all the features of this one, and I know it'll be a great little workhorse - if it'd just do what it's designed for and actually toast.
Design, floating hinge, Roto Dial, upright storage with cord wrap, reliability, versatility, so easy to clean.
Bottom plate toasts very poorly or not at all!