Sunbeam Contact Grill and Sandwich Press GC7800 / GC7850B

Bad Design of Handle and Top Plate – As others have said, these units are bad by design. The floppy handle and hinge results in the top plate never sitting level. I returned mine and bought a Breville BGR250BSS instead.

Absolutely love this especially doing melts – This is my second grill & sandwich press from Sunbeam. Our previous one was used so many times and we had it for over 8-9 years. It was still working but the top lid was just a little lopsided so we put our names back on the waiting list to get another one as due to covid, orders had to wait. We still used it though and just had to hold the lid… Read more

if doing a melt. Now the machine itself, I love whether I am doing just toasties. heating up some bread for other dishes, great for melts and I have also cooked up mince burgers on the grill side with no problems at all. It is also great for grilling up some vegetables eg zuchinni slices. This is such a versatile appliance. Yes, it even cooks steak although we generally use the bbq but on those slack times, this works just as well. When cooking meat, there is a detachable drip tray to catch any fats and juices which overflow from the grilling. Easy to take out and wash up too. This is good as those nasty fats are going in the tray and not in your stomach. Both plates the flat side and the grilling side are non stick so use utensils that don't scratch, which is just common sense. Any bread of any size toasts perfectly as does Foccacia and Turkish breads. We do a lot of Melts on Turkish and I can vouch that they cook perfectly every time. The front dial can be turned to either sandwich press or contact grill and for melts I just put it on sandwich press and then adjust the floating hinge to the desired height I need. It then locks into the height I need. Too easy. You know when the appliance is ready as the red light when turned on will turn green. Cleaning is a breeze (once the appliance is cool) and all I use is a damp wet chux or paper towel to clean and then you shut it up once dry and close the lid and turn the dial and it all locks shut for easy carrying to wherever you need to go. The cord can wrap around the legs so the appliance can be stored upright but we have ours flat in our pantry for easy retrieval. I love how I can cook some foods with the lid up or down, it all just depends what I am cooking at the time. I just love this appliance and cannot understand when I see negative reviews on this appliance. I have always wanted to do honest reviews on any products I have bought. I've had Sunbeam products in the past and if say a kettle was not pouring properly, I just ring Sunbeam and then they take note of it all and ask me to take it back to where I bought it from and I get a refund or a new one. Sunbeam is a product that I have used for so long and I cannot fault their professionalism.

Rubbish – Tried posting a bad review but was unable to, this product should not be available, nonstick surface blisters and when I contacted support I was told that they would rectify it, it’s been 3 months and no response, poor quality, poor service, stay away  Show details

Poor Product & Sunbeam know it – Top plate won't stay flat and leads to uneven cooking Side hinge a bit of a joke and not sure how Sunbeam ever thought anything else about it Teflon coating lasts maybe 3 years at best Keeps blowing electrical fuse Heavy lid Contact/sandwich press function useless Hard to clean top lid Lasted 3 years before it blew the fuse 4 times everytime it got used. I now consider it a dangerous product. Going out to buy another brand this week. Show details

My favorite kitchen appliance - don't know how I lived without it! – Great quality sandwich press and contact grill. As a sandwich press you will fit 6 toasties in here at once. The great thing about this grill is that it can be used as an electric frypan and broiler. The ability to distance the top place makes it great for open grills. The variable heat setting makes its suitable for cooking a huge range of… Read more

foods, I use it to roast vegetables and have a beautiful char effect, cook meats, cook pizzas, and of course make toasties. You can make an entire bacon and egg breakfast and toast on this machine. So versatile.

The hinge is not secure – The hinge screws came loose after few uses and now one of them is lost. We tried contact the Sunbeam center and they couldn't provide any replacement part not the service center. We can't use the grill now as it is too dangerous as the top grill plate will fall when it is hot and burnt our hand! Probably won't buy the product again.

Still going strong! A Master of Toasties! – It must be stated that the absolute majority of the time we use this as a sandwich press and this is something it really excels at. It’ll accomodate anything from standard bread through to speciality loaves. The heat and height are adjustable which really helps when dealing with larger sandwiches and the pursuit of a crusty toasted result with… Read more ·  1

good melting of cheese. It can also be loaded up - will easily accomodate four large toasties in one hit.

Generally we prefer to BBQ meat but during the winter months this isn’t always viable. And. Of course...for those times when the BBQ runs out of gas this thing has been somewhat of a last resort meal saver. Meat (and grilled vegetables) cooked with the machine come out really well. Nice and tender as well as relatively oil free: something that’s hard to achieve with a frypan or traditional oven based grill. Lightly pressing down on it during cooking really assists in getting the oil out and captured within the included drain tray.

Cooking meat does reveal a bit of a design flaw though: if you load it right up then inevitably oil will drip off the lid when you open it up. This tends to drip directly onto the bench-top behind the machine so can be a pain to clean up. It really is an issue that could easily be solved by a re-design. Normal toastie cleanup is simple. All it really needs is a wipe over when it has cooled down and its good to go for the next use.

The lid or, to be more specific, the locking mechanism is something I’ve never quite figured out and has always seemed fiddly. I’ve always thought that if something was going to break then this would be it. Three years in and it hasn’t - I’ve been proven wrong!

Great Product – I use my sandwich press nearly everyday for my lunch, it grills chicken very well too. One of the trusted brands, it never let's you down. The added feature like thermostat to control temperature would have been awesome, hope Sunbeam can look into it and add this feature in their new models.  Show details

Great product cook's just about anything – This is a very good product but it needs a thermostat to control temperature as it gust burns things so i must keep on turn it off at the power point can we get a new model soon with a temperature control it even cook's fish and chips stake and onions  Show details ·  1

Wow this is amazing – This griller does exactly what it says. Made grilled chicken breasts only took 10min. Chicken was moist and tender only minimal juices lost. Cleaning was easy too there is no mess all over the place like other reviewers said. Made a toasted sandwich in a few min it was hot and cheese melted quick. %100 worth every $$$$ Highly reccomend. Bought at bing lee using after pay $18 a fortnight is a bargain.  Show details ·  1

Life saver – This machine is the magic of all machines. My toastys and flat bread comes out crispy and crunchy while my cheese is melted to perfection. It has settings and can adjust to your liking. It’s quick to heat up and very easy to clean away with paper towel. Kids love this machine!  Show details ·  1

Great for the whole family – This is my second sunbeam grill. My first one lasted a good 8 years with use at least 5 days a week, sometimes twice a day. It is a great size, big enough to cook a steak or toasted sandwich for the whole family. Easy to clean, removable drip tray for easy fat disposal and it looks stylish. Hoping I get another 8 years out of this one!  Show details ·  1

Perfect for a large family! – There are 5 people in our family and 80% of the time we usually have guests, so when it comes time for a cheap quick meal (toasted sandwiches) we usually get out our Sunbeam Cafe Contact Grill & Sandwich Press! It fits four whole toasters at one time! Perfectly golden bread and so easy to clean! We love it! I would recommend this grill to anyone… Read more

with a larger family or just someone who loves loads of toasties! (Ps. I’m sure it’s a great grill too but we are yet to bother with that, the toasties are too good)

Indicator Covers fall off - third time – Grill works OK but the plastic indicator covers fall off as already mentioned in other reviews. Disappointing response from Sunbeam even though the unit is well out of warranty this is the 3rd time this has happended. Obviously it is a fault that has happened to others too. I will not use it now as I feel the unit is unsafe with a gaping hole… Read more

in the top. It also took Sunbeam 4 weeks to respond to my concerns with two prompts from me - not good enough.

Great performance, terrible design – In the beginning I was in love! It's my first grill. I cook everything on it, I use it multiple times daily for many different things. I have no qualms with the cooking performance of this product. After a week or so I began to notice the mess. There's a drip tray at the front for fat, which is fantastic. But when you open the grill during… Read more

cooking or after cooking, all the fats and juices that are sitting on the top grill plate just drip straight off the plate, down behind the machine. Even when the machine is fully open, it doesn't drip onto the bottom plate, it drips behind the machine, onto the machine and onto the bench.

Poorly designed and has ruined my love for it to be honest. Clean up is a pain in the bum, there is forever fat covering my bench and machine. It wouldn't take much to include a lip along the back of the top plate so it all drips back onto the plates instead.

Excellent all purpose cooker – Steaks, 2.5 minutes on high! Get that lovely grill pattern too. Chicken tenders with nandos sauce, 2 minutes, re-baste, flip and let it sit for 30 seconds! Cheese toasties, depends on how much of that golden lovely goodness you stacked in the bad boy!? This little grill is awesome, I hardly use the pan anymore, because it can do most cooking jobs and it's non stick, so cleaning is easy. Highly recommended to friends already.  Show details

Awesome machine – This replaced my George Forman Grill and is so much better. Has a slide out drip tray so you catch all the fat and it is easy to clean. Heats up quickly, great size, bottom flat, top has ridges . I use it for sausages, hamburger patties, chicken kebabs etc.  Show details

Excellent product – Have been using the GC7800 for about 18years. the only change is that the old grill doesn't seem to sizzle like it used to but still has its non-stick surface intact. So passed it on to kids in flat. Just purchased the new GC7850B and it looks beautifully designed. Looking forward to another 18+ years of use with this one.  Show details

Like others, best thing ever until it was not – Love it to bits and use it several times a wee and recently had noticed non stick was not as good as usual. Today I noticed a slab of teflon missing, obviously eaten and sections of the plate bubbling. Of course it is just outside of 12 mth warranty period.

Great while it lasted – I researched online reviews for this Sunbeam Contact Grill and 6 Slice Sandwich Press GC7850B before purchasing. A local sandwich bar was using and seemed rather happy with it even though the plastic cover for the warming/ready indicator had fallen off already. So it came up with 4.75 star reviews online, not many actual reviews but the reason… Read more

they were not all 5 stars was the already know bad design for the warming/ready light indicator so i felt happy to purchase.

Less then 6 months later and it is dead. Yes i have the original box to return in the mail for replacement/repairs under warranty, but alas my kittens had forced their way inside and shredded the contents which included the purchase details. I love those kittens to pieces and they in turn are loving my house contents to pieces whilst i sleep.

Bottom Line, the online reviews have dramatically dropped for GC7850B because it just does not last once out of the box.

I am binning mine and can not recommend at all.

Need a new one every year – The grill is great when it works, like a lot of Sunbeam products. We use our for toasted sandwiches and grilling meat. It heats up fast and is quite easy to clean. BUT, we are on our third one. Just after the product it out of warranty the coating starts to come off which makes it inefficient and I would guess unhealthy. Food starts to stick and… Read more

you can no longer clean it. The reason we keep buying it is that we can usually find one on special for less than $80 but it shouldn't be a disposable item. We've also had problems with a Sunbeam water filter / chiller (just over 12 months and it dies) and the icemaker (had to have several replaced under warranty). Sunbeam just don't make products that last.

Was great while it worked – Was fantastic while it worked. After fourteen months electric wiring burnt out. Obviously just out of warranty. Emailed Sunbeam. . They never bothered to reply. Great in every way. Poor follow up service. Should not burn wiring out after 14 months.

Excellent – We have both this and a family George Foreman. I tend to use the George for Meats and this more for Sandwiches and Veggies and the odd piece of chicken or fish but it is perfectly suited to doing all. Love the flat bottom plate which is a breeze to clean and the drip tray for catching the excess fat off while cooking. Perfect for Grilling Meats,… Read more

Veggies and even toasted Sandwiches. Has two setting one for Sandwiches and one for the other stuff. Easy to clean. Swivel top plate allows movement for thicker cuts of meats and thicker foccacia sandwiches. There is nothing i dislike about the Sunbeam Contact Grill and Sandwich Press.

Good – It has saved us loads of money as an alternative to takeaways and the kids really love what my husband can now make on this grill. They even love foccacias now with all sorts of veg they wouldn't try before (amazing what a slice of cheese will do though). It's very much a no-fuss and kid-friendly meal and you'd really have to work at it to burn or… Read more

overheat the food (we've tried!) Makes very nice grilled sandwiches - evenly heats and cooks without any fuss. Teflon coating wearing out after just a year or so of weekly use.

Good – A handy equipment to have in my kitchen cooking healthier versions of grilled steak, fish and chicken. There's no need to aid oil. All I got to do is put the plug in the socket, wait for it to heat and pop the piece of meat on the grill. Best of all, there is minimal mess as possible and I just love that as it is very easy to clean! Very easy to clean. Very professional look and design. Nothing that I can think off at the moment.

Good – I love my sunbeam grill, it heats up quickly and cooks evenly. It is a great shape to store easily in the cupboard.It is also sold at places like bigw where its a great price This is great, nothing sticks to it thats the best part. heats really fast stores easily in cupboard. great price  Show reply