8 Best Small Grills of 2023

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City-living, picnicking, or camping—there's an option for everyone.

Everyone deserves to grill. If it were up to us, Right to Grill would be in the damn Constitution. We love charcoal grills, we love portable grills, and we don't think your lack of space should prohibit you from getting outside and grilling, brother. The city dwellers among us, whose patio sets don't have sectionals or sofas but little tables and chairs squeezed onto balconies, they deserve to grill. Those even less lucky souls who can't fire up the grill unless they're outdoors at a park or campsite, they deserve to grill. Everyone deserves to grill.

So, as part of this initiative—we're thinking Get America Grilling, as a working title—we put some of the best compact grills to the test. Models that are made for a balcony BBQ or beach day lunch, the criteria were that these grills had to be space saving, and capable of feeding a crowd. What did we come up with? This definitive list of the eight best small grills for anyone with limited square footage.

Easy Carry Cover/Bag

The best charcoal grill of all time, shrunken down into portable size. The Smokey Joe's 14-inch grill space is smaller than a standard Weber Kettle, but there's still plenty of room for a handful of steaks and vegetables, or enough burgers and hotdogs for a crowd.

This premium version of the Smokey Joe comes with a few upgrades like sturdier legs, a carry handle, and lid holder. For tailgates, camping trips, or even larger back deck cookouts, this will do the job.

If you're definition of a "small" grill is something city sized—say for an apartment balcony—we'd still recommend a Weber Kettle. Though it seems counterintuitive, we really like the deluxe version of the Weber, instead of a more simple Kettle, for balcony spaces.

At four-foot wide, it'll fit on any balcony quite easily, and everything is confined to this single footprint. Keep tools and a bag of charcoal on the rack below. Do your prep and cleaning on the built in table. Use the convenient bin for trash. Plus, you get a 22-inch Weber Kettle, which is the perfect sized grill for most homes. It's everything you need, all in one package.

If you need something truly portable though, this Cuisinart gas grill is the way to go. It's a tiny little grill, but Cuisinart has put a lot of thought into its design.

For carrying, every piece of the grill, including a one-pound propane fuel canister, packs into the easy carry shape. And the handle is sturdy, with a rubber grip that makes it feel a lot more secure.

For cooking, the cast-iron grates retain heat exceptionally well—though you will lose a lot because of the lock of a windscreen (compromises). But coolest of all: When the grill is in use, the top and base got together to make a cutting board, which is a lifesaver when you're trying to do prep work at the beach or campsite.

If you want that portability, but prefer the charcoal grilling experience, Everdure makes the best model on the market. The Bamboo top functions as a cutting board, and the tray can hold the food you're about to put on the grill. The charcoal tray holds plenty of fuel, and there's enough cooking space to feed around four people at a time.

And when you're carrying the Cube, the latches are secure, and the handles are plenty sturdy. (There's also a separately sold carry case.) It's another model that's great for beach or camping trips.

The only word of advice we have on this one is to keep a good pair of heat resistant gloves with you. Since it's a small grill, you'll need to add charcoal if you're cooking for a group, and the only way to do that is removing the grates.

Griddle Attachment

A base camp classic, camp chef's Mountaineer is endlessly versatile. It can obviously be used as a stove, but add a griddle—the one linked here, or the one you already own—and it becomes a nice little flat top.

It packs into a neat, light suitcase-style box, and it gets plenty hot with minimal fuel. This is best for camping trips when you'll need both a grill and a stovetop.

The most clever way to craft a small grill has got to be Snow Peak's Takibi. Both a fire pit and a cooktop, it's a great option for primitive campsites, and it's just a great dual use tool. Plus, you get the pleasure of cooking over proper wood flames, not just bagged coals.

The fire pit also packs surprisingly light, with an included carry case. The stainless steel is tough, and the legs/mat give it a nice, sturdy base.

If you're interested in smoking as much as you are grilling, recteq is one of the top options on the market. This is a grill that stands out on pure performance, as well as size.

Firstly, let's address the performance. It's an electric, PID controlled pellet smoker. That means that it functions more like an oven than any of the other grills on this list. You set a temperature between 200°F and 700°F, and the grill feeds just enough wood pellets and air into the fire to maintain that temp. And because of that huge temperature range, you can smoke low and slow at 225°F, or you can sear steaks all the way up at 700°F. It's an incredibly versatile grill.

But it's also especially portable, which is hard to find in these pellet smokers. With the legs folded down, the grill is only 23 inches tall. Not only is it small enough to fit in the trunk of an SUV or bed of a truck, you can squeeze it into the trunk of a sedan if that's all you've got. It's perfect for tailgates, city balconies, and luxe camping trips.

If you want something more stationary, recteq's Bullseye doesn't fold up like the Road Warrior, but it offers a bit more cook space and a more traditional grill experience. It feels like a Weber, but as with any pellet smoker, you're able to set an exact temperature and stay there. It can get low enough to smoke and high enough to sear. Everything you need, and insanely easy to use.

When we were looking at and testing grills, these are the criteria we used to determine what was "The Best."

Size: We generally broke our grills into two categories: Small and Portable. Small means it could live on a city balcony. Portable means it's small enough to pack up and take camping. Everything on this list is small, but one or two are not necessarily portable. Decide what works for you and choose accordingly.

Fuel: We covered the full range of fuel types on this list, because there's no option that's truly better. Gas—meaning propane—is easy to cook with and control, but some think it's inferior flavor wise. Charcoal or actual wood is finicky, but gives an incredible smokey flavor. Pellet grills square in the middle of new and old school. You get the smokey flavor of wood with the ease of electric cooking.

Cooking Space: This is the toughest one to find. On the top end, there are some grills here with around 400 square inches of space. At the bottom, there are a few grills that don't have much more than 100 inches. It's about tradeoffs.

Luke Guillory is the Associate Commerce Editor at Esquire.

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