They both cook food at high heat. They both sit on your line. And they're both called "the grill" by half the kitchen staff regardless of which one you actually have. But a commercial griddle and a commercial grill are fundamentally different pieces of equipment - and buying the wrong one for your menu is a mistake that's expensive to fix.
The short version: a griddle gives you a flat cooking surface for volume and versatility. A grill gives you an open grate (or overhead heat) for char, flavour, and presentation. Most busy kitchens end up needing both, but if you can only pick one, the answer depends entirely on what you're cooking.
Here's how to figure out which.
What Actually Counts as a Griddle?
A commercial griddle is a flat, smooth (or sometimes half-ribbed) metal plate heated from below. Food sits directly on the surface with nowhere for juices or fats to fall through - everything stays on the plate.
The cooking surface is typically steel, cast iron, or chrome-plated:
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Steel plates are the most common in commercial kitchens. They're durable, heat evenly, and need seasoning after cleaning to maintain a non-stick surface. They discolour after first use, which is purely cosmetic.
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Cast iron plates retain heat exceptionally well and develop a natural non-stick patina over time. They're heavier, so they tend to stay in one place - not ideal if you need to move equipment around.
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Chrome plates are the easiest to clean and provide a naturally smooth release surface. They're popular in open kitchens and front-of-house setups where appearance matters. Eggs, pancakes, and delicate items slide off without sticking.
Plate thickness matters more than most buyers realise. A thicker plate (typically 19mm+) heats more evenly, recovers temperature faster when cold food hits the surface, and resists warping over years of heating and cooling cycles. Thinner plates are cheaper but less forgiving during busy service.
Griddles come in sizes from compact 400mm countertop units right up to 1,000mm+ freestanding models that can handle a full breakfast service for 100 covers.
What Counts as a Grill?
"Grill" covers a wider family of equipment in a commercial kitchen. The main types you'll encounter:
Chargrills are the classic open-grate design. Food sits on cast iron or steel bars above a heat source - gas burners, lava rocks, or metal radiants. Fat drips down, hits the heat source, and creates the smoky flavour and char marks that customers associate with grilled food. Chargrills are essential if your menu features steaks, burgers, grilled chicken, or anything where visible grill marks and a charred finish are part of the appeal.
Contact grills (panini grills) cook from both sides simultaneously using heated upper and lower plates. They're compact, fast, and perfect for toasted sandwiches, paninis, and flatbreads. Not designed for heavy-duty meat cooking, but invaluable in cafes, sandwich shops, and anywhere doing a high volume of toasted items.
Salamander grills mount overhead and cook from above using intense radiant heat - gas, electric, or infrared. They're used for finishing dishes (melting cheese, browning gratin tops), toasting bread, and flash-grilling smaller items. Every commercial kitchen should arguably have one, but they're a finishing tool rather than a primary cooking station.
Each type serves a different purpose. When people say "griddle vs grill," they usually mean flat top griddle vs chargrill - so that's where we'll focus the comparison.
Griddle vs Chargrill: Head to Head
What Each Does Best
The griddle excels at:
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Breakfast items (bacon, eggs, sausages, hash browns, pancakes)
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Smash burgers and thin patties
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Stir-fry and sautéed vegetables
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Quesadillas, wraps, and toasted flatbreads
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Anything requiring even, consistent heat across a large surface
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High-volume cooking where you need to work a big batch at once
The chargrill excels at:
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Steaks and thick-cut meat
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Burgers where you want a charred crust and grill marks
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Grilled chicken breasts and thighs
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Kebabs and skewered items
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Grilled vegetables with visible char lines
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Any dish where smoky flavour and presentation are selling points
Flavour and Finish
This is the deciding factor for most operators. A griddle produces a seared, pan-fried finish - crispy edges, caramelised surfaces, and consistent browning. A chargrill produces char marks, smoky flavour, and that slightly blackened edge that looks great on a plate.
Neither is objectively better. It depends on your menu. A diner-style burger joint wants the flat-top sear. A steakhouse wants the chargrill marks. A pub doing both? That's where having both pieces of equipment makes sense.
Volume and Speed
Griddles win on volume. A 700mm flat top gives you an unbroken cooking surface where every centimetre is usable. You can fit more items on a griddle than a chargrill of the same width, because there are no gaps between grate bars and no unusable space.
Chargrills are inherently less space-efficient. The grate bars create gaps, items can't overlap, and thicker cuts need more attention. During a busy service, a griddle will push out more covers per hour for items like burgers, bacon, and eggs.
But chargrills recover heat faster between items (the grate absorbs less heat than a solid plate), so for individual steaks and premium cuts where you're cooking one or two at a time, a chargrill can be quicker to the pass.
Cleaning and Maintenance
Griddles need scraping, degreasing, and seasoning after every service. Steel plates should be seasoned with a thin layer of oil to prevent rust and maintain the non-stick surface. Chrome plates are simpler - wipe clean and they're ready to go.
Chargrills need the grate bars cleaned (burnt food builds up quickly), the drip tray emptied, and if you use lava rocks, they'll need replacing periodically as they absorb grease and lose effectiveness. Chargrills are generally more effort to keep clean, and a neglected chargrill becomes a fire risk faster than a neglected griddle.
Extraction and Ventilation
Chargrills produce more smoke and grease-laden air than griddles. If you're installing a chargrill, your extraction system needs to handle the additional load - and that can mean a larger hood, more powerful fans, or additional grease filters. Factor this into your installation budget, because upgrading extraction isn't cheap.
Griddles produce steam and some grease vapour, but significantly less smoke. They're less demanding on your extraction setup, which makes them easier to add to an existing kitchen without major ductwork changes.
Cost
Compact electric griddles start from around £90–£200 for countertop models. A 700mm gas griddle suitable for a busy restaurant kitchen runs £300–£600. Larger 1,000mm models sit between £500–£900.
Chargrills are typically pricier. A basic countertop chargrill starts around £200–£400, while a freestanding gas chargrill for a busy kitchen costs £500–£1,200 depending on width, burner count, and build quality.
Contact grills are the most affordable option - a quality commercial panini grill runs £100–£350.
If you're looking at options, our commercial electric griddles includes Contender griddles from 500mm to 1,000mm in both gas and electric, plus contact grills from Quattro - all with free delivery.
Gas vs Electric: Which Power Source?
This applies to both griddles and grills, and the same trade-offs show up with both.
Gas heats faster, recovers temperature more quickly after loading, and gives more precise heat control through burner adjustment. Most commercial kitchens with a gas supply prefer gas-powered griddles and chargrills. The running cost is generally lower than electric, though this fluctuates with energy prices.
Electric is easier to install (no gas connection needed), heats more evenly across the plate, and produces less ambient heat in the kitchen - which matters if your extraction is limited or your kitchen runs hot. Electric griddles are also slightly more energy-efficient, converting more input energy into cooking heat.
If you've got gas already plumbed in, gas is usually the better choice for griddles and chargrills. If you're fitting out a new space without gas, electric is perfectly capable — and saves you the cost of a gas installation.
So Which Do You Actually Need?
Go griddle-only if your menu is built around breakfast, brunch, smash burgers, sandwiches, stir-fry, or high-volume batch cooking. A flat top handles 80% of what most cafes and casual dining kitchens need.
Go chargrill-only if your menu centres on steaks, grilled meats, and charred dishes where smoky flavour and grill marks are a core part of the offering. Steakhouses, BBQ restaurants, and Mediterranean grills fall here.
Get both if your menu spans both worlds - pub grills doing steaks and burgers alongside breakfasts, hotel kitchens covering everything from room service to banqueting, or any operation where versatility matters more than simplicity.
Add a contact grill if sandwiches, paninis, or toasted items are a significant part of your sales. They're compact, inexpensive, and pay for themselves quickly in a cafe or deli setting.
For a broader look at fitting out your kitchen line, our commercial kitchen equipment list covers every category from cooking and refrigeration to prep tables and dishwashers. And if you're weighing up oven options alongside your grill choice, our guide to choosing a commercial oven walks through combi, convection, deck, and pizza ovens in detail.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a griddle to cook steaks?
Yes, and many restaurants do. A hot griddle produces a great sear on a steak - just without the char marks. Smash burgers, in particular, are specifically a griddle technique. You won't get the smoky flavour of a chargrill, but for some styles of cooking that's not the goal.
How much space does a commercial griddle or chargrill need?
Countertop griddles start at around 400mm wide. A standard workhorse griddle for a busy kitchen is 700mm wide and 600mm deep. Chargrills are similar in footprint but need more clearance above for extraction. Always factor in 150mm clearance behind for ventilation and gas/electrical connections.
Do I need separate extraction for a chargrill?
Not necessarily separate, but your existing extraction needs to handle the extra smoke and grease. If you're adding a chargrill to a kitchen that was designed around ovens and hobs, get your extraction assessed first. An underpowered extraction system above a chargrill is a fire safety issue, not just a comfort one.
What's a half-ribbed griddle?
A half-ribbed griddle has a smooth flat surface on one half and raised ridges on the other. The flat side works like a standard griddle for eggs, bacon, and pancakes. The ribbed side creates grill-style marks on burgers, chicken, and vegetables - giving you a bit of both worlds in a single piece of equipment. It's a popular compromise for kitchens that want versatility without buying two machines.
Prices mentioned are approximate UK market ranges and may vary by brand, specification, and supplier. Always ensure that any cooking equipment meets current UK safety standards and that your extraction system is adequate for the equipment installed.
