The 6 best portable BBQs for convenience and easy grilling

If you’re keen to grill on the go with all the perks of a home BBQ, you’ll want to take a look at our pick of the best portable BBQs.

In fact, some of the best BBQs out there are portable. Whether you’re hoping to achieve that authentic smoky flavour with one of the best charcoal BBQs or you’re looking for the best gas BBQ for ease and convenience, portable options are available for every preference and budget.

Below, you’ll find a roundup of the best portable BBQs we’ve tested, with notes on performance, cooking ability and, of course, portability.

The best portable BBQs

Best portable BBQ overall

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Our reviewer Annie thought that the Everdure Cube BBQ was a standout buy for anyone who is design conscious and looking for something a bit smaller than one of our favourite BBQs ever, the Everdure Force.

After testing, Annie concluded that this BBQ was ‘easy to use, stylish when on display and convenient to take outside of the house, too.’ The RRP of this BBQ is pretty high at £179, but you can definitely find it for cheaper online, and the super high quality of the materials means that this little BBQ will most certainly last you for a long time.

Although isn’t the easiest to keep clean and doesn’t have the biggest surface area, it will be one of the most stylish outdoor cooking buys you can add to your balcony, terrace or small patio.

Another thing that’s good to know with this BBQ is that it has a flat base. This makes it easier to cook indirectly on the grill if you want to do more technical cooking, as with delicate pieces of fish or a steak.

The biggest selling point with this BBQ is that it’s absolutely gorgeous, with clean lines and a range of colours to choose from. If you can stretch your budget and you’re super style-conscious, then don’t miss this premium buy.

Read our full Everdure Cube BBQ review for more information.

Best portable gas BBQ

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We’re big fans of the Cadac Citi brand here at Ideal Home, which meant we had high expectations of the portable version of one of our favourite BBQs, the Cadac Citi Chef 40 FS BBQ. The Cadac Citi Tabletop BBQ was so convenient to get up and running during testing due to the fact that it’s a gas BBQ rather than charcoal, and the wide grilling area means that you can cater to plenty of people too.

It has a lid and built-in temperature gauge to use when cooking and provided some excellent grilling results in our at home tests on everything from burgers to veggie skewers. The heat distribution across the grill was good, and the set up was painless too.

As with all gas BBQs, one of the crowning features of this BBQ is that temperature control is so easy. With a turn of the dial at the centre of the grill you can make cooking different types of meat much easier. You also get a storage bag thrown in, which makes carrying this tabletop around so much easier too. For a BBQ with such a large grilling space, it’s also surprisingly light.

Best portable charcoal BBQ

We’re huge fans of Weber’s full-size BBQs, so when we spotted this portable version, we knew it had to be a good one – and judging by the reviews on Amazon, it lives up to our expectations!

It’s Amazon’s Choice for portable BBQs, and reviewers are especially fond of its easy setup and portability. It’s also really easy to clean, and it’s compact but provides enough space for a few burgers at a time (Weber says it’s suitable for a party of two to four people) – so it’s perfect for camping trips.

In fact, it’s one of the the most portable BBQs on this list – the legs fold in to lock the BBQ in place while you carry it around, and you can even store tools inside while you’re moving it from place to place. There are also dampers on the lid which you can use to control the temperature while you’re grilling.

The only qualm reviewers have is the steeper price – but others say it’s worth it for the convenience.

We can’t wait to test the Go-Anywhere Charcoal BBQ, and we’ll be updating this guide once we’ve given it a try.

Best BBQ for easy carrying

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All tabletop BBQs are portable and easy to move around, but not all of them are as well suited to taking on adventures as the LotusGrill. Our reviewer Helen was greatly impressed with the mini Lotus Grill, which has stay-cool sides that mean you won’t need to sit in the park or at the beach for hours to wait for your BBQ to cool down.

What’s more, the fully zipped carry case will also keep all the mess contained until you get home. Another feature that Helen loved is the smokeless design, which your campsite neighbours will be glad of too if you intend to take this BBQ on your holidays.

Very hungry picnickers will be delighted by how fast this BBQ heats up, and the style-conscious among us will love the available range of colours. Helen recommends that smaller foods yield the best results with this BBQ, like foods, like sausages, burgers and chicken portions. That’s because the difference in the heat across the grill becomes really apparent when you try to cook long kebabs or bigger pieces of meat.

Read our full Lotus Grill BBQ review for more information.

Best stylish portable BBQ

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Though the RRP of this BBQ is around the £200 mark, you can find it online for closer to £125. That’s still quite steep for a small portable BBQ – but you can’t deny that this is a very stylish one.

Our expert reviewer and cooking expert Helen thinks that despite the price, this BBQ performs well enough to offer plenty of value for money. It’s portable and easily transported to your favourite picnic spot, especially thanks to its sturdy travel strap. Helen really enjoyed testing this BBQ at home for two people and found it to be less hassle than having to light her family-sized grill.

After testing Helen rates this BBQ highly when it comes to aesthetics, ease of storing and cooking ability as well as cooking space, and would recommend it to anyone with a compact garden. The only downside? You’ll need to wait for it to adequately cool down before packing it away again if you’re out and about.

Read our full BergHOFF Tabletop BBQ review for more information.

Best portable BBQ and firepit combo

Our reviewer Helen was very impressed with the performance and versatility of the Wave Hex 2-in-1 BBQ and Firepit. So much so that she would recommend it to any keen camper or caravaner as a great value space-saving buy. She found that the height of it was perfect for grilling and sitting on a camp chair, and she loved that there was no chance of leaving scorch marks on grass once she was finished too.

Though the RRP is steep, you can find this BBQ for under £100 (at the time of writing it’s available for the steal price of £69.99), which means that it might just qualify as an excellent value buy too. It’s not the most portable as it is on the heavier side (at over 8kg), but it did deliver absolutely excellent results with a range of foods, from cheese to steaks. There’s also a large grate for cramming everything on that you need too, which is great for family camping trips.

Read our full Wave Hex Portable BBQ and Fire Pit review for more information.

How we tested the best portable BBQs

As per our testing protocol, we try all BBQs hands-on. We’ve tested almost all of the portable BBQs in our guide, with reviews for the rest on the way.

When testing a portable BBQ, we follow the same rigorous process as when we review full-sized models, but we also look at manoeuvrability, including weight and other features that make it easier to carry around (like straps or a bag).

We then evaluate the overall assembly process, how it cooks cuts of meat and vegetables, and the user experience, encompassing the quality of the build and the overall durability.

Plus, we never forget the price tags of each BBQ, as we know value for money is more important now than ever (especially for a smaller model, which is likely to cater to fewer people).

Our expert reviewer and freelancer Helen tested the majority of these BBQs during a very sunny June, with our in-house Ecommerce Editor Molly taking some of the other portable grills on herself.

How to choose a portable BBQ

If you’re new to portable BBQs, it can be tricky to know where to start. Here some of the most important considerations you’ll need to make before you buy.

• Fuel type: The gas vs charcoal BBQ debate is an ongoing one amongst keen grilling enthusiasts, but they both have their perks. Gas BBQs can be easier to use and offer speedier cooking because you don’t have to wait for charcoal to be hot enough to get started, but you’ll need to source the gas to fuel it, which can be pricier long-term. Charcoal, on the other hand, is cheaper to source, and it gives food that authentic smoky BBQ flavour. You’ll just need to be a little more patient!
• Weight and size: If you’re after one of the best portable BBQs for camping trip and other outings, it’s worth going for a lightweight grill. Features like handles can make transportation easier, and a compact model is easier to store and move from place to place. If you’ll just be moving the BBQ around the garden, you can go for a larger tabletop grill.
• Cooking area: It’s a given that the more compact portable BBQs out there offer less cooking space, but there’s usually enough for a few burgers at a time – so if you’ll just be cooking for a small family or group of friends, a lot of the best portable BBQs fit the bill. It’s worth looking at the size of the cooking grate to make sure you have space for everything you want to cook.
• Extra features: Some portable BBQs have lids, which can be really handy for conserving heat and cooking food more evenly (think of it like an oven!). Dampers are also a handy feature, as they can be opened and closed to control the temperature inside the BBQ.

FAQs

Which is the best portable BBQ for camping?

There are plenty of portable BBQs that will be a great companion to a camping trip. From the models we’ve tested, we think the Wave Hex Portable BBQ is most suited to camping trips thanks to its perfect height when sitting in a camping chair, and the fact that it doubles as a fire pit.

That means that it saves space in your car or camper van, and you can cook up burgers and sausages on it, as well as use it to keep warm afterwards. It’s also a great value for money buy, as you can often find it on sale for close to £70.

Which is the best small portable BBQ?

If you’re going to be getting out and about with your BBQ, then you need something small and easy to carry. Our favourite small, lightweight and very easy to manoeuvre BBQ is the BergHOFF Tabletop BBQ.

It weighs in at just 5.5kg and comes with a sturdy carry strap for jaunts to the park or beach. The super stylish design and large grilling space are also fantastic extras.