A Tabletop Grill with a Glass Lid for the Socket
The CUSIMAX electric grill is a black tabletop grill with 1500 watts, two interchangeable grill plates and a tempered glass lid. The catalogue text names the dining table indoors and the balcony as places to use it. Price-wise it sits at approx. €108 (as of October 2026).
We list it under contact grills, and that only half fits. A contact grill clamps the food between two heated surfaces. In the product photo the lid is a glass pane with a metal handle, and no heating elements can be seen in it. The heat therefore comes from below, and we assume you turn steaks and sausages yourself. That is our deduction from the picture; the manufacturer does not describe it.
Compared with an open tabletop grill, the appliance therefore has a lid; compared with a classic contact grill, it lacks the second heated surface.
Compared with gas or charcoal, the difference is more fundamental. Nothing has to be lit, no ash is produced, you never swap a gas bottle, and a thermostat regulates the temperature instead of an air vent or burner valve. In return, the grill needs a socket, and the heat stays limited to what 1500 watts can deliver.
Design and Technology
According to the catalogue text, double U-shaped heating tubes are fitted. They are meant to heat the surface quickly and hold the temperature steady, and according to the manufacturer almost the entire surface is heated evenly. You set the temperature on an LED display, from 100 to 230 °C. There you also switch power and fan on with a fingertip. The catalogue text does not explain what the fan is for; a connection with the smoke reduction seems likely, but it is not documented.
Two plates are included: one with grill marks, meaning ridges, and a flat one. The catalogue text names sausages, steaks, vegetables, panini and eggs as food to grill, but does not assign them to a plate. Our assessment: steaks and sausages on the ridges, eggs on the flat plate, because liquids run into ridges and are hard to turn there. Both plates are non-stick coated and removable, and according to the catalogue all parts of the appliance are easy to take apart.
The dimensions are given in inches in the Amazon catalogue and convert to approx. 50 cm long, 30 cm wide and 13 cm high. These are the outer dimensions of the whole housing. In the photo the plate sits in a wide frame, and the display and cable exit are on the right edge. The actual grilling area is therefore smaller than 50 by 30 cm. We do not calculate by how much: you cannot derive a grilling area from outer dimensions.
In Detail: Where Smoke Comes From and What a Glass Lid Changes
An electric grill has no embers or smoking wood. Smoke here arises almost exclusively when fat or marinade reaches the hot surface and burns. Marinades containing sugar char especially early. Our guide Grill Smoking Too Much describes this for gas and charcoal; on the plate of a tabletop appliance the same process takes place.
CUSIMAX states that the grill reduces 95% of smoke, and attributes this to the tempered glass lid, which prevents smoke from escaping. No measuring method is given, and no reference value either. 95 percent less than with which appliance, using which food? We read the figure as an advertising claim.
How much smoke you actually get depends first of all on the food. Pat marinade dry before putting it on, use oil sparingly and choose refined oil rather than butter for fat: these are general grilling rules, not manufacturer instructions, and they reduce the amount of smoke on any appliance.
Mechanically the idea is understandable: a closed lid holds vapour back. But it only holds it back while it is closed. If you turn food often, you open it often, and then the collected smoke escapes all at once.
Are 230 Degrees Enough for Steak?
For steaks up to medium thickness yes, for the powerful searing of a gas grill with a sear zone rather not. According to the manufacturer, 100 to 230 °C can be set, and nothing goes above that.
Browning in principle starts from about 140 to 150 °C, so 230 °C is enough for it. What matters is what happens after the food goes on: cold meat draws heat out of the plate, and the 1500 watt heating tubes have to supply it again. The manufacturer does not say how fast that happens, and cooking times are missing as well. So go by core temperature, not by a minute count. Target values are in our core temperature chart, and technique and thickness are explained in the steak guide.
With one-sided heat, the crust turns brown before a thick piece is cooked through inside. Our assessment: from about 3 cm thickness the grill becomes a compromise; such cuts belong in a pan and oven instead.
Plates, Cleaning and Running Costs
According to the Amazon catalogue text, you clean the plates by hand or in the dishwasher, and the Amazon title calls the appliance dishwasher-safe. That is the catalogue wording. We did not find an instruction manual and so could not cross-check it.
Taken literally, the sentence concerns the plates. The housing with heating tubes, display and cable is not included. As a general rule for electrical appliances, the heating unit must never go into water; that is a general rule and not a statement by the manufacturer.
To protect the coating, too, only general experience applies: metal spatulas scratch non-stick layers, a wooden or silicone spatula does not, and scratches are the most common reason such plates eventually stick. We know of no other care instructions from the manufacturer.
The fact that all parts can be taken apart has a practical consequence: fat collects in ridges and edges, and what you can remove is easier to get clean with a sponge.
Running costs arise mainly as electricity. Half an hour at full power is at most 0.75 kilowatt hours; because the thermostat cycles the heating tubes after heat-up, it will be less in practice. The catalogue nowhere mentions replacement plates or spare parts. If the coating fails, it is unclear whether you can buy just one plate or have to replace the whole appliance. Every non-stick tabletop grill carries this risk; with this one it simply cannot be quantified. And because the catalogue contains no voltage figure, read the rating plate on the appliance before first plugging it in: it must be rated for the 230 volts of your socket. As accessories you need at most a silicone spatula and an insertion thermometer.
What Else Is Worth Considering?
Three electric grills from our catalogue that buyers in this price class also weigh up:
| Model | The difference | Price | Our rating | Choose this one if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CUSIMAX Electric Grill 1500W (this one) | Glass lid, 2 interchangeable plates, 100 to 230 °C, 1500 W | approx. €108 | 8.0 | you want to grill at the table or on the balcony and keep smoke down |
| Tefal OptiGrill GC702D | 2000 W and automatic sensor control instead of manual temperature selection | approx. €99 | 8.9 | you do not want to set the doneness level yourself |
| WMF Lono Master Grill | 2400 W, 50 x 28 cm, 2 zones, no lid | approx. €117.99 | 9.0 | you want to grill open on two zones and do not care about the lid |
| KLAMER Electric Grill Duo Plates | 2400 W, 2 separately controllable zones | approx. €120 | 7.9 | you need meat and vegetables at two temperatures at the same time |
The Tefal costs approx. €99, the WMF approx. €118, the KLAMER approx. €120, the CUSIMAX approx. €108. The prices are guide values as of September 2026 and change. The rating is our editorial assessment based on the available data, not a measurement result. This applies especially to build quality: without material details from the manufacturer and without the appliance in hand, it can only be judged to a limited extent.
The power stands out: according to our catalogue, Tefal and WMF have 2000 and 2400 watts respectively, the CUSIMAX 1500. According to our catalogue, none of the three has a glass lid, and KLAMER and WMF have no lid at all.
When This Grill, When Another
Start with the location. If you need the grill on the balcony, the catalogue text is the only indication that this is intended. Nothing is said about protection rating or rain protection, so put it somewhere dry after grilling. Also read our guide Grilling on a Balcony before you run a cable through the window. If the grill stands indoors on the dining table, the lid is its selling point. For setting it up, general rules apply, not manufacturer instructions: a stable, heat-resistant surface, distance from tablecloth, curtain and napkins, and the cable laid so nobody catches on it. The plate gets as hot as 230 °C; with children at the table that is the more important point than the smoke.
Then the temperature question. If your food has different needs, such as fish and steak on the same evening, you have only one control and one plate at a time here. The KLAMER with two zones solves that better. The Tefal solves a different problem: it finds the doneness level itself, and you do not have to set anything.
On budget, the Tefal is below and the WMF almost level. The CUSIMAX justifies its price if lid and interchangeable plates matter more to you than watts and automatic control. For more than two people we would plan on cooking in batches, because the only measure we have is the outer dimension of approx. 50 by 30 cm.
What the Manufacturer Does Not State
The CUSIMAX manufacturer page was not reachable: cusimax.com answered with an access error, and cusimax.de was a domain for sale. We found the instruction manual for the model nowhere. Everything here therefore comes from the Amazon catalogue. The following are missing there:
- Weight and grilling area
- Material of housing, heating tubes and plates, type of coating
- Heat-up time and cooking times
- Voltage, cable length, protection rating, overheating protection, CE marking
- Drip tray and water filling
- Warranty terms and spare part availability
- Setup and safety instructions, minimum distances
- Variants and sister models from the manufacturer
Two figures that used to appear in our text have been deleted: a heat-up time of 5 to 8 minutes and 4 to 5 minutes per side for steak. Neither was documented.
Who Is It For?
For couples and small households who want to grill at the table without the flat filling with smoke, and who are not allowed a gas bottle or charcoal anyway.
If you want a smoky aroma, this is the wrong choice: without wood and embers none arises, and the lid is there precisely to hold smoke back. It is also wrong for anyone standing outside without a socket. A long extension lead through the garden is no solution for an appliance with no known protection rating.
You will find more models in the overview of all electric grills compared; our ranking of electric grills and the grill finder help narrow things down.
