The variable width bread slots mean you can toast thin or thickly sliced bread. (Image: Amazon)
Kitchen aren’t often the prettiest, and if you’re concerned with having a good-looking cooking space then you’re likely to be picky about what the essentials look like. Putting your air fryer or unsightly salad spinner away might be a worthwhile faff if you’re worried about appearances, but your toaster? Surely there’s a good-looking one out there that you won’t be embarrassed to leave on your countertop.
In fact, there is: the , currently available for £39 down from £48. It’s available in black, grey or white, and there’s also a matching kettle available for £34 down from £41.99.
This eye-catching toaster has a lovely curved form factor, a high gloss finish, chrome accents, and a subtle ridge effect around the body that catches the light without being ostentatious. In practical terms, it’s got variable slot widths to cater to all bread types — from a slim pitta to doorstop slices — and it’s got the all-important toastiness dial covering everything from a light toasting to near-charcoal.
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The pop function has a high lift so you won’t lose any smaller slices in the slots or burn your fingers trying to prise them free, and it’s equipped with defrost, re-heat and mid-cycle cancel functions for full control of your toasting. Add the removable crumb tray, a non-slip base, and cord storage, and you have to wonder what more you could want from a toaster.
Amazon customers have largely struggled to find cause for complaint, with 4.3 out of 5 stars averaged across 5,504 ratings so far. “This is now our second toaster of this model which I still consider one of the best within the price range,” said one five-star review. “The last one has given us two years of constant use, so I consider that a fairly good performance record. Especially since the first was still toasting, though one element was beginning to toast unevenly.”
“Nice looking toaster and does the job,” said another customer, although they added: “The only thing that lets it down is that you can only use the two left-hand-side slots if you use the right ones at the same time, which makes no sense if you aren’t often cooking four slices. You will end up with one side that is like new and the other side burnt out.”
Another simply said: “I bought this toaster to toast bread and have found that is exactly what it does.” Can’t say fairer than that.
A high lift feature means you don’t have to worry about burning your fingers. (Image: Amazon)
Some have contended with manufacturing faults, however. “Used for a week or so, then started to fuse the house,” said one three-star review. “Tried it on different plugs and then re-tried after resetting the trip switch with another electrical item, and the plugs worked fine. I returned it but reordered thinking it was a one off. With the second one, the handle to pull the bread down doesn’t always stay down but I have kept it so far as I can’t be bothered to return again.”
Another raised the issue with the left-hand slots not being independently operable: “We needed a new four-slice toaster and hoped this one would fit the bill. However, you cannot use the left hand slots without the right hands slots in use, which we can see no discernable reason for.”
If a designer option is of interest, check out the at Robert Dyas. There’s also a similar option to the Breville in the for £19.59.
If a subtle design that will suit most styles ticks your boxes, we nevertheless recommend the .