Alfresco or Artisan Grills: Which is Better?

While you can find cheap grills at your local hardware store or big box store, sometimes it takes a high-end grill to deliver the actual grilling experience you’re looking for. This calls for a larger investment upfront, but these grills pay for themselves over time in terms of durability, longevity, and grilling power.

Alfresco has consistently remained one of the top luxury grill brands on the market, and it’s easy to see why. Their powerful commercial quality features and high-quality construction deliver restaurant-inspired results, right in your own backyard.

In this Alfresco grill review, we’ll cover everything you need to know about the construction, features, and grilling performance as well as touching on their sister brand Artisan.

What Makes Alfresco Grills Stand Out?

Alfresco is one of the most popular luxury grilling brands manufactured exclusively in the United States. They build gas grills in a range of different sizes, including 30-, 36-, 42-, and 56-inch models. Since they were first established about 25 years ago, they’ve been transforming the market for luxury outdoor appliances.

What sets them apart from the average grill? Alfresco has one of the largest product selections of any grill brand. Most important, however, is the quality of their deluxe grill options. Alfresco grills are known for their restaurant quality features, bringing the power of commercial cooking to everything from intensive outdoor kitchens to casual cookouts.

White Alfresco grills aren’t cheap, they’re made to deliver in terms of construction durability and grilling performance. Thanks to their heavy-duty construction and commercial quality grilling technology, they’ve quickly risen to the top of the biggest names in the luxury outdoor cooking market.

Key Features of Alfresco Grills

To understand what Alfresco is bringing to the market, we first have to look at its unique grilling features. From grill lights to rotisserie cooking, here are some of the standout features you can find on Alfresco grills.

Smoker System With Dedicated Burner and Drawer

Most gas grills are odorless, which means it can be hard to achieve that classic barbecue smoky flavor. Luxury and high-end grills like Alfresco, however, have a separate drawer for wood chunks. As these wood pieces burn, they give your meats a distinct and authentic smoky flavor.

Alfresco grills have a Signature Taste integrated smoker system with a dedicated burner and drawer. The smoker box rests beneath the ceramic briquettes, allowing the smoke to envelop your food as it cooks, producing a rich and smoky flavor.

LED Lights and Cool-to-the-Touch Knobs

The front panel knobs on Alfresco grills are illuminated with amber LED lights for full visibility. Thanks to the nickel-plated hardware and innovative air-cooled front control panel, the burner knobs always stay cool to touch, no matter how hot your grill gets.

Heat Distributing Ceramic Briquettes

With Alfresco’s heating technology, you don’t have to worry about hot or cold spots on your grilling surface. Their ceramic briquette trays disperse heat across the stainless steel burners. Due to the concave shape, these briquettes ensure even heat distribution to grill your food to perfection.

Integrated Mega-Drive Rotisserie System

While many high-end grill brands carry grills with rotisserie kits, Alfresco stands out from the competition. Their Integrated Mega-Drive™ rotisserie system is completely built-in, which means it’s hidden from sight for a clean and sleek look.

It’s equipped with a powerful infrared burner — burning at 15,000 BTUs with indirect heat to help maintain moisture. The chain-driven rotisserie system also features a powerful motor, which can smoothly and evenly cook as much as 120 pounds of meat.

Fully Adjustable Warming Rack

Another feature of Alfresco grills is its fully removable and adjustable warming rack. The rack is detachable and can be set into three different positions. When not in use, it can easily be lifted up and out of the way.

Built-In and Freestanding Options

Alfresco carries a wide range of different grill sizes. But more than that, each grill size is available in two configurations — freestanding and built-in.

If you need a unit that can stand on its own, Alfresco’s freestanding grills can be moved to fit anywhere in your backyard or outdoor space. Most models come with cabinet space underneath the grill, but some feature a commercial quality refrigerated base option, allowing you to store perishables beneath the grill. 

Their built-in options can also be a great fit if you want a custom outdoor kitchen. The different sizes and models make it easy to find the perfect fit for your cooking space. 

High-Quality Accessories To Enhance Your Cooking Experience

With optional Alfresco grill accessories, you have the chance to upgrade your grilling capacity for a more luxurious cooking experience.

Add the Alternate Fuel Source Accessory to truly infuse smoky flavor to your foods.

Another high-quality accessory is a Side burner. These allow you to easily cook all parts of your meal simultaneously. For example, you can grill your primary meats on one of the main burners on high heat, while using the side burners to sauté your vegetables or cook your garlic bread on a much lower heat. 

Which Are the Alfresco ALXE Grills You Could Choose From?

Alfresco carries a wide range of different outdoor kitchen products, so you can truly create an outdoor cooking experience. All of their grills include powerful features, just different sizes to fit your family and grilling needs.

Here are each of Alfresco’s ALXE grill sizes:

• ALXE-30 Grill — a compact grill with two burners that packs a powerful punch despite its 542 square inch size
• ALXE-36 Grill — a family-sized grill with three burners and 660 square inches of cooking space
• ALXE-42 Grill — a three-burner powerhouse with 770 square inches of grilling area 
• ALXE-56 Grill — a massive grill with 770 square inches of grilling area along with integrated dual-size burners which doubles as your outdoor stove
• ALXE-56 BFG — the ultimate grilling machine with 998 square inches of cooking space, including three main burners and a sear burner

For each size, you can choose whether you want a built-in grill or a freestanding cart. All models include built-in features, like a smoke burner and integrated rotisserie motor. Others are optional configurations, like combining U burners with an infrared sear zone or adding side burners. The optional restaurant-quality infrared Sear Zone can sear meats up to 1600°F. 

In fact, with the 56-inch model, it takes just four minutes for the ceramic sear zone to reach 1500 degrees.

Alfresco ALXE grills have the same contemporary look, with the natural look of high-grade stainless steel. However, you can also choose from Alfresco’s color line, which includes a range of different warm and cool color palette choices. If you have a specific color in mind, you can even opt for a customized color.

FAQs

Now that we’ve broken down the basics of what Alfresco grills can do, you may still have a few lingering questions.

Are Alfresco Grills Good?

As with most things in life, you get what you pay for when it comes to grills. Alfresco grills may come at a high cost, but the results can be well worth it for dedicated grillers. When it comes to versatility, Alfresco is unmatched. In fact, their grills boast 15 different ways to cook (including accessory parts).

All of Alfresco's models are built with a blend of titanium and 304 stainless steel. Add that to such advanced features as ceramic briquettes, a smoker drawer, a rotisserie system, and more, it’s safe to say that Alfresco stands head and shoulders above many of the cheaper options flooding the outdoor grill market right now.

What’s more, it’s one of the easiest grills to maintain and repair. Alfresco grill parts are relatively easy to source and replace, whether you handle the repair yourself or turn to a professional.

Not all grillers will need a restaurant-inspired grill such as one of Alfresco’s commercial-grade models. But for anyone who wants to up their grilling game or lean into professional-level grilling techniques, Alfresco can deliver impressive results.

What Distinguishes Alfresco From Artisan Grills?

If you’ve heard of Alfresco grills, you may also have heard of Artisan grills. While they’re manufactured by the same parent company (in the same manufacturing facility), there’s still a lot that sets them apart.

Alfresco Grills is a luxury grill brand. Built with top-quality materials and careful precision, these high-quality grills come with the kind of advanced features only other high-end brands can compete with.

While Artisan Grills meet the same luxury standards as Alfresco, they’re considered affordable luxury. The American Eagle line features basic grill options at a more affordable price for a grill manufactured in the USA. They are offered in 3 sizes - 26", 32" and 36". These grills may not have all the bells and whistles but the grilling experience is exceptional. 

They also offer a Professional Line that carries more advanced features like LED lit knobs and halogen interior lights. This line is offered in 3 sizes as well - 32", 36" and 42".

They have an interchangeable Sear Zone that you can swap a U burner at any time.

Alfresco also beats Artisan in terms of offerings, with a much wider selection of outdoor kitchen products. It may take more of an investment upfront, but Alfresco products are backed by a lifetime warranty — compared with Artisan’s average 15-year manufacturer’s warranty.

Which is better Alfresco or Artisan Grills?

With either brand you cannot go wrong. They are both amazing. It really comes down to budget as well as the type of outdoor experience you are looking for. If you have more basic needs like a grill and a side burner, Artisan may be the best choice. If you are looking for a comprehensive outdoor kitchen with all the cooking appliances under the sun, Alfresco may be the best choice. From a quality standpoint, they are equal. 

Find All the Top-Notch Quality Alfresco and Artisan Products You Need

Alfresco grills use the kind of quality builds you would usually find in a commercial kitchen. This level of grilling performance empowers everyone to tap into the power of restaurant-grade grilling, whether you're new to the grilling scene or are a seasoned grill master.

The Alfresco ALXE line offers some of the best grilling technology on the market. Its innovative features are included with the professional in mind, giving you everything you need for truly luxurious cooking.

If you need a more budget frinedly option, Artisan is at the top of our list.

With BBQ Depot, compare all your Alfresco options, from grills to grill covers, to find the perfect fit for your backyard cooking space.