5.0 out of 5 stars Best Bellville Microwave

E. · June 7, 2025

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5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely, quiet microwave

E. · May 2, 2025

Three years later, I'm still very happy with this microwave. I live in an apt bldg with flimsy floors, and the microwave that was already installed in the kitchen had an incredibly loud exhaust fan, a loud beep and no mute button. The Breville is as quiet as a microwave can be. The fan tends to keep running after you're done nuking, but I think that's part of its quietness - the fan runs longer so it doesn't have to blow as hard.I remember reading reviews that said the door auto-close function may not last - mine lasted for about 2 years. It's not a big deal having to give the door a little shove to close it the rest of the way, and it still closes very quietly.This microwave has lots of functions for smarter cooking but I'm not using any so can't comment. Cooking times are about the same as with other microwaves - instructions on packages tend to be spot-on. I do think the Breville does a better job of heating food evenly than I remember with my last microwave.

5.0 out of 5 stars This is definitely a top of the line Microwave

B.N. · June 7, 2025

This is a great Microwave. I’ve had this for a few months now and this oven has many features that make cooking some things with the push of one button, perfect every time. This is a different type of microwave than the popular types purchased at retail stores like Walmart. Very worth the price.

1.0 out of 5 stars Started breaking down 12 months in, fully bricked 18 months in, out of warranty

E.V. · November 13, 2024

This is an attractive microwave, gives a higher-end feel to one of the typically less attractive appliances in your kitchen. Functions are nice, I especially liked how easy it was to fidget with the power to accomplish whatever job you needed to. Presets were OK, but never found them to be the one-button solutions that they promised to be (for instance, the soften butter and popcorn functions never quite left me with soft butter or fully popped popcorn).But one star because this $400 microwave, maybe the most expensive microwave money can buy in modern America, had minor flaws from day one and then major flaws starting a year in.The minor flaws were things like the soft close door not working, which meant the door wouldn't close at all, which meant I couldn't use the microwave. Had to unplug the unit and reset some sort of internal electronics to get the door to function again. Annoying, but rare enough that we lived with it.The major flaw was that starting around a year in, we would sometimes pull the food out and it was cold. This started as an intermittent problem that was definitely annoying and enough to swear me off of buying this microwave ever again, but we learned to live with it. Fast forward another six months and we'd gone from cold food once/week grew to once/day and then 90% of the time that we tried to use it. In essence, we now have a microwave that will turn food in a circle for as long as you ask it to, but not cook it.An appliance breaking down a year into owning it is frustrating enough, but sadly somewhat accepted in an era of mass produced cheap consumer goods. But when you buy the top-of-the line, you expect it to be an exception to that rule. Or you at least expect the company to stand by its product and offer a replacement so early into its life. Unfortunately, neither were the case here. I'm already outside of the paltry 1-year limited warranty, so customer service gave me the options to A. send it in and pay for a repair myself or B. buy a new one. I'll be buying a new one and it won't be a Breville.

5.0 out of 5 stars HIGH VISIBILITY, permanent silent mode, analog controls are fantastic

c. · September 14, 2023

1. FANTASTIC VISIBILITY WHILE COOKING:You can watch the progress of the brightly-illuminated contents through the window. This is the #1 most important feature that I was looking for, especially after limping along for a couple of years with a model that provided zero visibility. It's hard to shop for microwaves with this feature. I don't know why. Ads for products don't mention it, customer reviews don't mention it, and when I asked the question, people launched into explanations about how microwaves require a protective mesh that cuts down on visibility, or gave non-answers like "I think so but I'm not sure." You're not sure? You looked through the window, but you're not sure whether you could see your soup bubbling up and flowing over the edge of the mug? Doesn't anyone else want to catch their cup of tea or bowl of soup before it spills over? No? Just me? OK.Well, for those of you who don't like cleaning up spilled liquids every other day, I'm providing details about visibility. The light inside the machine is very bright, remains lit during the entire cooking operation, and is placed between you and the cooking material so that you can see when the first bubble arises in the liquid or when the butter or chocolate first begins to slump in the melting process. The interior is shiny silver metal, which helps to light up the cooking item even more. The protective mesh is not so thick and dense that it prevents you from seeing these events, as it was in the microwave that this one will replace.There are some caveats to visibility, though. I found that where I placed the machine made a difference to how well I could see inside. I wanted to place my machine on a shelf just level with my eyes, with a bright window behind it, and with a wall-length mirror behind ME. The problem with this setup is that no matter where I stand, my brightly-lit face is reflected in the smooth glass. Meanwhile, the mirror behind me reflects the light from the window behind the machine. However, when I first unboxed the machine, I set it up to test it in a darker place with no backlighting from either direction, on a shelf at waist-height. In this configuration, I could see everything perfectly. I should mention that placement and room lighting did NOT matter to my old microwave that didn't permit visual monitoring of the food; no matter how dark the room, I couldn't see inside it, even though it is equipped with a bright light. In that case, the mesh on the window was the problem (though I can't explain what is different about it).2. SILENCEYou can turn off all the sounds this oven makes. Most microwaves make loud, rude BEEEEEPs for every keypress and then give a long, drawn-out series of beeps to tell you cooking is done. Then if you don't attend to the oven promptly enough, you get the whole series of beeps again until you comply. Since I stand in front of the microwave to do my operations, most of which are 30 seconds or less long, I don't need to be reminded to remove the contents. Normally I just need silence, no alerts or nagging necessary. Turning off the sounds is easy and quick--no reading of the manual for codes or sneaky techniques necessary. Press mute and you are done.And these are quiet chimes, not loud beeps. The ending notification is just a single chime, not a long plaintive series trying to call in you in from the moors. If you prefer to have audible notifications, at least they are more pleasant and less alarming, and you can't hear them several rooms away.SOFT-CLOSE DOOR3. This is a great feature. I don't cook in the middle of the night when others could be disturbed, so the noise of doors opening and closing isn't an issue in my house. But as I mentioned, most of my experiments are with liquids in little shotglasses. I need the liquids to not be sloshed out of the glass due to door slamming; the magnetic self-closing door closes softly and without causing eruptions. I was leery of the pull-handle, which is what my old microwave had, because opening the door also caused sloshing. But this one opens easily enough that this doesn't happen, so I'm happy with it.4. ANALOG CONTROLSIn other words, dials, not number key pads. The default time is set to 30 seconds. A quick twist to the left/counterclockwise reduces the time, to the right increase the time. You don't have to hunt for the right number keys and press them individually. And the dial is instantly responsive just like a real analog dial or a steering wheel on a car, even though the time is selected digitally. (This is as opposed to my LG washing machine, which also has a fake analog dial, but incongruently requires several full twists of the dial to move the selection.) It's so much faster to use a dial for this operation that I'm shocked that keypads have been the standard for so many decades. Sometimes analog is just better, even if it *looks* less high-tech and futuristic. The power dial works similarly; the default power is 100%, which a quick nudge counterclockwise reduces in increments of 10. The screen shows the typical use for each power level, like reheat and melt, which is handy.Since my work day consists of many microwave blasts of 5-8 seconds at a time, I was worried that the time control would not be fine enough for my purposes. But it is. You can run the oven for 1 second if that's what you need. Primo!I haven't done enough experimenting with the pre-programmed buttons to say anything about them, and I haven't set up a custom program. It looks to me like I can only program a single custom program, which is a little disappointing, since I have about 5 primary types of runs that I'd like to have on speed dial, but I'm not sure about that yet. I might also be able to use the presets for my purposes once I become familiar with them. I'll try to remember to check back in here with an update.For now, I'm extremely happy with this machine. It's what all microwaves should be.

Dependable and ease of use.

G.M. · June 30, 2025

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Remplit ses promesses

C.d. · January 25, 2025

Ce n'est pas pour rien que ce four s'appelle "Smooth Wave": le programme de réchauffement automatique avec senseur fonctionne très bien. J'ai possédé plusieurs microondes, et c'est le premier qui réchauffe sans brûler; il chauffe juste à la bonne température. Parfois, vous aurez à ajouter quelques secondes. Il est très facile d'emploi, grâce à son écran et ses boutons, qui remplacent les pavés numériques souvent dysfonctionnels. Le seul point faible que j'ai noté jusqu'ici, c'est qu'il faut surélever (avec un ramequin par exemple) le contenant de pop corn pour que les grains éclatent bien, comme si les ondes voyageaient mal au ras du four.Je n'ai ce four que depuis quelques jours. Si je note des défauts plus tard, je reviendrai faire une mise à jour ici.Un mois plus tard (26 février 2025): il marche encore à merveille! Le réchauffement automatique ne réussit pas à tout réchauffer également quand vous mettez des plats qui contiennent différentes grosseurs et textures d'aliments: mais cela est tout à fait normal: aucun micro-ondes ne le réussit. Par contre, si votre plat est homogène comme du potage, aucun problème: il sera réchauffé à la perfection.

Doesn’t hold Breville’s name

K.B. · July 8, 2025

After 9 months, power is less than before.Almost impossible to pop properly a popcorn bag.As weird as it sounds, it’s always doing crackling sound when not in use. Was expecting a high end product but it’s the worst of all Breville i ever bought. If i could get a refund, i would buy a less expensive one for sure. Don’t recommend at all.

Well designed and exceptional performance

D. · April 5, 2025

Love this microwave. Favourite features are the soft close door, the intuitive buttons, and the sensor reheat. All work very well. Many preset buttons are hidden behind the door in the jam, giving a tidy look to the face, which I like.

Best Ever!!

M. · May 14, 2022

Insane, I am on my 4th microwave now! I have tried Toshiba. Panasonic (2 of them) and had to return everyone of them. I think I found just what I needed. This microwave is awesome, very well built, all stainless steel inside and outside, very bright inside LED light, Large lit led dials and pad for easy viewing, which is what I was looking for for months. This was the only one I could find with this option which is REALLY nice. I had to use reader glasses to view the other pads and use a light to see them. Very easy to use with great selections. Cooks and defrosts almost perfect. It costs more but well worth the money. The best one I have ever used!! If you want, there is a video blog on you tube (worth watching) for more information. Oh ya awesome warranty!!