Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven review: big, versatile and retro – but not entirely necessary

Due to the cost of living, many people started avoiding their ovens, and instead favouring the best air fryers, due to their ease, speed and price. After all this oven ‘hatred’, one appliance I didn’t expect to see was the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven which launched in late 2024.

The Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven is a pretty sizable device that offers 10 different cooking functions and presets. Aside from a hob, it seems to do every cooking task you could possibly think of, so I spent a few weeks testing the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven – and here’s why it both surprised and disappointed me.

Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven review: price and availability

To give it its full name, the Smeg COF1UK 10-in-1 Multifunction Countertop Oven with Steam and Air Fry is priced at £849.95 and is available to buy at Smeg. It comes in black, white and cream colourways.

The Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven has similar pricing that you’d expect from a full oven rather than an air fryer. As the name suggests, it’s meant to replace your oven, steamer, air fryer and various other appliances so the cost somewhat makes sense, but if you’re looking for an air fryer, you might want to pick something different as this is pricier than you’d expect to pay for an air fryer.

Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven review: unboxing and set-up

The Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven arrived in a pretty big cardboard box, and I’ll be honest – it was a bit of a struggle to get it. Measuring 500mm x 500mm x 400mm, the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven is another but small so it took me a while to wiggle it out of the box.

Once it was out the box, I put the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven on my kitchen counter, which took a lot of heavy lifting, so keep this in mind as you may want someone to help you with this. Due to its size, the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven had a dedicated place in my kitchen on its own as it took up a lot of room with its bulk.

Included with the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven were three internal accessories, including a crisper plate, tray and grill rack to cater to all its cooking tasks.

Image 1 of 3

Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven review: design and features

As you’d expect with its overall size, the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven has a big capacity – 30 litres to be exact. It has 1800 watts of power, and Smeg states that its power and capacity makes it ideal for medium households and is meant to be used as a secondary oven – after testing, I don’t entirely agree with the latter but we’ll get to that later.

As a multifunction oven, the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven can be used as an oven, grill, steamer, and air fryer, thanks to its 10 functions. The oven and total steam options can be used together for quicker times and healthier cooking. The Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven also has 33 automatic programmes to play with, including meat, fish, vegetables and pizza.

The Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven has a classic retro-inspired design that Smeg is well known for. Available in black or white, the logo, controls and handle of the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven are in silver. The circular controls are easy to use – one has a start/stop button, and the other is for temperature and time, which you can twist the knob or click the button to select.

The screen that sits between the two controls shows off the programme that you choose, time, temperature and pre-heating details. It’s clear and simple to read, although at times, I wasn’t completely sure what I was selecting as it showed everything in icons rather than writing. The controls and screen sit above the handle and glass door which is incredibly clear and easy to peek into to see your cooking’s progress.

Image 1 of 3

Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven review: performance

I used the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven for the past few weeks for most of my evening meals, and I found it to be a handy go-to gadget in my kitchen. Having said that, I rarely used my actual oven while testing the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven but that’s something I’ll discuss further below.

I found the controls of the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven to be simple yet complex at the same time. I enjoyed the controls buttons and twisting actions as they moved nicely and selected options quickly. But the screen was so laidback that I often wasn’t sure what I was selecting – although if you lift the steam latch at the top of the appliance, it has a full list of programmes to explain things.

I enjoyed the accessories that came with the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven, and I mainly used the full tray for chicken, potatoes and vegetables. Preheating the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven took hardly anytime, and had a nice temperature gauge on the screen to show its progress.

While in action, the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven made very little noise, although the beep was quite shrill. Similar to an air fryer, the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven needed very little oil to cook everything, although I did find that it didn’t crisp food as much as I would have liked. I cooked chicken goujons and potatoes, and while they cooked quickly, the exterior wasn’t very crispy, which is what an oven tends to do well.

I also found the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven to release a lot of moisture, whether I’d added oil or not. Despite the food having moist and juicy interiors, lots of liquid came out during cooking which I think also had an effect on the exterior.

I loved the design of the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven, and while it’s a bit too bulky, every aspect of it, including the accessories, have been well thought out – which is always the case with Smeg products.

Image 1 of 2

Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven review: verdict

As mentioned above, I don’t entirely agree that the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven is a secondary oven. After my testing, I’d say that the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven could be your primary oven due to its sheer size and functions. But this is what confuses me about the appliance, as the majority of homes have ovens already built into their kitchens.

If your home doesn’t, the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven is definitely something to consider. But in terms of price and size, I’d probably recommend buying a traditional oven rather than the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven. A normal oven is around the same price and as they tend to be built into your kitchen, either with a hob on top or within your kitchen cabinets, they take up far less space – plus Smeg has released many new ovens recently that combine multiple features, including oven, barbecue and pizza oven cooking in one.

Does the Smeg 10-in-1 Countertop Oven perform well? Yes, and it looks great doing it. But if you have an oven already, I don’t think it’s a necessity.