Combi microwave ovens

[chanobear]

Can anyone recommend me a good "combi microwave oven" please? I feel like I am going round in circles when I look online. I think I see a good one then I read a review that says "only has a rotating round plate, can't use a tray in it"?! I want to use it as a small second oven mostly, want it to hold at least one tray of roast potatoes! And on occasion it would be used as a microwave. Hoping someone can put me out of my misery, I really need to buy one asap as having new kitchen fitted next week. We already decided not to have two single ovens which we had in old house as we were keen to get one of these but I'm started to regret that decision! Can't go back now as have the unit for it already here so please good mumsnetters, help me!

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MNHQ

We have this one - So many functions. It doesn’t have a rotating plate, just a couple of shelves. I love that the microwave function Allows you to choose from 600-1000w in power.

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We have this one but I'm not sure if it can be integrated/put into a unit. Bought recently to replace this one which was brilliant, a real workhorse, much more like a second small oven than a combi microwave, it has rotating racks as well as two oven shelves which slide in and don't rotate, but it was much bigger than the Panasonic and took up a lot of space on the worktop. The Panasonic one gets good reviews and so far we've been really pleased with it, it has a rotating turntable with a round enamel oven tray included for roasting etc and it has coped well with baked or roasted potatoes using the tray. We wanted one which had an ok grill function which a lot of them seem to be not very good at, again so far the Panasonic seems ok at grilling (and the Sharp had a really good grill)

@WhatsErFace2020 thank you for that. Can you cook more than one thing at a time as an oven? Will it fit two trays or is it a bit more for one? Which is fine, it will probably only be for one thing at a time. Also, when you use it as a microwave, do you have to take those metal racks out?

@timtam23 thank you but yeah I need a built in one.

We have a built in Neff combi which is great and matches the Neff single oven which sits underneath. You don’t need to take the metal shelf out when you use it as a microwave- it’s a myth that you can’t put metal in a microwave. It’s only thin metal (like foil, for example) that can’t be put in a microwave.

I know it’s not what you’re asking for but

BEWARE the combi oven/microwave

For the love of all things oveny, always double check your settings, I speak from the experience of exploding jacket potatoes blowing the door open and splattering potato all over the kitchen, the pizza that was accidentally microwaved, instead of oven cooked, for 10 minutes that had to be flung though the back door as a smoking black frisbee and the curtains having to be washed to get rid of the smell of smoke, and various other things that meant I am clearly not the type of person who should be left in charge of a combi oven.

For the safety of my family, one will never set foot in my house again. 😬

@Haricot thanks. I have been looking at the Neff one because we were going to get the Neff oven. But i got put off by a review that said
"IWhat a ridiculous design! The kitchen company recommended this to match my main oven. I had a previous NEFF combination oven I loved. This has no tray so no grilling bacon, the shelf position is fixed so not enough room to roast a chicken. Nothing higher than about 13cm will fit (making a mockery of the 45cm advertised) and the instructions say you cannot put anything on the floor of the oven so can't be used without the shelf. An absolute waste of money!"

and I got cold feet!
Is there room for a tray of roast potatoes?

@Justgivemewine ha ha I will actually be super careful with it as I have also blown up a microwave oven before! As a uni student I put the microwave oven on for a timer (whilst I cooked something on a grill next to it!!), Crazy I know. I didn't realise you had to have something in a microwave and yep, the whole thing blew and off came the microwave door!! I've been pretty scared of them ever since ha. But we use it for the odd thing - porridge and a heat pack - so I want to have the option.

We have a built in oven/microwave. AEG. It works fine as oven. Microwave - we use to heat up coffee, scrabbled eggs, pre cook jacket potatoes. It has no rotating base so I don’t thInk it’s brilliant as a microwave but it’s good enough for what we do and the small oven is really handy as extra space or for cooking smaller meals.
Microwaving - I think it’s not quite as even without the rotating base so I move food around more when microwaving.
didn’t want a separate microwave so this combination gave me what i wanted and looks fine in my revamped kitchen.

You can get two trays in there but no more than that really. It comes with a big roasting/grill tray also.

it does say to remove the metal when using as a microwave which I do so with the comments up thread I’m not sure I have to now 🤷🏼‍♀️ I leave the side racks in and how is that any different!

a downside I think they all have is once you’ve used it as a grill for example the microwave won’t work until it’s cooled down which takes a while so I’m a bit nervy for Christmas in case we need to reheat anything!

Not built in but I’ve got this one. Use it a lot and love it. I batch cook and freeze in individual portions, then reheat in this during the week. A portion of something like a stuffed baked potato is reheated, bubbling and browned in about seven mins.

Panasonic flatbed combi ovens are pretty good, I've had a few over the last few years, the Sharp was ok but died after about 4 years. Sometimes you can find them on Facebook marketplace for as low as about £90. Having a door that opens downwards is a great bonus. Also being 25 to 32 litres gives enough space to do a roast and vegetables . www.amazon.co.uk/Panasonic-NN-CF87LBBPQ-Combination-Microwave-Flatbed

It looks like the current Neff combi model has been updated from the one I have. Mine’s 7 years old and has multiple positions you can put the shelf so definitely allows for roast potatoes + more. It’s a pain when manufacturers change the design.
I hope mine continues to work for many more years.

In my old house we had a Neff combi/Micro and it has put me off combi/micros.
First off it was placed on top of the oven in a single tall unit and trying to clean it was really awkward as the the door pulls down so it was hard to stretch to the back. So if you are planning to have one in that way check that you can reach to the back. I found the oven didn't work as well either couldn't get things properly crispy. So my advice is really do your research and check everything as its not a cheap piece of kit and if you only end up using it as a micro then that is a super expensive one.

We've got this one – bought from John Lewis about a decade ago. I went in and asked for one that was easy to operate - it's got a shortcut button for 30-second intervals and a knob for times - I hate things that you have to type in a software programme for! We use it as a conventional oven all the time as it doesn't need to preheat – our conventional oven seems to take about an hour to get up to temperature!

Thanks for all the posts. We've ended up finally deciding on a built in hotpoint one, fingers crossed it does what we need:)

@chanobear Have you any feedback on the Hotpoint combination oven? Thinking through ourselves!

I've got the Panasonic flat plate combi microwave, it's brilliant, it also works as a steam oven. The door opens like a proper oven. It wasn't cheap (£549) but along with my Ninja 11in1, I never use my proper oven.

@bonnysmum
Good points - cheaper than others. It works. I use the microwave lots and I have used the steamer and the crisper and been pleased with the results
Bad points - the logic of which buttons to press does not seem straight forward to me and I do have to keep the manual close by to check whether I am doing it right! It likes to beep loudly. And the most annoying one, is if you open the door to check the food, you MUST remember to press 'on' again for it to continue what it's doing! I've been caught out on that a couple of times.
Overall, I would buy it again. But if I had loads more money then maybe I would choose a different one.

Thank you ++ @chanobear - decisions decisions!

Sorry if I've not been much help. I do really like it. It just has its 'quirks'. It was extremely useful for Christmas dinner as a second over. I think also I just don't use it enough to get used to the controls quickly.

Mines a Neff combi and is used pretty much every day. It genuinely works as a second oven. The racks stay in all the time. It’s only 22 cm from the bottom rack to the top of the oven but I’ve easily fitted roasting tins in for spuds, cakes, jacket spuds etc.
Jug in pic is 1L capacity and 11cm tall.

I inherited a Miele integrated compact microwave which has died. It’s a back up to my Aga. I would prefer an oven but Miele only do the compact version with a microwave or steam function which is also hugely expensive. Can anyone please recommend a compact oven, that’s simple to use and functions well? There are tons of good reviews of standard ovens in WHICH but it’s difficult to find any about compact ovens. I don’t mind a steam or microwave function but not if it’s at the expense of the oven. Any brand recommendations would be fantastic Thank you very much for your help.