Char Grill vs Griddle: Which Does Your Cookline Need? | 2026

If your menu has steak, burgers, chicken, seafood or grilled vegetables on it, the char grill is the appliance the customer is actually paying for. Grill marks, the char flavour, the smoke that comes off fat hitting hot radiants — none of that can be faked on a flat plate. But a char grill is also the hardest-working, hottest-running and most ventilation-hungry appliance on most cooklines, and specifying one badly creates problems that reach well beyond the grill itself.

This guide covers how to choose a commercial char grill for an Australian kitchen: how char grills differ from griddles and salamanders, the gas versus electric decision, radiant versus lava rock, sizing to your covers, and the ventilation and gas-compliance requirements you must confirm before you buy. Browse the current range of commercial char grills at Commercial Kitchen Appliances.

Char grill vs griddle — what is the difference?

A char grill cooks on open ribbed grates over intense radiant heat, so fat and juices drip away, vaporise on the hot surface below and rise back through the food. That is what produces grill marks and char flavour. A griddle cooks on a solid flat steel plate, conducting heat directly into the food with nothing dripping away.

They are not interchangeable. Char grills suit steaks, burgers, chops, chicken and seafood; griddles suit eggs, pancakes, onions, bacon and anything that would fall through grates. Most serious cooklines run both side by side.

Char grill vs griddle vs salamander

These three get specified interchangeably and they should not be.

• Char grill (char broiler). Open ribbed grates over an intense radiant heat source below. Fat and juices drip away from the food onto hot radiants, vaporise, and rise back through the product — which is what creates char flavour and grill marks. For steaks, burgers, chops, chicken, seafood and vegetables.
• Griddle (hotplate). A solid flat steel plate. Heat is conducted through the plate into the food, and nothing drips away. Right for eggs, pancakes, onions, bacon, smash patties and anything that would fall through grates. See our range of commercial griddles.
• Salamander. Heat from above, for finishing, glazing, melting and browning rather than primary cooking. Our salamander grill buying guide covers that decision, and salamander vs oven broiler compares the finishing options.

Most serious cooklines end up with a char grill and a griddle side by side, because they do genuinely different jobs.

Gas vs electric

Gas char grills dominate Australian commercial kitchens. Gas reaches the high radiant temperatures char grilling depends on, responds instantly to control adjustment, and recovers heat quickly when cold product lands on the grates. The trade-offs are a gas connection, gas-compliance obligations, and more heat radiated into the kitchen.

Electric char grills suit sites with no gas supply, tenancies where gas is not permitted, and smaller benchtop applications. They are simpler to install — no gas certification — but generally have slower heat recovery under sustained load and can draw substantial power, often requiring three-phase for larger units.

Most kitchens with a gas supply choose gas for a primary char grill. Confirm your gas type as well: units are configured for natural gas (NG) or LPG and they are not interchangeable without a conversion. Ordering the wrong gas type is a common and avoidable delay.

The range at Commercial Kitchen Appliances includes char grills from Cookrite, Fagor and GasMax, in both benchtop and floor-standing configurations and in NG and LPG variants.

Radiants, lava rock and ceramic stones

Between the burner and the grates sits a heat-distribution medium, and the type affects flavour, cleaning and running cost.

• Metal radiants. Angled steel or cast-iron plates over each burner. They spread heat evenly, shield burners from dripping fat and channel grease to the collection tray. Durable, liftable for cleaning, and the standard on most commercial gas char grills. The lowest-maintenance option.
• Ceramic stones (briquettes). A bed of ceramic pieces that absorbs and re-radiates heat very evenly. High thermal mass helps recovery between orders and protects burners from flare-ups. They need periodic cleaning or turning and eventually replacement.
• Lava rock. Natural volcanic rock used the same way. Prized for the flavour it develops as juices vaporise on it, but it is porous, absorbs fat over time, degrades, and must be replaced periodically. It also carries a higher flare-up risk as it becomes fat-saturated.

For most operators, radiants are the practical default: consistent, cleanable and cheap to maintain. Choose lava rock only if the flavour character genuinely matters to your menu and you will commit to replacing it.

Sizing — burners, cooking area and covers

Char grills are specified by width and burner count, with burners typically spaced to create independently controllable zones across the grill.

Size to your peak service, and think in terms of how many portions you need on the grill simultaneously at your busiest twenty minutes — not your nightly covers. Two practical points:

• Independent burner control matters as much as total area. A wide grill with one control is far less useful than a narrower one with three zones. Zones let you run a searing-hot section, a moderate section for slower items like chicken pieces, and a resting or holding area — all at once. Without zones you are constantly compromising.
• Thermal recovery is the hidden spec. When six cold steaks hit the grates, surface temperature drops. How fast it comes back determines whether portions seven through twelve cook properly. Heavier grates and higher gas input recover faster.

Benchtop char grills sit on a bench or stand and suit smaller sites and secondary grilling. Floor-standing units with an integrated stand or oven base suit primary cooklines. Confirm whether a stand is included or ordered separately — a benchtop grill with nowhere to sit is a common oversight.

Grates — the part that touches the food

• Cast iron grates hold heat exceptionally well, give strong sear and pronounced grill marks, and recover quickly. They need seasoning and care to avoid rust.
• Stainless steel grates resist corrosion and are easier to keep clean, but generally hold less heat than cast iron.
• Reversible grates have a ribbed face for meat and grill marks and a flatter or finer face for fish, seafood and vegetables that would stick or fall through deep ribs. If your menu is mixed, this is worth specifying.

Check that grates lift out easily for cleaning, and that a replacement is available — grates are consumable on a hard-working grill.

Ventilation — the requirement that catches people out

This is the most important section in this guide, and the one most often discovered too late.

A char grill is typically the highest heat-load and highest grease-load appliance on a cookline. Open flame, dripping fat vaporising on hot surfaces and sustained high temperature produce a large volume of hot, grease-laden air. That air must be captured and extracted by a canopy with adequate capacity, correctly positioned and with appropriate filtration.

Practical consequences:

• Adding a char grill to an existing cookline may exceed the capacity of the canopy already installed. Extraction is engineered to the total heat and grease load beneath it, and a char grill can change that calculation substantially.
• Canopy sizing, overhang, mounting height, extraction rate and make-up air all need to be assessed by a qualified person against the applicable Australian Standards. Our commercial kitchen ventilation guide covers the compliance detail, and the exhaust canopy buying guide covers specifying the canopy itself.
• Grease filters over a char grill load faster than over almost anything else and need a correspondingly frequent cleaning schedule. This is also a fire-safety issue — see our guide to commercial kitchen fire safety in Australia.

Confirm your ventilation before you order the grill, not after it arrives.

Gas installation and compliance

Gas appliances must be installed by a licensed gas fitter, connected to an adequately sized supply, and commissioned correctly. Check that the available gas supply can carry the appliance's input rating alongside everything else on the line — an undersized supply shows up as poor performance across every gas appliance in the kitchen once they all run at once.

Our commercial gas installation guide covers the requirements in more detail.

Grease management and cleaning

A char grill produces more grease than anything else on the line, and grease management is a daily discipline rather than an occasional job.

• Empty the grease tray daily — every service, in a busy kitchen. A full tray is a fire risk.
• Brush the grates while hot at the end of service with a long-handled grill brush.
• Lift and clean radiants periodically; check and turn or replace ceramic stones and lava rock as the manufacturer directs.
• Check burner ports for blockage from carbonised fat — uneven flame is usually a blocked port.
• Isolate gas or power and let the unit cool before any deeper cleaning.

Which char grill for which venue

• Steakhouse or grill restaurant. A wide floor-standing gas char grill with multiple independently controlled zones, heavy cast-iron grates and strong thermal recovery. This is the centre of your kitchen — specify generously.
• Pub or bistro. A mid-width gas char grill beside a griddle covers steaks, burgers and the breakfast trade from one cookline.
• Burger QSR. Zoned char grill for patties, with recovery capacity for continuous peak throughput.
• Cafe or small kitchen. A benchtop char grill on a stand — enough for grilled items without committing a full floor-standing footprint.
• Kebab or charcoal-style venue. Look also at the dedicated kebab grills range, which addresses a different cooking geometry.

Warranty, finance and support

Commercial cooking equipment is manufacturer-backed with warranty terms that vary by product and brand — check the terms for your specific model on our warranty information page before ordering. Note that warranty generally assumes correct installation by licensed trades and adherence to the maintenance schedule.

Equipment finance is available through SilverChef, with approvals up to around $65,000 typically completed in about five minutes. Commercial Kitchen Appliances ships nationally from our Sydney headquarters in Granville, with partner warehouses in Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Ready to choose your char grill?

Confirm ventilation capacity first — it is the constraint most likely to stop the project. Then choose gas or electric based on your supply, size on simultaneous portions at peak rather than nightly covers, and insist on independent burner zones. Radiants are the sensible default unless lava rock flavour genuinely matters to your menu.

Browse the full range of commercial char grills, or talk to our team about matching a grill to your cookline and extraction.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a char grill and a griddle?

A char grill cooks on open ribbed grates over intense radiant heat, so fat drips away and vaporises below, producing grill marks and char flavour. A griddle cooks on a solid flat steel plate, conducting heat directly into the food with nothing dripping away. Char grills suit steaks, burgers, chops and seafood; griddles suit eggs, pancakes, onions and anything that would fall through grates. Most full cooklines run both.

Should I choose radiants, ceramic stones or lava rock?

Metal radiants are the practical default — durable, easy to lift and clean, and low maintenance. Ceramic stones offer high thermal mass and very even heat but need periodic cleaning and eventual replacement. Lava rock develops distinctive flavour as juices vaporise on it, but it is porous, absorbs fat, degrades over time and carries a higher flare-up risk. Choose lava rock only if that flavour character genuinely matters to your menu.

Does a char grill need a special exhaust canopy?

It needs adequate extraction, and a char grill is typically the highest heat- and grease-load appliance on a cookline. Adding one can exceed the capacity of an existing canopy, because extraction is engineered to the total load beneath it. Canopy sizing, position, extraction rate, filtration and make-up air must be assessed by a qualified person against the applicable Australian Standards — confirm this before ordering the grill.

Gas or electric char grill — which is better?

Gas dominates Australian commercial kitchens because it reaches the high radiant temperatures char grilling depends on, responds instantly and recovers heat quickly under load. Electric suits sites with no gas supply or where gas is not permitted, and is simpler to install, but generally has slower recovery under sustained load and larger units may need three-phase power. If you have a gas supply, gas is usually the right choice for a primary char grill.

What size char grill do I need?

Size to the number of portions you need on the grill simultaneously during your busiest twenty minutes, not to nightly covers. Just as important as total cooking area is the number of independently controlled burner zones — a wide grill with a single control is far less useful than a narrower one with three zones for searing, slower cooking and holding. Thermal recovery also matters once several cold portions land at once.

Can I convert a char grill between natural gas and LPG?

Units are supplied configured for either natural gas or LPG and the two are not interchangeable as delivered. Conversion, where the manufacturer permits it, requires the correct conversion kit and must be carried out by a licensed gas fitter. The simplest approach is to confirm your gas type before ordering and specify the correct variant, since ordering the wrong one is a common cause of installation delays.