Commercial grills and bain maries sit at the heart of any busy kitchen’s cook-and-hold line, turning raw ingredients into service-ready food and keeping it at a safe, appetising temperature until it reaches the pass. Get the sizing wrong and you’ll either create a bottleneck at peak service or pay for capacity, power and worktop space you never use. This guide covers what actually matters when choosing between gas and electric, how much capacity you really need, and what a sensible budget looks like across the range.
How to choose commercial grills & bain maries
Fuel type is usually the first fork in the road, and it’s often decided by what’s already installed rather than raw cooking preference. Gas chargrills and charcoal ovens need a proper gas supply and, in most kitchens, extraction to match – that’s a bigger consideration than it looks on a spec sheet. Electric grills and griddles are simpler to install wherever there’s a suitable power supply, which makes them a common choice for smaller sites or anywhere a gas run isn’t practical. For bain maries and hot cupboards, the choice is less about fuel and more about whether you need a wet heat well, which is better for holding sauces and liquids at a steady temperature, or a dry well, and whether food needs to sit for minutes or hours before service.
Capacity is the other big variable. Bain maries and hot cupboards are usually sized by GN pan count – three pans might suit a small servery, while a busy carvery or buffet line will want more. Grills and chargrills are sized by cooking surface area and burner or element count against your peak covers, not your average night. It’s worth sizing for your busiest service rather than your typical one, because running a grill flat out for hours on end shortens its working life and slows you down exactly when you can’t afford it. Countertop units save floor space and suit lower-volume sites; free-standing floor models suit kitchens that need to run grill and hold stations side by side all day.
Our top commercial grill & bain marie picks for 2026
Best budget grill: Chefs Range RG2 – 4 Burner Gas Kebab Machine
A compact gas-fired kebab grill that’s a genuinely lower-cost way into grill service, well suited to smaller kebab, shawarma or doner setups that don’t need a full chargrill line. Around £759.
View the Chefs Range RG2 →
Best value bain marie: Lincat Silverlink 600 Bain Marie BM4BW
A straightforward four-well bain marie from one of the most established names in UK counter equipment, built to keep food at a safe holding temperature on a compact service line without a big outlay. Around £916.
View the Lincat Silverlink 600 Bain Marie BM4BW →
Best for high-volume holding: Lincat Panther Hot Cupboard and Plain Top P8P5
An enclosed hot cupboard with a plain worktop above it, suited to kitchens that need to hold larger batches of food at temperature ahead of a busy service rather than just a few pans on display. Around £2,884.
View the Lincat Panther Hot Cupboard and Plain Top P8P5 →
Best all-rounder chargrill: Lincat Opus 800 Propane Gas Chargrill OG8401/P
A full-width propane chargrill from Lincat’s heavy-duty Opus 800 range, sized for kitchens running grilled items as a core part of the menu rather than an occasional special. Around £3,203.
View the Lincat Opus 800 Propane Gas Chargrill OG8401/P →
Best premium, high-volume chargrill: Falcon Dominator Plus Natural Gas Chargrill G31525
Falcon’s Dominator Plus range is built for continuous, high-volume grill service, and this natural gas chargrill sits at the premium end for kitchens that need serious daily output without moving to charcoal. Around £7,792.
View the Falcon Dominator Plus Natural Gas Chargrill G31525 →
Browse the full range: commercial grills and bain maries.
How much does commercial grill & bain marie equipment cost?
Prices across our commercial grills & bain maries range vary hugely by capacity and build quality. Entry-level equipment – smaller bain maries and countertop grill or kebab machines – typically starts from around £1,480. Typical spend across the range sits around £3,390, which covers solid mid-size chargrills and hot cupboards built for regular daily service. Move up to around £6,750 and above and you’re into higher-output, heavy-duty free-standing equipment for busy kitchens, and at the very top end, specialist units such as large ventless griddles and charcoal ovens can run well into five figures, with prices in this category topping out at just over £105,800 for the most specialist, high-capacity equipment.
Frequently asked questions
Gas or electric grill?
This usually comes down to what is already plumbed into the kitchen rather than raw cooking power – gas needs a suitable supply, electric needs sufficient power capacity.
How much should I budget for a commercial grill or bain marie?
Budgets vary a lot by capacity, but as a rough guide, entry-level equipment in this category starts from around £1,480, typical spend across the range sits around £3,390, and larger free-standing or heavy-duty units commonly run from around £6,750 up into five figures for the most specialist, high-capacity models.
What is the difference between a bain marie and a holding cabinet?
Both hold food at a safe serving temperature rather than cooking it. Bain maries typically use a wet or dry heat well for service-line use; holding cabinets are enclosed units for larger batches waiting to be served.
Countertop or free-standing grill?
Countertop electric grills suit smaller kitchens or lower volume; free-standing gas ranges suit higher-volume kitchens with the gas supply and floor space to support them.
Shop all commercial grills & bain maries →