Ninja FlexFlame Pro Connect review: the smartest gas barbecue you can buy?

Ninja built its name on air fryers and multicookers, so its move into gas barbecues was always going to be watched closely. The FlexFlame Pro Connect is the brand’s flagship outdoor cooking system, combining a traditional gas grill with the high-tech touches that have made its indoor appliances so popular.

But at a recommended price of £1,199.99 (currently on offer at £899.99 at time of writing from SharkNinja direct), it sits well above the average garden barbecue (and then some), so the obvious question is whether the FlexFlame Pro Connect is worth the price.

We put the Ninja FlexFlame Pro Connect through a week of use, from assembly to entertaining, to find out whether it earns its place in the garden or ends up as an expensive way to burn bangers.

BBQs for summer? Groundbreaking.

This isn’t the rickety thing you drag out once a year and chuck a petrol station bag of charcoal onto. This is the big leagues (though you’ll still need to visit a petrol station, or at least a DIY shop, to source the patio gas it runs on).

Assembly is another matter: think IKEA flatpack hell multiplied by a hundred. Clear at least a whole morning and stay well out of earshot of the neighbours, because the swearing will be loud and often.

The trauma pays off, though. Its cast-iron grates, double-walled lid, solid side tables and steel frame make clear why this isn’t going to go rusty after a few summers, and a 10-year warranty (registration needed) backs that up. Plus, it has more technology packed into it than a small branch of Currys.

Technology, you say?

There’s a digital temperature control panel and display, and a wireless probe that connects to an app to monitor your food across five cooking modes: grilling, smoking, roasting, griddling and pizza (though a separate/pricy £249.99 bundle is needed for the latter two modes).

A convection fan blows heat around to maintain an even temperature throughout (a nod to Ninja’s air-fryer DNA), and a side compartment lets you load wood pellets, which you can activate manually to add smoky flavour to your food, using Ninja’s Woodfire technology which burns the pellets at the touch of a button and blows them into the grill when the lid’s down. Make sure your smalls aren’t on the line, though, as it kicks out a considerable cloud when it gets going.

All this comes with a caveat, however, as the entire thing needs electricity to function (either plugged into the mains, or through a portable power station that supports at least 1,700W if you intend to use the Woodfire function; I tested it on the 300W Anker SOLIX C300 and it ran fine without the Woodfire mode).

What does the Ninja FlexFlame Pro Connect do that a £50 barbecue doesn’t?

The Ninja FlexFlame Pro Connect isn’t cheap, but for anyone who entertains regularly it pays for itself in how easy it is to use, its sheer capacity, and how well built and premium-looking it is (indeed, a passing stranger remarked “Posh barbecue, mate” as I was layering my kebabs in my front garden).

As someone whose husband has banned them from the kitchen on grounds of culinary incompetence, getting perfect results from a barbecue was a novelty for me. The thermometer and fans do the heavy lifting, so even the genuinely hopeless can pull off a successful cookout, like a middle-aged man called Randy in Dallas with his own secret dry-rub recipe.

Verdict

• We love: simple to use; produces great results; built to last.
• We’d change: need for mains electricity is inconvenient; accessories are expensive.
• We think: the Ninja FlexFlame Pro Connect may be pricy, but its flawless results, ease of use and premium build (just about) justify the sting to the wallet.