Hamilton Beach 31156 Countertop Stainless Reviews Summary

Design and Build

Pros:

• "It's appears as well made as the old one and has the same features."
• "The design of this toaster oven is sturdy and beautiful!"
• "Very attractive design and compliments my stainless steel appliances."
• "The stainless steel matches our kitchen appliances well, and it's easy to clean."
• "Looks nice and built good."
• "This thing is built solid!"
• "The unit is heavy and feels high quality."

Cons:

• "The dials are really primitive and only have settings in increments of 50."
• "The pan holding your food is very poor quality."
• "The major flaw is the single rivet that holds the spring mechanism together. It is cheap, inadequate for the job."
• "The entire unit is significantly taller too so there is more depth for the bread to become fully toasted without sticking out of the top."
• "The toaster oven is fairly shallow from top to bottom to compensate for the toaster."
• "The plate that slides over the toaster slot when using the oven does not completely close it off & lets out heat."
• "The dials for oven temperature and length of use is almost impossible to read."

Functionality

Pros:

• "It toasts great and bakes great...love the toaster on top where you put the bread in and push it down like a regular toaster....only way to go IMO."
• "I love the toaster feature on the top where you can do toast as well as frozen waffles and pancakes as well as the interior toaster oven which is quite large and substantial."
• "The toaster slots are wide to hold bagels easily."
• "We love the ability to use it as a regular toaster, and bagels and short pieces of sourdough bread fit nicely in it."
• "Nothing beats the toaster option, since it's used frequently, plus it toasts more evenly, since bread sits deeper into unit."
• "The toaster works perfectly. Much better than the toast from a typical toaster oven."
• "It makes great toast! Toast is evenly browned on both sides and, of course, it's nostalgic and fun to use the toaster feature."

Cons:

• "Cleaning is a little touchy."
• "It only toasts half the bread (top half)."
• "The toaster and broiler settings are very slow."
• "The toaster will not brown the bread. It feels toasted, for the most part, but on the highest setting done three times the toast feels more like stale bread."
• "The toaster only warms the bread."
• "The broiler oven works but it's slow heating and I usually use the stove."
• "The toaster part does not work well at all it takes forever for the toast and it’s either not done or burnt."

Usability

Pros:

• "I really like my oven/toaster! It works perfectly, just make sure it's not right under a cabinet...needs a little air to breathe, which is understandable."
• "My kids love this toaster oven. Easy to use and convenient for heating up small meals or toast."
• "The controls are easy to use and not complicated like some."
• "The switch between modes is simple. Controls are easy to read and understand."
• "Ignore people saying it is hard to use. You have to hold the lever down for 1 second until red light comes on."
• "I like the toaster functionality, the toast comes out very even."
• "Toaster function is flawless, perfect on both sides, even color and through cooked."