My patio used to have a gas grill on one side and a Blackstone griddle on the other. Together they took up the kind of space that made guests squeeze sideways to get to the chairs. My wife had been quietly suggesting I consolidate for about eighteen months before I actually did something about it.
The Grilla Grills Primate review conversation kept coming up in every outdoor cooking forum I checked. A gas grill that converts fully into a griddle — not a hybrid where you give up half of each, but an actual 100% grill and 100% griddle in the same unit. I was skeptical. Most combo grills are compromises. You get less grilling surface or less griddle surface or both. Neither works as well as the dedicated version.
After a full year of using the Primate for weekend breakfasts, summer cookouts, weeknight smash burgers, and everything in between — here’s the honest assessment.
Before any specs, the idea needs explaining because it’s genuinely novel.
Most gas grill-griddle combos split the cooking surface — griddle on one side, grates on the other. You’ve seen them. The problem is you end up with 250 square inches of each rather than 500 square inches of either, and neither side has full burner coverage. They’re compromises masquerading as versatility.
The Primate works differently. The entire cooking surface is yours — either way you configure it. Three stainless steel grill grates that together cover 663 square inches sit over all four burners. Remove them, drop in the flat steel griddle plate covering 490 square inches, and you have a full griddle over all four burners. The 2/3 griddle insert is also available, letting you run partial griddle and partial grill simultaneously when you need both.
That’s the pitch: 100% gas grill and 100% griddle. Not 50/50. The Barbecue Lab tested it and called this the answer for anyone trying to decide between a gas grill and a griddle when you only have room for one. I’d mostly agree. There are caveats — but the core concept holds up.
I’ll borrow a quote from a Smoked BBQ Source reviewer here because it matches my experience exactly: she looked at her husband the moment assembly was finished and said “Wow, this thing is NICE.” Quality of construction exceeding expectations. That’s what happened to me too.
The cart, the lid, the entire exterior — fully stainless steel. The lid is double-wall insulated and heavy, with a premium feel when you open and close it. There’s no flex when you handle it. Nothing rattles. The cooking chamber feels solid in a way that gas grills in this price range often don’t.
Assembly took me about 40 minutes solo. The instructions are clear. One reviewer noted it’s mostly a one-person job but benefits from an extra set of hands when you’re lifting the cooking chamber onto the cart — the lid is heavy and awkward at that stage alone. That’s accurate. Get someone for five minutes during that step and the rest is easy.
One specific detail that sounds minor and isn’t: there’s a built-in paper towel holder on the unit. When you’re cooking bacon on a griddle and need to wipe the surface between batches, having towels right there — not on a side table, not inside, right there — is a daily convenience that genuinely earns its design space.
Four 15,000 BTU burners totaling 60,000 BTU across the cooking surface. Preheats to 500°F in roughly four minutes. Maximum temperatures approaching 950°F for actual searing — a number that most gas grills at this price point don’t reach.
The stainless steel rod grates are heavy-duty. They don’t flex or wobble. The double-wall insulated cooking chamber holds heat well in a way you can feel — lid goes down and the temperature stabilizes quickly rather than continuing to fluctuate. This matters for anything that benefits from consistent ambient heat: thicker chicken pieces, ribs with the lid on, anything you’re not just cooking over direct flame the entire time.
One honest note from Smoked BBQ Source: the stainless rod grates are not inherently nonstick. Wiping them down with cooking oil before adding food is necessary if you want clean releases. Once you do that it’s fine — but first-time users who skip that step will have food stick, get frustrated, and blame the grill for a user issue. Preheat properly, oil the grates, and the cooking experience is excellent.
This is where the grilla primate grill review conversation gets enthusiastic. The griddle surface is recessed — lower than the burner edges, which means it’s protected from crosswind. The Barbecue Lab ran bacon tests with a fan blowing from the side and achieved an even cook across the entire surface because the recessed design blocked the wind effect. That’s not a trivial design detail. Anyone who’s cooked on a flat griddle on a breezy day knows how badly crosswind wrecks temperature consistency at the edges.
Heat distribution front-to-back and side-to-side is described as even by every independent tester who’s put it through controlled cooking scenarios. My own experience matches — smash burgers cooking identically regardless of their position on the surface. Pancakes at the same rate across the whole plate.
The ClearView Grease Management System channels drippings to a clearly visible collection point at the side. When it’s getting full you can see it without having to guess. The grease trap slides out for easy emptying. Compared to griddles where grease runs off the back into a hidden bucket you discover when it overflows, the side-visible design is genuinely better.
This is the practical test of the whole concept: how annoying is it to actually switch between grill and griddle?
After the cooking surface has cooled, remove the three grill grates (stored separately — more on this in a moment), drop in the griddle plate, done. Hot swap requires waiting for the surface to cool. Cold swap takes maybe two to three minutes. Weekend breakfast the morning after a Friday night cookout? Completely realistic. Daily switching depending on your mood? Also workable.
The one real practical frustration: there’s no dedicated storage in the base cabinet for whichever cooking surface you’re not using. When you’re in griddle mode, the three grill grates need to go somewhere. They’re heavy stainless steel pieces — not something you casually lean against a wall. Where you store them matters and it’s not solved for you in the standard standalone unit. The built-in outdoor kitchen version of the Primate does have cabinet storage for the alternate surface — which is one genuine reason the built-in configuration is worth considering if you’re doing an outdoor kitchen build.
Feature | Spec |
Burners | 4 x 15,000 BTU = 60,000 BTU total |
Grill cooking area | 663 sq. inches |
Griddle cooking area | 490 sq. inches |
Temperature range | 200°F–650°F (searing up to ~950°F) |
Construction | 1mm stainless steel throughout |
Warranty | 4 years |
Natural gas compatible | ✅ Yes |
Built-in outdoor kitchen compatible | ✅ Yes |
Price | ~$1,099 |
The build quality is the first thing. At $1,099 the Primate feels like it should cost more. Fully stainless steel cart, lid, and body. Double-wall insulated cooking chamber. Heavy components that convey quality the moment you handle them. Independent testers consistently describe the build as premium even by standards above the price point.
The heat output is real. 60,000 BTU reaching searing temps near 950°F is legitimate high-heat performance. For searing steaks, getting proper Maillard browning on smash burgers, or running a griddle hot for breakfast service — this is not underpowered.
The recessed griddle protecting from wind is a thoughtful engineering decision that most griddle competitors didn’t bother with. It produces demonstrably more even cooking on the griddle in outdoor conditions.
The 4-year warranty is worth noting in this category. Grilla backs the Primate with a stronger warranty than most competitors at similar pricing.
The storage situation for whichever surface you’re not using needs to be solved before you buy. Where do three large stainless steel grill grates go when you’re in griddle mode? This isn’t mentioned prominently in the marketing and it’s a real daily logistics question.
The side shelves are described as “pretty small” by The Barbecue Lab’s testing — adequate for a seasoning jar and tongs, not adequate for a serious prep surface during a large cook. If workspace is important to you, budget for a supplementary prep table nearby.
The side shelves also get hot during cooking. One Grilla Grills Primate reviewer specifically mentioned the shelves reaching temperatures that make them uncomfortable to rest your arm on. Not a safety issue but worth knowing if you work closely around the grill during a long cook.
No smart connectivity. The Primate is a pure gas appliance with manual controls. There’s no WiFi, no app, no temperature monitoring beyond what you observe with an external thermometer. If smart features matter to you — and for a gas grill they’re less critical than for a pellet smoker — you’ll need to look elsewhere.
The Grilla Grill primate review answer to “who is this for” is genuinely specific.
You should buy this if you want both a gas grill and a griddle and have space for exactly one unit. The Primate delivers full cooking surface in both modes without the performance compromises of traditional split-surface combos. The $1,099 price becomes easier to justify when you compare it against buying a separate gas grill at $600 and a quality griddle at $500 — same money, one footprint.
You should also consider it if you’re building or planning an outdoor kitchen. The Primate’s built-in configuration integrates with Grilla’s modular outdoor kitchen system, and in that configuration the alternate cooking surface storage problem is solved by the cabinet. If a full outdoor kitchen is the goal, this is one of the cleanest grill-griddle solutions available.
You should think carefully before buying if: you never use a griddle (just get a good dedicated gas grill for less money), or if smart connectivity features are important to you, or if your primary cooking style involves a lot of low-and-slow indirect cooking where a pellet smoker serves you better.
The most consistent pattern in real owner accounts — across forum posts, verified reviews, and independent tester write-ups — is genuine surprise at how well the combo concept executes.
Most combo grills disappoint. That’s the expectation going in. The Primate repeatedly exceeds that expectation and that surprise shows up in how people write about it.
Real accounts paraphrased:
The comparison that comes up most often from buyers deciding between the two.
Feature | Grilla Primate | Blackstone 36″ |
Also a gas grill | ✅ Yes — full 663 sq. in. | ❌ Griddle only |
Griddle cooking area | 490 sq. in. | 720 sq. in. |
BTU output | 60,000 | 60,000 |
Construction | Full stainless steel | Powder-coated steel |
Wind protection (griddle) | ✅ Recessed design | Open surface |
Natural gas compatible | ✅ Yes | Some models |
Warranty | 4 years | 1 year |
Price | ~$1,099 | ~$400–$600 |
Best for | Grill AND griddle versatility | Pure griddle performance |
Blackstone wins on price and on pure griddle surface area. Primate wins on versatility, build quality, warranty, and wind protection. If griddle cooking is 100% of your outdoor cooking and you never want a grill — Blackstone is the better value. If you want both capabilities — the price difference compresses when you factor in what a dedicated gas grill would cost alongside the Blackstone.
The Grilla Grills Primate is sold directly through grillagrills.com with free shipping in the USA. No big-box retail stockists — Grilla sells direct, which keeps pricing consistent and removes retail markup.
Current price: ~$1,099 for the standalone cart version. Natural gas conversion and built-in outdoor kitchen configurations are available with pricing variation. Grilla runs seasonal sales events including Black Friday — worth signing up for their email list before purchasing to catch promotional pricing.
The 4-year warranty is registered directly through Grilla’s website after purchase.
A year of cooking on the Grilla Grills Primate produced a clear conclusion: the promise of 100% grill and 100% griddle in one unit actually holds.
Most combo grills are compromises. The Primate isn’t. The cooking surface works fully in both modes, the build quality punches above the price point, the wind-protected recessed griddle solves a real outdoor cooking problem, and the 60,000 BTU output provides genuine high-heat capability across both configurations.
The caveats are real — figure out the grate storage before you buy, the side shelves are small, and there’s no smart connectivity. But none of those are reasons not to buy it. They’re reasons to plan ahead.
If you’ve been looking at a gas grill and a griddle and wondering how to fit both on your patio: the Primate is the honest answer to that problem.
Category | Score |
Build Quality | 9.5 / 10 |
Grill Performance | 8.5 / 10 |
Griddle Performance | 9 / 10 |
Versatility (conversion system) | 9 / 10 |
Heat Output | 9 / 10 |
Ease of Use | 8 / 10 |
Value for Money | 8.5 / 10 |
Storage & Workspace | 6.5 / 10 |
Overall | 8.7 / 10 |