Smeg 2-Slice Review

Read on to find out how the Smeg fared in each of the individual tests compared to other toasters in our kitchen appliance testing.

Performance Comparison

Bread Toasting Quality

The Smeg 2-Slice impressed us with its near-perfect bread toasting capabilities. This result put it a good bit ahead of the worst-performing model.

The toast that the Smeg produced in our best toaster review testing was nearly perfect, with nice crisp outsides that yielded slightly softer insides as we bit through them. Bread faces were toasted almost perfectly even, with just a hint of a cold spot towards the bottom of most slices. Additionally, the Smeg could produce everything from just lightly browned toast to blackened all around. So whether you like to make your toast with a delicate touch or a heavy hand, the Smeg has you covered.

Ease of Use

The Smeg has a simple, easy-to-use interface and is a solid performer for the metric.

The Smeg has six shade settings that are selected using a knob on the front of the toaster. Within the knob is a prominent 'Stop' button for when you want to cancel the toasting cycle.

Two buttons on either side of the knob let you turn on the bagel and defrost modes. Both of these buttons light up to indicate which mode is on. The lever feels solid and can easily be engaged. We wish you could use the lever to push items a bit further out of the slots, but alas, you cannot. This design can make it difficult to get short items out of the toaster, but generally, it is not a problem. The crumb tray is sturdy, easy to clean, and has a push to release latch that secures it in place.

Bagel Toasting Quality

The Smeg was nothing short of a revelation in our bagel testing. It earned a rare perfect score, well ahead of the low score (excluding models that can't toast bagels).

The Smeg took plain old grocery store bagels and turned them into mouthwatering ambrosia in our testing. The toasted faces were almost perfectly even, and the backsides were nice and warm but remained doughy and chewy. Slap on some cream cheese, and you've got a spectacular, indulgent breakfast. This slot toaster is the only one we've found that can make better bagels than a toaster oven and is the only model we'd suggest to the pickiest of bagel aficionados.

Frozen Food/Defrosting Qaulity

The Smeg was one of the top scorers in our frozen food testing.

The Smeg maintained its high toasting quality when preparing frozen slices of bread, still producing stellar toast. It also met all the challenges associated with toasting frozen waffles. It made the waffle pockets nice and crispy and perfectly browned the ridges, all without burning a single square inch. Our only complaint was that the defrost button didn't seem to add that much time to the cycle, so we often had to adjust the shade setting up a bit when making frozen items. This issue is certainly not a deal-breaker but was a slight annoyance to some of our testers.

Should You Buy the Smeg 2-Slice?

The Smeg 2-Slice offers top-notch performance, and Paris runway quality looks at a correspondingly high price. Those not concerned with aesthetics could get nearly the same performance for less money with some competitors. The Smeg 2-Slice is on the extreme high end of the price spectrum, but this price feels worth it if you covet quality and stylish design.

What Other Toaster Should You Consider?