Commercial grills are among the most important production assets in many restaurant kitchens. Griddles prepare everything from breakfast foods and smash burgers to vegetables and seafood. Charbroilers create the seared appearance and flavor associated with steakhouses, burger concepts, and full-service restaurants. Clamshell grills help chains standardize cooking, while charcoal and wood-fired systems give chef-led concepts a distinctive flavor profile.

Equipment selection has become more consequential as restaurants try to increase output without adding labor, consuming unnecessary energy, or sacrificing consistency. The National Restaurant Association expects U.S. restaurant and foodservice sales to reach $1.55 trillion in 2026, but projects inflation-adjusted growth of only 1.3%. That combination of higher nominal sales and modest real growth increases the pressure on operators to control costs and improve kitchen productivity.

Commercial grills belong to a much larger equipment industry. Middleby estimates that the worldwide commercial foodservice-equipment market generates more than $35 billion in annual sales. However, reliable grill-specific market-share data are rarely disclosed, making it difficult to rank manufacturers defensibly by grill revenue or unit sales.

For this article, commercial grill equipment includes:

This is a selected, unranked list of prominent manufacturers and corporate groups. Companies were chosen based on product breadth, restaurant-market relevance, specialization, service capabilities, commercial certifications, and corporate scale.

The list is not exhaustive and does not represent a ranking by sales, market share, production volume, or equipment quality. Product availability, specifications, warranties, certifications, and service coverage can also vary by model and geographic market.

Illinois Tool Works is one of the largest companies represented in the commercial kitchen-equipment industry. Its Food Equipment segment generated $2.699 billion in revenue in 2025, including cooking, warewashing, refrigeration, and food-preparation equipment. This figure covers the entire segment rather than grill equipment alone.

The group’s principal grill-facing brands are Vulcan and Wolf. Vulcan offers commercial griddles, charbroilers, ranges, fryers, and braising equipment, while Wolf provides comparatively straightforward cooking equipment for restaurants that may not require Vulcan’s most advanced configurations.

Vulcan’s charbroiler portfolio includes radiant and infrared systems in widths extending to 72 inches. The company says its infrared technology can increase production capacity while conserving gas, although buyers should verify performance using the exact model, menu, and operating conditions under consideration.

Wolf also offers charbroilers in widths from 24 to 72 inches. Its low-profile designs are intended for kitchens where vertical space is limited.

ITW is particularly relevant to operators that value an established dealer network, broad service infrastructure, and the ability to obtain several categories of kitchen equipment from related brands.

Best Suited For: Full-service restaurants, institutional kitchens, hotels, large independent operators, and multi-unit groups seeking broadly supported equipment.

Middleby has one of the commercial foodservice industry’s broadest collections of grill and broiling technologies. Its Commercial Foodservice segment generated $2.351 billion in net sales in 2025, including much more than grills.

On July 6, 2026, Middleby completed the spin-off of its Food Processing business as Midera Food Processing. Middleby now describes itself as a commercial-foodservice-focused company, although it also retains a minority interest in Composition Brands, formerly its residential kitchen business.

Middleby’s grill-related brands include:

This breadth allows Middleby to serve very different operating models. A high-volume burger chain might use a Taylor clamshell grill to control cooking time and reduce variation between employees. A steakhouse could instead consider equipment from MagiKitch’n, Imperial, Southbend, or Josper.

Middleby’s main advantage is not one particular grill design. It is the ability to match equipment to a restaurant’s menu, production volume, labor model, fuel preference, and operating format. Its innovation kitchens allow customers to evaluate equipment under more realistic production conditions.

Best Suited For: Quick-service chains, fast-casual brands, steakhouses, high-volume restaurants, and operators seeking automated or specialized cooking systems.

Ali Group completed its acquisition of Welbilt in July 2022, creating one of the world’s largest commercial foodservice-equipment portfolios. At the time the transaction closed, Ali Group reported approximately 14,000 employees, 95 brands, and 75 manufacturing facilities in 17 countries. These figures describe the company at the time of the acquisition and should not be treated as current 2026 totals without additional confirmation.

One of the most important grill brands in the Welbilt portfolio is Garland, which manufactures restaurant ranges, production griddles, countertop grills, broilers, and dual-platen systems. Garland’s single-sided production griddles are designed for high-volume chains and drive-through operations requiring rapid temperature recovery.

Garland also manufactures the XPress double-sided grill. The company states that the system uses approximately 25% less energy than a traditional flat grill, partly because it can cook at lower temperatures and deactivate unused cooking lanes. This is a manufacturer comparison rather than an independent industry benchmark, so operators should verify expected savings using their actual production pattern.

Another relevant Welbilt brand is Montague, whose portfolio includes heavy-duty griddles, underfired broilers, solid-fuel equipment, and modular cooklines. Its underfired broilers are available in widths from 18 to 72 inches, with countertop, freestanding, and oven-base configurations.

Best Suited For: High-volume chains, drive-through restaurants, hotels, steakhouses, and operators requiring heavy-duty or customized cooklines.

Electrolux Professional is an international supplier of foodservice, beverage, and laundry equipment. The group reported SEK 12.2 billion in net sales in 2025, with its Food and Beverage business accounting for 60% of total sales. Its products are sold in more than 110 countries.

Its grill portfolio includes gas and electric fry tops, modular griddles, ribbed cooking surfaces, chrome plates, induction griddles, and plug-in front-of-house equipment.

The LiberoPro line is particularly relevant to restaurants evaluating electric cooking and flexible installation. Electrolux Professional reports that its LiberoPro Griddle XL can produce 11 kilograms of hamburgers per hour, based on testing with frozen 220-gram burgers. The figure should be understood as a manufacturer test under specified conditions rather than a guaranteed output for every menu or kitchen.

Electrolux Professional expanded its U.S. cooking portfolio by completing the acquisition of Royal Range’s assets in January 2026. Royal manufactures conventional ranges, griddles, charbroilers, and broilers and has an established position with U.S. chain restaurants.

The combination gives Electrolux Professional both advanced modular and electric systems and a stronger conventional gas-cooking platform in the United States.

Best Suited For: International restaurant groups, hotels, front-of-house cooking stations, operations pursuing electrification, and U.S. chains using conventional heavy-duty equipment.

Hatco acquired American Range in September 2022, adding a broad commercial cooking portfolio to its established warming, holding, toasting, and induction businesses. Hatco is employee-owned and sells through an extensive network of foodservice dealers and representatives.

American Range stands out for the breadth of its broiler configurations. Its portfolio includes radiant charbroilers, char-rock broilers, adjustable broilers, kebab broilers, Brazilian-style infrared broilers, wood-fired broilers, griddles, teppanyaki equipment, and combination ranges.

Its standard countertop radiant charbroilers are available in widths from 12 to 72 inches, with 15,000-BTU burners positioned every six inches. Its countertop griddles are also available from 12 to 72 inches, with manual or thermostatic controls and one-inch steel cooking plates.

This variety makes American Range particularly relevant to restaurants that need an unusual broiling style or want several conventional cooking technologies from the same manufacturer.

Best Suited For: Steakhouses, Mediterranean and kebab concepts, Brazilian restaurants, diners, and full-service kitchens requiring broad configuration choices.

Hestan Commercial focuses on premium modular cooking equipment for professional kitchens. Its portfolio includes freestanding ranges, island suites, refrigerated bases, charbroilers, griddles, planchas, French tops, hot tops, salamanders, and countertop equipment.

The company’s central differentiator is customization. Operators can configure a suite or continuous lineup around a particular kitchen layout instead of purchasing unrelated standalone appliances. This can be valuable in open kitchens, hotels, private clubs, and chef-led restaurants where appearance and workflow are closely connected.

Hestan promotes a four-year commercial warranty, subject to the company’s specific terms, exclusions, registration requirements, and applicable product coverage. Its countertop charbroilers and griddles can be incorporated into larger cooking suites with ovens, storage, or refrigerated bases.

The company is positioned more toward integrated, high-specification cooklines than entry-level standardized equipment. Buyers should compare the benefits of customization with installation complexity, acquisition cost, lead time, and the availability of trained local service technicians.

Best Suited For: Luxury hotels, private clubs, universities, flagship restaurants, open kitchens, and chef-driven concepts requiring customized suites.

Vollrath is a broad commercial foodservice manufacturer with a substantial countertop cooking portfolio. Its grill range includes gas charbroilers, manual and thermostatic gas griddles, electric flat-top griddles, and compact cooking systems.

Its heavy-duty gas griddles are offered in widths reaching 72 inches. Thermostatic models use burners positioned every 12 inches and are designed to maintain consistent cooking-surface temperatures during high-volume production.

Vollrath also offers electric models with independent heating zones and thermostatic temperature controls. This makes the company relevant to operators comparing gas and electric equipment or adding a compact grill station without replacing an entire cookline.

The portfolio is strongest in conventional countertop equipment rather than automated chain-specific systems or elaborate solid-fuel installations.

Best Suited For: Diners, pubs, cafés, independent restaurants, concession operations, and kitchens requiring conventional countertop equipment.

Atosa has developed a broad commercial kitchen portfolio covering refrigeration, ice machines, combi ovens, ranges, fryers, holding equipment, and countertop cooking products.

Its grill range includes char-rock broilers, radiant broilers, manual griddles, polished-steel thermostatic griddles, and chrome-plated thermostatic griddles. Standard charbroiler and griddle families are available in 24-, 36-, and 48-inch sizes, while selected thermostatic griddles extend to 60 inches.

The portfolio gives buyers a choice between the simplicity of manual gas controls and the consistency of thermostatic systems. Chrome-plated models provide another cooking-surface option, but operators should compare radiant heat, cleanability, food release, durability, and maintenance through model-specific testing rather than assuming that every chrome surface performs identically.

Atosa is most relevant when a restaurant wants standardized configurations and the convenience of sourcing cooking, refrigeration, and other equipment through the same supplier network.

Best Suited For: Independent restaurants, emerging chains, cafés, diners, food trucks, and operators consolidating equipment purchases.

Wood Stone occupies a more specialized position than the broad-line manufacturers. The company is best known for commercial hearth ovens but also manufactures solid-fuel charbroilers, gas and electric plancha griddles, and rotisserie systems. Its current catalog does not present a separate conventional gas-charbroiler line.

Wood Stone’s plancha griddles provide independently controlled cooking zones. Selected gas planchas operate across a temperature range of 150°F to 650°F, allowing restaurants to prepare different products on separate zones of the same surface.

For live-fire concepts, the Mt. St. Helens charbroiler uses wood to create the coals that heat the cooking surface. Its ceramic firebox stores and radiates heat, supporting a more controlled solid-fuel process than an entirely open cooking fire.

Wood Stone is a strong candidate when grilling is central to the restaurant’s identity rather than simply another kitchen function.

Best Suited For: Premium casual restaurants, live-fire concepts, steakhouses, open kitchens, and chef-led restaurants emphasizing wood-fired flavor.

Spain-based Mibrasa specializes in charcoal cooking equipment for professional kitchens. Its range includes enclosed charcoal ovens, parrilla grills, robata systems, hibachi equipment, and combined oven-and-grill stations.

Mibrasa offers enclosed charcoal ovens in multiple configurations and sizes. Its product pages and catalogs describe different model families in different ways, so a single total for the number of available models could be misleading. Buyers should consult the current regional catalog for the exact configurations sold in their market.

The company’s open-grill portfolio supports charcoal, firewood, or a combination of the two. Its robata systems provide multi-tier cooking surfaces designed for direct charcoal grilling, while its parrilla products offer open-fire cooking with adjustable grill positions.

Mibrasa’s equipment is not a direct replacement for a conventional flat-top griddle. It is intended to create a distinctive live-fire flavor and, in open kitchens, a strong visual experience. Restaurants must account for fuel storage, ash removal, staff training, ventilation, fire suppression, and local approval requirements.

Best Suited For: Steakhouses, tapas restaurants, luxury hotels, robata concepts, and restaurants where charcoal cooking is central to the menu.

Crown Verity specializes in commercial outdoor cooking rather than conventional indoor cooklines. Its range includes mobile grills, built-in outdoor grills, towable systems, griddles, rotisseries, sinks, and related outdoor-kitchen equipment.

The company emphasizes mobility, weather-resistant construction, modular accessories, and outdoor performance. Built-in systems are positioned for golf clubs, resorts, and permanent outdoor kitchens, while mobile products are suited to catering, events, poolside service, and temporary cooking stations.

Crown Verity should therefore be evaluated separately from manufacturers focused on indoor griddles and charbroilers. Its value is greatest where a restaurant or hospitality operation needs to move the cooking station, operate outdoors, or extend foodservice into an event space.

Best Suited For: Caterers, resorts, golf clubs, hotels, event venues, and restaurants with patios or outdoor kitchens.

A grill should be sized for the restaurant’s busiest sustained production period, not its average daily sales.

Operators should examine how quickly the unit returns to its set temperature after being loaded with refrigerated or frozen food. A large surface does not necessarily deliver high output if recovery is slow or temperatures vary considerably across the plate.

Testing should use the restaurant’s actual:

Published burner ratings and manufacturer production estimates are useful screening tools, but they do not replace operating tests.

Manual controls are comparatively simple and give experienced cooks direct control over burner output. They may also have fewer sophisticated control components to maintain.

Thermostatic systems are designed to hold a selected temperature more consistently. They can be valuable when repeatability across employees, shifts, and restaurant locations is more important than individual cooking style.

Neither system is automatically superior. The correct choice depends on the menu, employee experience, maintenance capacity, production requirements, and need for standardization.

Purchase price represents only part of a grill’s lifetime cost. Operators should also consider:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that ENERGY STAR-certified electric griddles are 17% more energy efficient than standard models, with estimated savings of $360 and 2,880 kilowatt-hours annually.

Certified gas griddles are 14% more efficient, with estimated annual savings of $200 and 16 million British thermal units. These estimates apply to qualifying thermostatically controlled products and do not cover manually controlled griddles. Actual savings depend on energy prices, operating hours, production volume, and equipment use.

Buyers should verify the certifications of the exact model being purchased rather than assuming that every product from a manufacturer carries the same approvals.

NSF/ANSI 4 establishes sanitation and food-protection requirements for commercial cooking and food-rethermalization equipment. Gas and electrical safety certifications may be provided by recognized testing organizations such as UL or Intertek.

Operators should confirm that equipment approvals are accepted by the relevant health, building, fire, and mechanical authorities in the jurisdiction where the grill will be installed.

Ventilation requirements should be addressed before the equipment order is finalized. A high-output grill can affect hood capacity, make-up air, ductwork, fire suppression, HVAC loads, and overall installation cost.

Under the International Mechanical Code framework, equipment that produces grease vapors or smoke generally requires a Type I hood. A Type II hood can apply where equipment produces heat, steam, vapor, or odors without grease or smoke. Exact requirements depend on the appliance, its listing, local code adoption, and the authority having jurisdiction.

Solid-fuel equipment requires particularly careful planning. Buyers should obtain approval for the proposed fuel, hood, ductwork, spark control, fire-suppression system, ash-handling process, clearances, and fuel-storage arrangement before committing to the purchase.

The strongest grill on paper can become a poor investment if local technicians cannot service it promptly.

Operators should ask manufacturers, dealers, or representatives about:

For a multi-unit restaurant group, consistent service coverage across the operating region may be more valuable than a small difference in purchase price.

The commercial grill industry is increasingly divided between large corporate platforms and focused specialists.

ITW, Middleby, Ali Group, Electrolux Professional, and Hatco use broad brand portfolios, acquisitions, and established distribution networks to serve restaurant groups across multiple equipment categories. Their scale can support product engineering, chain-account programs, replacement-parts inventories, dealer networks, and regional service organizations.

Specialists such as Mibrasa, Wood Stone, Hestan, and Crown Verity compete by addressing requirements that conventional broad-line equipment may not fully satisfy. These include live-fire flavor, premium modular suites, open-kitchen presentation, and commercial outdoor cooking.

Technology is also changing the basis of competition. Programmable clamshell grills can reduce variation between employees. Electric and induction equipment support restaurant-electrification strategies. Thermostatic controls can improve temperature consistency, while connected equipment can provide diagnostic and operating information.

However, technology can also introduce more complex controls and service requirements. Restaurants should evaluate whether the operational benefits are large enough to justify higher acquisition costs, employee training, and dependence on specialized parts.

No manufacturer is the strongest choice for every restaurant or grill category.

ITW Food Equipment Group, Middleby, Ali Group, and Electrolux Professional have some of the broadest corporate platforms among the companies examined. They are particularly relevant to large operators that need standardized specifications, service coverage, and access to multiple equipment categories.

Hatco’s American Range, Hestan, Vollrath, and Atosa provide additional choices across conventional griddles, charbroilers, and modular cooking equipment. Wood Stone and Mibrasa are stronger candidates when live-fire flavor and restaurant presentation are strategic priorities, while Crown Verity occupies a specialized position in commercial outdoor and mobile grilling.

The final decision should be based on menu performance, peak-hour output, energy use, ventilation costs, cleaning requirements, certification, parts availability, and local service capacity.

Before committing to a large purchase or multi-location rollout, restaurant groups should test shortlisted equipment using their actual food products, loading patterns, recipes, and employees. That operating evidence is more valuable than relying on burner ratings, brand recognition, or manufacturer performance claims in isolation.