Sage the Smart Waffle Pro review

How is the Smart Waffle to use?

The Smart Waffle is an exceptionally well thought out machine, even down to the brilliant ‘a bit more’ button, which gives you perfect control over the brownness of your waffle.

There are two dials on the front of the machine. The first gives you four options for the type of waffle you’d like – Belgian, classic, chocolate, buttermilk, or a custom option. These slightly affect the cooking time, within 30 seconds or so.

The right hand dial gives you a very precise choice of how well you like your waffle cooked, between one and 12. The default is six and we found this gave us deep golden waffles, with seven going just a touch browner.

The machine is a café-style one, and it’s much heavier than most we tried. It’s robust and very stylish. Plates, which are noticeably deep, are fixed, so just need to be wiped over after you’ve finished.

There’s no clasp – you just close the lid to start it, using the chunky bar handle. Heating it took about five minutes. There are no lights; instead, a beep will alert you that it is ready to use.

This comes complete with a measuring cup, which again removes any guesswork. You use a full cup for two waffles, and a half (clearly marked) for one. Even if you manage to get this wrong, the machine has a moat around it so any excess will drain off rather than plopping stickily onto your work top.

Cooking results

You need to select the waffle type and desired brownness level before heating it up. Once ready, it beeps at you.

You then pour in the mixture and close the lid. The display turns orange and the digital timer begins to count down. It’s easier to read if you take a step or two back. Once ready, it issues three beeps, and will remind you with another beep again soon afterwards.

Heating time is calculated by the machine using ‘intelligent automation’ and depends on the precise setting you choose. Our various options took between five and seven minutes, making it slower than some other models we tested.

We tried out both the classic and Belgian options and were hard pressed to tell the difference between them.

You don’t need to brush this machine with oil, as the non-stick coating is designed to ensure waffles can easily be removed without it. We found removal just a little harder than some of the others.

The waffles themselves were perfect – big (about 12 x 12cm), really thick (around 2.5cm) and the most evenly browned of all the machines we tested. They were so large, one seemed enough for breakfast.

Sage The Smart Waffle specifications

Multifunctional: no
Removable plates: no
Size: 30.7 x 28.4 x 12.4cm
Weight: 5.78kg
Indicator lights: no
Dishwasher-safe parts: no
Wattage: 1000W
Model number: BWM620UK

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This review was last updated in January 2021. If you have any questions, suggestions for future reviews or spot anything that has changed in price or availability, please get in touch at goodfoodwebsite@immediate.co.uk.