Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I am reviewing the Cuisinart TOB-260N Chef's Toaster Convection Oven in relations to how it compares to the Breville BOV800XL Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ since that is clearly its competition. I purchased and have used the Breville Smart oven about a year ago and I love it; I use it every day. I have posted several photos comparing the two side-by-side to illustrate the differences referred to in this review. Both of these convection toaster ovens are great appliances. They can both double as a real oven for when your wall oven is full and you need one more place to bake/warm/broil. They are both attractive with their silver tones and clean lines that would blend well into any kitchen decor. Both have easy-to-use crumb trays that slide out so you don't have to dig or shake out the crumbs. Both are basically the same size, you can see how a 12" x 9" pan fits about the same in both. Both casseroles heated evenly and cooked through. I had anticipated the Cuisinart oven to be much larger inside when compared to the Breville since the Cuisinart claims to be able to toast 9 slices of bread. The Cuisinart, as you can see in the photos, can easily house 6 slices of the bread that we use, 9 slices of Wonder Bread might fit -- it would have to be very small bread. The grate of the Breville and the grate the Cuisinart are almost the same size. In the photos you can see when stacked together both grates are almost the same. The advantage to the Cuisinart is that it comes with 2 grates so you can bake two trays of cookies at once. I would only use the double grate set up for cookies; I know they show 2 round cake pans, but I put my 2 cake pans inside and there was only ½" clearance below the top grate, so if your cake rose at all it would bake into the top grate. You can purchase an additional grate shelf from Breville and do the same in their oven, but you have to pay extra for it. With both ovens you should swap pan locations half way through baking. The quality of toast for each oven was identical, even the cooking times for the different settings were just about the same with only a few seconds difference if at all. All 6 slices in each oven came out as hoped and were promptly turned into tuna sandwiches by my hungry onlookers. Thumbs up all around. The Cuisinart comes with a pizza stone, with the Breville oven you have to buy one. I found one on amazon in the correct size for $13 on sale, so while not a huge cost, it is nice that it comes with the Cuisinart. The Breville comes with a better broil pan and drip pan that doubles as a cookie sheet. The Cuisinart's pan is narrow and wide while the Breville is a square that takes up the whole space; the Cuisinart pan actually fits inside the Breville oven which is supposed to be smaller. I wish Cuisinart would have made their pans bigger to take advantage of the extra bit of space it has over the Breville. The one thing that the Cuisinart is the clear winner at is the interior light. I use a bbq magnet light with the Breville and wished it had an interior light, especially since the interior is dark. The Cuisinart has a light-colored interior with the light and it is wonderfully easy to see what is inside. Both have interfaces that rely on a toggle knob to navigate the choices available, the Cuisinart is less intuitive since the way it indicates what item you are on is by having the section blink; the Breville has an arrow showing you what selection you are on so you don't have to pause through selections to see what one you are on. The Cuisinart has one knob you use to dial in time and temp (and it beeps each time you push it to go between settings), the Breville has a (beep-less) knob for each so it is faster to set. The Cuisinart's screen is BRIGHT blue light, the Breville is amber and easier on the eyes. Both beep when starting and stopping. Both shut off the oven when the timer reaches zero. Overall, the quality of construction goes to Breville (hands down): - You can see the gap in the door of The Cuisinart, now look at the tight and evenly closed door of the Breville. - When both doors are closed the Breville lands solidly in place, the Cuisinart slams with a rattle and the door still has a bit of give at the top. - The plug on the Breville is thoughtfully designed with a loop to provide better grip, the Cuisinart is your typical plug. - The fan in the Breville is quieter than the Cuisinart. - The door on the Breville uses a magnet to pull out the grate when you open the door, the Cuisinart uses a hook that can get caught on other levels and jam the door, it also is misaligned sometimes causing the grate to jump ½" to hop back into he hook. If you had liquid in a dish in there it would spill. - The Breville shows a lot more thought going into the design; round handle is easier on hand, amber light for eyes, nicer sounding beeps, vents on side instead of on top so you can add the cutting board if you like and save counter space. They are both nice min-ovens that can accomplish a lot for such a small footprint. The included extras with the Cuisinart is certainly nice, but if both of these were stolen, I would replace the Breville Smart Oven and buy the pizza stone again.