Lidl has thrown itself into the camping and van life boom with typical force, flooding its shelves and online shop with gear that mirrors concepts already proven in the field. A quick browse reveals the full spread: from Eurobox separator toilets and wash systems to sleeping bags, tents, and portable barbecues. It’s all there, neatly packaged and aggressively priced. The question is not what Lidl is offering, but whether any of it can deliver a level of quality that justifies the price, or whether something, inevitably, has to give.

There is no polite way to soften this one. The Lidl Grill Meister Steck-Gasgrill doesn’t just fall short, it misses the point entirely. At €34.99, expectations are modest. Nobody is asking for precision engineering or restaurant-grade performance. But even at this level, a grill should do one thing properly: produce consistent, usable heat. This one doesn’t.

First Impressions: Packaging and Concept

The grill arrives in a black carry bag, a practical touch that suggests portability and simplicity. Everything is packed inside: 

• 1 x burner tube
• 1 x foot section
• 1 x head section
• 1 x base section
• 2 x side section
• 1 x heat distributor
• 1 x grill plate
• 1 x gas hose
• 1 x fireproof underlay
• 1 x instruction manual 

Everything you need except the gas bottle, which is not supplied. On paper, it’s the kind of compact solution that fits neatly into a boot or pannier, ready for spontaneous use.

There’s a certain appeal in that. Minimal, self-contained, no fuss. But first impressions don’t last long.

Assembly: Simple, but Not Refined

Putting it together is straightforward enough. One pair of hands is sufficient, and the modular “slot together” concept keeps things fairly quick. No tools, no instructions needed beyond common sense.

That said, the finish is reflected in the price. Some of the slots lack enough tolerance to let the components slide together without jiggling. Some punched edges are left with a noticeable lip and sharp enough to catch skin if you’re not paying attention. It’s not catastrophic, but it’s careless. The sort of detail that tells you someone in marketing was more interested in delivering an aggressive price than supplying quality.

In Use: Where It Falls Apart

This is where the grill stops being a product and becomes a liability.

The burner simply does not distribute heat evenly. In testing, one side of the 33 x 23 cm grill plate reached high temperature quickly while the other side remained effectively cold. Not warm. Not low heat. Cold. A simple toast test left one half charred, the other cold.

That’s not a minor imbalance. That’s a fundamental failure.

At that point, there’s no point loading it with meat. Cooking becomes guesswork at best, wasteful at worst. A grill that cannot deliver even heat across its surface isn’t a compromised tool, it’s a non-functional one.

A quick search for a solution on the internet and typical problems with gas grills can be put down to spiders have setting up home in the burner tube or gas outlet holes blocked by fat from an earlier cooking session. But we are talking about a brand new piece of kit straight out of the box. Interestingly, the search threw up other disgruntled users who had fallen into the same trap.

Verdict

The idea is sound: compact, affordable, portable. But execution matters, and here it simply isn’t there.

This is not a case of “good for the price”, it’s a case of not working as intended.

You would genuinely achieve more consistent heat distribution by setting fire to €35 in notes and trying to cook over the result.

Blunt, but accurate.

Conclusion: Not recommended.