Breville Smart Toaster, 2-Slice, Brushed Aluminum Reviews

Breville Die-Cast Smart Toaster 2 Slice BTA820XL, Brushed Stainless Steel
The Breville 2-Slice Smart Toaster is a compact toaster that lets you feel in control; One touch automation lets you monitor your toast’s progress using “Lift & Look” and add extra time using ” A Bit More” to toast your favorite bread types to perfection
INNOVATIVE FEATURES: ‘Lift & Look’ and ‘A Bit More’ allow you to check on your toast or add a little extra time without interrupting the toasting cycle; The bagel function ensures even heat for even toasting and unfreeze your favorites using defrost
2 SLICE CAPACITY: The toaster features a 2 slice capacity and has wider slots to meet the demands of larger artisanal bread, thick bagels and dense pastries
VARIABLE BROWNING CONTROL: The Breville Smart Toaster 2-slice lets you toast to your ideal brownness level and monitor your progress with the LED indicator so you know how much longer the toasting cycle has left to run
AUTOMATIC CONTROL WITH AUTO LIFT & LOOK: At the touch of a button, your bread can be automatically lowered into the toaster, lifted during the toasting cycle to monitor progress and lifted at the end to deliver toasting perfection
EASY CLEANING: No need to lift when cleaning, simply pull out the front crumb tray and empty into the dustbin
SETTINGS: 5 Settings including ‘A Bit More’, ‘Lift & Look’, Defrost, Bagel and Fruit Bread
WARRANTY: 1 Year Limited Product Warranty; Power: 900 Watts; Voltage: 110 to 120 Volts

Reviewer: genesrus
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Next Gen Toaster
Review: What a toaster! Perfectly toasted breads EVERYTIME!Bought this in Aug 2010.*****************************************************Jan 2011 updateThis toaster works electronically unlike our previous toaster from ~16 years ago that we bought in grad. school.How it works: You place the bread in the slots and then press a button that says toast. This triggers an electronic signal and the toaster then lowers the bread into the toaster. There is no mechanical lever that you need to press to get the bread down. This causes a time lag of ~15seconds or so, but it is not significant and I feel is really a non-issue in the whole toasting process.You set the level to toast at and when the level is reached it will bring the bread back to the surface. There is another button that is labeled ‘a bit more’. Press that and the bread gets taken down for an additional minute (or thereabouts). When the toast is brought to the surface there is a beep that lets you know the toast is done. Very discreet and helpful – if you are messing around with something else it reminds you that the toast is done.The slots are wide enough for bagels and there are settings for “frozen” and “bagel”. Helpful as we buy our bagels in bulk from Costco and freeze them. The bagels get done perfectly, unlike our old toaster where portions would be burnt. Having the “frozen” button is especially helpful b/c it adds a little bit more heat compensating for the cold bagel. Works well with frozen bread as well – just hit the frozen button without pressing the bagel button- and then press the toast button. The toaster has excellent insulation – and the outside does not get excessively hot. We tend to pull the toaster out from under the cabinets while using it but every once in a while we leave it under and again the heat is pretty well contained – not damaging the overhead cabinets. We have wooden counters and they have not been damaged in the least. If you want to stop the entire process the “toast” button serves as the cancel button as well and will bring the bread back up to the surface.Over the last six months on two occasions all the buttons looked like they had been pressed (the buttons have LEDs to indicate that the setting is active) and the toaster was unresponsive. I unplugged the toaster and plugged it back in and everything reset itself. We use this toaster at least twice a day and despite this glitch I gave it 5 stars because it was very easy to resolve the problem and I may have pressed buttons accidentally in both cases triggering the glitch.I was looking at a high end dualit toaster (made in the u.k.- at one point) but I think their toasters are getting progressively worse (and use WWII technology). The breville toaster- made in china- has a very nice brushed steel finish and is in keeping with other Breville appliances – well designed and well executed. Given where the buttons sit you CANNOT USE A TOASTER COVER- non-issue for us but something to be aware of.The size is bigger than our last $16 toaster but not too unwieldy. Counter space is at a premium in our kitchen else I might have bought the 4 slice version. Cleaning is a breeze with a nicely designed crumbs tray that pulls out from the front (at the bottom) and can be wiped off. I feel all the other toasters I looked into simply did not compare – in form or function and were using technology of a bygone age.

Reviewer: Mr Jim M.
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: So far I love it
Review: Nice quality toaster. I looked at a lot of toasters and they all had bad reviews about burning bread or shooting the bread into the ceiling when done.This thing is pretty cool, it had an auto lower and raise mechanism that makes it effortless. I put in the first bread and it toasted it perfectly. Same with rolls or muffins, perfect every time. I’ve only had it for a short time but so far it’s worth the price. You can go cheaper but you wpalways get what you paid for. Cheo toaster burn and eject bread, this one is the real deal. I hope it lasts for years to come.

Reviewer: RNR
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Great Toaster
Review: I was disappointed in a cheap toaster that I had purchased so, based on a favorable consumer review, took a chance on this one. Out-of-the box it is a very sturdy product typical of Breville. About double the weight of the flimsy product it was replacing – which was a good thing as it tends to stay where you put it on the counter. After finding the correct setting on the slider bar (about 2.5 for me), I was rewarded with perfectly browned toast. The motorized lowering and raising of the toast as well as the decrementing LED progress lights was very cool. I liked the “lift & look” feature which raises the toast up for about 2-3 seconds so you can get a glimpse at toasting progress before lowering again to complete the process. Doing this seemed to increase the browning of the toast from where it would have been had I just left it alone. No experience yet with the bagel and frozen settings. All-in-all despite the higher price this has been a very satisfying and fun purchase. Can’t say that often about a toaster.

Reviewer: trbizwiz
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: what a cool, effective toaster
Review: Does anyone need a high tech toaster? Probably not, but it’s pretty cool. First it perfectly matches my beloved Breville coffee maker. This is somewhat important, as they sit next to each other in the butlers pantry. Next the design is very attractive, and has a very durable “lifetime” aesthetic.The functions on this fancy toaster are easily accessible, and intuitive. I love the smart timer, and I love the take a peak feature. I really love the soft down and soft up, and I love the job completed chime notification. None of these thins are necessary. You can make toast with a $20 toaster from the dollar store. But if you want something nicer, this is it. The features are nice, and useful. Not just first week useful, and never use them again, but they are actually useful.I bought a like new warehouse deal. It came in brand new condition, and I could not be more pleased. I am sure i could have waited for a Black Friday deal, which is my MO for these sort of frivolous purchases, but our old $50 toaster decided to stop toasting on one side of the bread, and so I opted for the warehouse savings, to offset my frivolity. No regrets! Well, maybe I should’a bought the 4 toaster!?!?!

Reviewer: Fabes
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This is our second one. The first one lasted over 5 years of constant use. We love the look and quality of our first one so bought it again. The first one was still toasting perfectly but would sometimes jam when popping up the finished toast. Please keep making quality items Breville. 😎

Reviewer: Lyle Johnson
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Fits great on my counter. Toasts much faster than my old one. Even toasting. Love the check feature. All controls on the front. Well worth the money.

Reviewer: Rhonda
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Space age toaster, love it. It is smart, has options for bagel, a bit more, toasting from frozen and a lift and see option. It is a teally great toaster.

Reviewer: AJSher
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Have used the toaster for several weeks now, and it is just about the most perfect appliance ever made. Perfect balance of form and function, all combined into one truly impressive example of post-modern design whose sole purpose is to evenly brown two slices of bread.We had no idea that the new toaster would become a centre-piece for conversation, as the entire family gathered around it, watching the LED lights slowly count down… Who knew how addictive it would be to obsessively hit the ‘Press and Look’ button, then sit back and watch the bread silently rise and then slowly descend, all without turning off the heater elements…Perhaps when the damn pandemic eases and we all go back to living our normal lives, the current fixation on the toaster well dissipate. But until then, thank goodness for the Breville, given there isn’t much new on Amazon Prime Video this month.(All kidding aside, this is one expensive appliance, but it is also beautifully designed and toasts bread better than any other appliance I’ve ever owned, and I eat a lot of toast. If you have the money, and appreciate both design and engineering expertise, this is the one to get.)

Reviewer: Chantelle
Rating: 1.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: This toaster works about 1 in 10 times I try to toast. It won’t pull the bread down. Sometimes it won’t stop toasting. Sometimes when you hit the side of it it will bring bread down. Sometimes unplugging it works. I’ve used it about 20 times. I’ve never spent so much money on such a terrible product. I’d give it zero stats if I could.