Panasonic NN-DF386BBPQ 3-in-1 Combination Microwave Oven, 1000 W, 23 Litre, Black

It's slightly larger than my previous, basic, microwave but the simple lines mean it fits in to the kitchen neatly and it's really wary to keep clean and dust free. Having no turntable is fantastic. So much easier to use and even easier for cleaning. No turntable to constantly come off runners either. The fold down door is really practical and I love that there is an immediate, safe surface to put hot things down on to if needed when lifting out of the oven. Microwave at 1000 watt is powerful but I haven't had any issues with over heating things so far. I haven't used the grill or grill oven combination so far but the oven is excellent. Added bonus for me that I hadn't thought about is that the oven is always on timer so no more food burnt because of me forgetting about it! It heats up quickly and so much more economical than my previous full size gas oven. The oven tray is solid and fits very well, and grill frame also feels robust and should last well. Controls are very easy to use though confess to not having trued most of the fancy settings. The oven is virtually silent in use unlike my previous gas oven that always had a fan running. With this the fan only comes on when cooking time ends and doesn't keep run for an age. Just til you take the food out. I followed suggestion a friend recently gave me and replaced my gas cooker with this oven microwave grill combo plus a separate, small induction hob. It is so much neater than a cooker would have been, the arrangement is great and I can lay things out to suit me. It's so much more economical to run. Not only that but even with the price of this microwave oven it was way cheaper than very basic cookers. I am really enjoying cooking with this and feel much less guilty about wasting energy. Very happy customer.

Likes...... Quiet in operation on any of the functions. No turntable Drop down door. Defrost function excellent . Microwave fast and even , I mainly use for heating up food Grill is not as powerful as a traditional grill, so takes a little longer. Oven cooking not fully used this as yet, but definitely needs the preheat as recommended in the instructions otherwise takes longer to cook the food. Easy to clean. Instruction manual very informative Settings easy to follow Best microwave I have ever purchased. Dislikes . ... So far none

It sounded a perfect combination oven/microwave/grill, with a flat base plate. But it doesn't hold its oven top temperature of 220 degrees, even scampi takes twice as long to crisp up. The interior light is very weak, the door has a very dark pattern and the shelf has a deep edge so that has to be pulled out to look at the contents - which cools the oven temp even further. Same applies when grilling. Milk doesn't just boil over in the microwave (I have a large pyrex plate on the base anyway) but sometimes it explodes and coats the exposed elements in the roof, which are dire to try to clean. The controls are intuitive to use, although it's easy to select microwave when you meant grill... Very disappointing.

Very happy in general, easy cleaning due to the flat surface and no turntable. It’s very versatile with the different functions. My only complaint and something that would have earned it 5 stars is the lack of backlighting of the controls. It is very difficult to operate even in daylight. Because I do use it for multiple functions it isn’t easy to remember where every button for every function is. If it had even had light coloured font on the buttons it would help but dark lettering on a dark coloured oven just doesn’t work for me.

£180 at time of review UPDATE in Oct 2024 I've had this 3 years now, and it still looks as good as new! It has worked flawlessly for me and anyone that's ever seen it in use is always amazed at how large it is inside. I've still only ever used the microwave functions, and only ever had one mishap, over filled a jug when making custard and it went everywhere! but the flat bottom design of this made it super easy to clean, although getting into the top area proved a little more tricky, but when it had all cooled down a damp cloth and persistence remedied that. So I can only give this a full 5 stars and will certainly have no doubts purchasing a Panasonic Microwave in future should I ever need too, although I get the impression this will last a good few more years yet... lets hope so! ORIGINAL REVIEW Oct 2021 I've not actually owned a microwave before, so nothing to compare this too, plus I didn't expect to use it very often... yet I now use it everyday! I've mainly only used it for reheating food, defrosting and making porridge in the mornings, so not used any of the other features yet, but from what I can garner it seems to be quite a capable device. I've not had any food related mishaps or explosions yet, but it looks like it's easy to clean due to the flat bottom design, not to mention that it's quite cavernous, it's like having a Tardis sitting in the corner of the kitchen. talking of cleaning, it's worth noting that it generally needs a wipe down inside after use as it gathers a lot of condensation inside (but maybe that's a usual thing with microwaves, I don't know) although that stops your kitchen steaming up I guess. Writing this has made me peckish, maybe now is a good time to try that jacket potato recipe. hope my review was useful