Not just a pretty face.
Pros:
Looks, performance, size
Cons:
Price
The Bottom Line:
The DeLonghi Retro is attractive, has great capacity, and excellent performance. It's expensive, and the controls take some getting used to, but if the looks matter, it's worth it.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I have owned a DeLonghi Retro toaster oven for about 2 years. It’s not perfect, but it is the best toaster oven I have ever owned.
Two years ago, we gutted our tired old kitchen. This created two needs. First, we needed to replace our old white toaster oven (which we had never really loved) with something that looked better with the new stainless appliances. Second, as we were about to be without a working kitchen for two months, we needed something that could fill in on an emergency basis. The DeLonghi fit the bill. It was good looking and large, if a bit expensive. In the grand scheme of the kitchen remodel, though, the money was a drop in the bucket.
The Retro came through with flying colors. The large capacity makes it effective both as a toaster (three sliced bagels, or four large slices of bread) and an oven (frozen entrees, muffins, and even eggs). Toast comes out even, and baking performance is good. Broiling performance is also good, and we frequently use it for small batches of burgers.
If you are used to a Black & Decker or similar toaster oven, the DeLonghi will take some familiarization. The rack has two “positions” (you flip it over) – one for toasting, the other for baking. Toasting darkness is based on time, not temperature. When toasting, you have to be sure the temperature is set to toast. All of this sounds a bit cumbersome, but in practice is trivial, and does seem to offer improved performance over other systems.
So far, the DeLonghi has been rock solid reliable. Due to the timer-centric operation, there is no toasting sensor, which is often the least reliable part of a toaster. The controls are solid, and the exterior looks nearly as good as the day we took it out of the box.
Keeping it clean has been easy as well. We keep the crumb tray covered with a piece of foil, and it opens and empties easily. The rack comes out for cleaning (allowing you to bake directly on the rack, as is often recommended for pizza). The included pan can be tough to keep clean, but we usually line it with foil as well.
If you don’t need the look of the Retro, you can buy a comparable DeLonghi toaster-oven for much less. But if it fits your décor, and you can handle the price, the Retro is an excellent choice.
