I bought the primate a few months ago after watching this video. I've used it for breakfast/lunch/dinner. I think its an incredible value for the griddle alone and havent even tried the grill configuration (but i have 0 dout the gas grill portion will have any unwanted surprises).
I've had my Primate more than a year now and I love it. I use the griddle 95% of the time, but it works great in either configuration. The build quality is far superior to the units you get at the big box stores. Plus it has more BTUs than those models as well. For the price, if you were building an outdoor kitchen and wanted both a grill and a griddle, you could get 2 Primates and always have plenty of cook space in either set up.
Hi just curious if you’ve had any issues with flare-ups in grill mode? Just read another comment complaining about that. Also, has the low lid height been an issue at all? For example you can’t put a large brisket on this thing because the lid is so low? Thanks.
@@bravo1224 I haven't had any issues with flare-ups, but to be fair, I rarely use it in grill mode. I mostly use the griddle. Sometimes I use it in grill mode to cook pizzas, but I have other cookers that I use for steaks and stuff. It does a fine job with steaks, chicken, burgers and the like, I just prefer cooking that kind of stuff over wood and charcoal. I've never had an issue with the hood height, but never tried cooking a brisket or anything that large. Honestly, I wouldn't consider cooking a brisket in it because it would be hard to keep the temps low enough for low and slow cooking. The high BTUs make it burn hotter than a typical box store gas grill, and the lower hood height makes for a hotter environment as well.
@ That makes sense. Most ppl seem to be using this almost exclusively for the griddle and already have another grill for grilling. I appreciate the input!
This one is on my wish list and will be my next grill once mine finally goes. Grilla products seem to be high quality for a fair price! Review more grilla!
The closet thing to a combo grill have ever had has been my weber genesis s435. I have the full griddle insert and half the time I use griddle for smash burgers and breakfast. The times I use it as a gas grill I am either making a boat load of burgers or searing steaks. I like to use the side burner for making perculator coffee, making pasta, making sauces, and deep frying. I often use the side burner while using my other grills for making sauces and sides.
I have a 2008 Weber Genesis S-670 (the beast). I recently bought their replacement cast iron griddle plate that can replace one of the large stainless grates in the 670. I also had a Blackstone which I bough some years back. Now that it's just the 2 of us, I leave the griddle in one section of the Weber full time and have plenty of space to either grill or griddle for 2 (and still have the rotisserie burner option as well). There are options out there, even 3rd party aftermarket heavy duty drop in griddles. So it should be possible to find something that works for pretty much everyone.
I preordered the primate and have been using it regularly since I picked it up in Holland. Best gas grill I've ever owned and I use it year round here in Michigan, The double wall construction is a game changer, especially in winter. I was confident in Grilla construction since I already owned the Silverback smoker and they both have stood up to a lot of use and still perform like new.
After watching your reviews of griddles and grills I purchased the Primate because of it's versatility. I also purchased the 2/3 griddle to use as a combo which I find to be my favorite way to use it as I generally just cook for the wife and I. Bought it 2 months ago and very happy with my purchase.
Hi just curious if you’ve had any issues with flare-ups in grill mode? Just read another comment complaining about that. Also, has the low lid height been an issue at all? For example you can’t put a large brisket on this thing because the lid is so low? Thanks.
@@bravo1224 I mostly use the griddle function although I have done Ribeye's on the grill part. I have a smoker if I was gonna do a brisket and wouldn't do it on the grill.
Love the channel! I recently purchase the Grilla grill kitchen combo with primate. Glad to see it’s held up well in rain. Has it continued to do well in your weather conditions? I am debating if I should get a custom cover. Thank you!
I've never had a grill sold as a combo grill, but I have a Weber Genesis with the full size griddle, so similar in concept to the Grilla. I love it. Wanting the same kind of thing in my outdoor kitchen we're building, and not wanting to pay the $$$$$ for a built in Weber Summit. Looking hard at this thing.
I had the same dilemma - I ended up buying a Monument 4 burner (all stainless steel) and then got an insert from Outfitters Edge that fit perfectly inside.
How is the grease management with the griddle? Does the drain hole in the griddle match up with a drain bucket on the Monument? Have you had any flare-ups from using it as a griddle and grill?
Being very new to griddles. And having inherited a great BBQgrill from my sister. I’m trying to work a way to use it as a grill and griddle. And think I found it. I originally found two lodge cast iron griddles that covered a large portion of the grill. And it worked well. But then later I found a camp chef griddle that covered over 97% of the grill. And bam, I’m in both houses. Full grill, half grill/griddle and full griddle. And brother I’m loving it. I have never liked gas grills. And I’ll probably never use the gas grill side of this set up. But I’ll use the crap out of the griddle set up. And having the option for a gas grill if I ever wanted to use it. Just puts the icing on the cake. Should the time come that this beloved set up dies. I know where I’ll go next. But for now. I have I think, every option covered.
Glad to find your video on the primate. Not very many videos out there that arent from the company or are just showing the griddle side of the primate instead of the grill. I have a weber kettle grill and a grilla grill chimp. Was thinking of getting a blackstone 36" pro series but i like having the option of having a gas grill when i want. Leaning more towards the primate now. Thanks!!
Thanks for watching! I really like the versatility of the Primate, and the gas grill sears so hard that I burned my steak sear by underestimating it. That's what I like in a gas grill. When a sear can get too seared, I know I've found a good one.
@@TheBarbecueLab Do you think the 2/3 griddle is worth it? I keep thinking that with just fixing meals for 2 people, most of the time and some of those meals could be cooked on the grates and the rest on the 2/3 griddle would be ideal for my wife and I.
That's my preferred setup when I'm not cooking for guests@@brianh395 - It just gives us so many options on how to cook things for the family on weeknights without having to fiddle with changing things over.
Something I've noticed is, how the gap between the front edge of the griddle and the edge that the griddle sits on towards the temp knobs get so freaking hot. I cook on low must of the time but after awhile the heat coming up there can burn you. Do you have any suggestions on taming the heat in that spot?
Don’t the new Weber genesis grills have the same feature? Just pop the grates out and throw in the griddle. Maybe not quite as large of a cooking area tho?
This looks pretty awesome. Only two improvements I’d like for my personal preference: higher lid & rotisserie option (I don’t need a rotisserie burner, but that would be nice), and a 1/3 griddle option. Grilled steaks, and fried eggs on the griddle is a great meal but ⅔ griddle takes up too much space (I think)
Defo look aswell as it sound but 1 thing I would like to see is the option to use it as half grill & half griddle aswell as full grill or griddle depending on what iam cooking. So a everything in one box kinda thing
Looks like the primate is sold out. I want to get it for an outdoor kitchen build. I really like it but I may have to go a different direction. Any other suggestions
Quick question.....the burners....are they removable? They looked like they are "staked" in a Grilla video. I'm concerned about getting replacement burners down the road .... Do they appear to be something "standard" that we may could find online? I contacted Grilla about parts before ordering, and was told "they keep a few spare things laying around". That doesn't give me confidence in the company.
How do you drain the bacon grease off the griddle when you’re cooking baking on it where does it go? Is there a hole? I didn’t quite catch it and is there a basin for it to go into when you’re using the grill?
There’s a small oblong hole on the front left of the griddle surface, and a drip tray that sits under the left side shelf. I’m surprised I didn’t show that in the video, but I must have left it on the cutting room floor during the edit.
I looked at this in detail and even downloaded the manual... On the web page it is described MANY times as a Combo Gas Grill AND Griddle... BUT, when you look in detail at the Installation section, it states "do not install the Flame Tamers with the griddle configuration". I even called them about this and the Rep. stated this is the case, so it's really not and AND, it an OR. She stated the new 2/3 griddle to leave 1/3 as a grill. I don't really want to go that way. But in your video I see that the Flame Tamers are installed and you are removing the grill grates and dropping in the griddle. ANY ISSUES with the functionality of the Griddle with the Flame Tamers in place ? I would really like to have this unit, it looks great and this is the functionality I want.
I really wish they had an option to get a stainless steel cooking surface to match all of the other stainless steel. I have to avoid carbon steel and cast iron.
I do love a stainless steel cooking surface, but I've only seen those in the higher end outdoor kitchen units like Le Griddle and those of that caliber with the price to match.
I have had a Blackstone the larger 4 burner one for almost 4yrs now. I loved it at first, but the maintainence just became a pain. then I saw that some of these flat tops were coming out with a ceramic type non stick thing that really seemed cool. But did not want to re-invest. Now after a few years, I have heard a fair number of horror stories of those ceramic type models. So Having the Blackstone is a good thing at the end of the day, but I hardly ever use it. I focus on my old school Webber 22" charcoal kettle.
I’m interested to see a few of the new surfaces that come out this year in griddles, but haven’t gotten hands on with them to date. I do love my 22” Weber though. It’s a family weeknight favorite around here!
I’m going to assume that you mean the Flatrock, right? On the griddle side of things, the Flatrock is deeper and can hold more compared to the Primate which loses a few inches on the griddle side of things since it’s a griddle insert. In the plus side, the burners on the Grilla are incredibly powerful, and since it doubles as a gas grill, there’s no comparison in terms of it doing two functions in one body instead of just the griddle. For me, it just depends on whether you want the gas grill and the griddle or just the griddle.
It has nice drainage in the front left corner that goes into a grease pan that is located under the shelf with easy access and keeps out the rain. Oh...and see answer above by TheBarbequeLab
I’ve never had a combo, probably never will, of this sort anyway. Sometimes, we’re entertaining 25+ people at a time, and I can have both my 36” Blackstone, and my Napoleon going at the same time, to produce a full meal. If it was always just the two of us, it would be great. But that isn’t us.
That's always been a concern of mine. I never wanted to have a grill that was too small to entertain, so I ended up with multiple grills in the end. Now we've outgrown our largest offset smoker, so it's time for an upgrade to do bigger fundraisers and non-profit cooks for the causes I care about. It's what appears to be a never-ending struggle.
I can understand your concern, I fight that myself. I have a full outdoor kitchen with my primary smoker being a Memphis Elite Pellet smoker. I have side burners, power burners and even a sear burner. But I must say having a griddle and gas grill combo will give me the flexibility I need to up my game...even for big cookouts I can share the wealth amongst the different cookers.
It's garbage. A few major design flaws, had several times light wind sparks serious flame up while the lid is closed, it's melted my knobs twice. But a tick more wind, and the flame blows out with the lid closed which is dangerous. Never had these issues with my old gas grill.
I'd be interested to hear David's response to this... If I recall correctly, he's been using it in a windy area for a ~year and this issue has never come up. Maybe there is something wrong with yours? Anyone else with this issue?
Haven’t ran mine in any wind, but the flare ups are terrible. The “flare guards” don’t seem to do $h!t. For the price I’m disappointed, but because of the price I feel forced to keep it and find a fix (which will cost me more money).
Glad you are finally finding out how good Grilla products are.
Truth!
I bought the primate a few months ago after watching this video. I've used it for breakfast/lunch/dinner. I think its an incredible value for the griddle alone and havent even tried the grill configuration (but i have 0 dout the gas grill portion will have any unwanted surprises).
I've had my Primate more than a year now and I love it. I use the griddle 95% of the time, but it works great in either configuration. The build quality is far superior to the units you get at the big box stores. Plus it has more BTUs than those models as well. For the price, if you were building an outdoor kitchen and wanted both a grill and a griddle, you could get 2 Primates and always have plenty of cook space in either set up.
That's a great point Cliff.
Hi just curious if you’ve had any issues with flare-ups in grill mode? Just read another comment complaining about that. Also, has the low lid height been an issue at all? For example you can’t put a large brisket on this thing because the lid is so low? Thanks.
@@bravo1224 I haven't had any issues with flare-ups, but to be fair, I rarely use it in grill mode. I mostly use the griddle. Sometimes I use it in grill mode to cook pizzas, but I have other cookers that I use for steaks and stuff. It does a fine job with steaks, chicken, burgers and the like, I just prefer cooking that kind of stuff over wood and charcoal. I've never had an issue with the hood height, but never tried cooking a brisket or anything that large. Honestly, I wouldn't consider cooking a brisket in it because it would be hard to keep the temps low enough for low and slow cooking. The high BTUs make it burn hotter than a typical box store gas grill, and the lower hood height makes for a hotter environment as well.
@ That makes sense. Most ppl seem to be using this almost exclusively for the griddle and already have another grill for grilling. I appreciate the input!
This one is on my wish list and will be my next grill once mine finally goes. Grilla products seem to be high quality for a fair price! Review more grilla!
Great stuff my friend!! The Primate seems like a workhorse!
You're the man R.J. - Thanks for dropping a comment
The closet thing to a combo grill have ever had has been my weber genesis s435. I have the full griddle insert and half the time I use griddle for smash burgers and breakfast. The times I use it as a gas grill I am either making a boat load of burgers or searing steaks. I like to use the side burner for making perculator coffee, making pasta, making sauces, and deep frying. I often use the side burner while using my other grills for making sauces and sides.
Good to hear you've found a solution that works as an all in one for you. Congrats!
I have a 2008 Weber Genesis S-670 (the beast). I recently bought their replacement cast iron griddle plate that can replace one of the large stainless grates in the 670. I also had a Blackstone which I bough some years back. Now that it's just the 2 of us, I leave the griddle in one section of the Weber full time and have plenty of space to either grill or griddle for 2 (and still have the rotisserie burner option as well). There are options out there, even 3rd party aftermarket heavy duty drop in griddles. So it should be possible to find something that works for pretty much everyone.
This will be the next grill I get I have the Grilla grill silverback and the kamado grill so can’t wait to get this one
That’s almost a complete set! We really like the Primate.
I preordered the primate and have been using it regularly since I picked it up in Holland. Best gas grill I've ever owned and I use it year round here in Michigan, The double wall construction is a game changer, especially in winter. I was confident in Grilla construction since I already owned the Silverback smoker and they both have stood up to a lot of use and still perform like new.
Your review was very helpful. I got mine today. I'll be using it over the weekend and report back. Thanks!
I hope you love it! Have fun!
Report?
And?
After watching your reviews of griddles and grills I purchased the Primate because of it's versatility. I also purchased the 2/3 griddle to use as a combo which I find to be my favorite way to use it as I generally just cook for the wife and I. Bought it 2 months ago and very happy with my purchase.
Hi just curious if you’ve had any issues with flare-ups in grill mode? Just read another comment complaining about that. Also, has the low lid height been an issue at all? For example you can’t put a large brisket on this thing because the lid is so low? Thanks.
@@bravo1224 I mostly use the griddle function although I have done Ribeye's on the grill part. I have a smoker if I was gonna do a brisket and wouldn't do it on the grill.
@ Ah got it, you already have a separate smoker, nice. Thanks.
Love the channel! I recently purchase the Grilla grill kitchen combo with primate. Glad to see it’s held up well in rain. Has it continued to do well in your weather conditions? I am debating if I should get a custom cover.
Thank you!
I've never had a grill sold as a combo grill, but I have a Weber Genesis with the full size griddle, so similar in concept to the Grilla. I love it. Wanting the same kind of thing in my outdoor kitchen we're building, and not wanting to pay the $$$$$ for a built in Weber Summit. Looking hard at this thing.
I had the same dilemma - I ended up buying a Monument 4 burner (all stainless steel) and then got an insert from Outfitters Edge that fit perfectly inside.
I haven't worked with a Monument yet, but drop a comment and let us know how you like it once you've had a chance to work with it.
How is the grease management with the griddle? Does the drain hole in the griddle match up with a drain bucket on the Monument? Have you had any flare-ups from using it as a griddle and grill?
@ - no grease drain, I just scoop it up after the cook and it cool down.
Being very new to griddles. And having inherited a great BBQgrill from my sister. I’m trying to work a way to use it as a grill and griddle. And think I found it.
I originally found two lodge cast iron griddles that covered a large portion of the grill. And it worked well. But then later I found a camp chef griddle that covered over 97% of the grill. And bam, I’m in both houses.
Full grill, half grill/griddle and full griddle.
And brother I’m loving it. I have never liked gas grills. And I’ll probably never use the gas grill side of this set up. But I’ll use the crap out of the griddle set up. And having the option for a gas grill if I ever wanted to use it. Just puts the icing on the cake.
Should the time come that this beloved set up dies. I know where I’ll go next. But for now. I have I think, every option covered.
This is great info. Never knew about these brands.
Glad to find your video on the primate. Not very many videos out there that arent from the company or are just showing the griddle side of the primate instead of the grill. I have a weber kettle grill and a grilla grill chimp. Was thinking of getting a blackstone 36" pro series but i like having the option of having a gas grill when i want. Leaning more towards the primate now. Thanks!!
Thanks for watching! I really like the versatility of the Primate, and the gas grill sears so hard that I burned my steak sear by underestimating it. That's what I like in a gas grill. When a sear can get too seared, I know I've found a good one.
@@TheBarbecueLab Do you think the 2/3 griddle is worth it? I keep thinking that with just fixing meals for 2 people, most of the time and some of those meals could be cooked on the grates and the rest on the 2/3 griddle would be ideal for my wife and I.
That's my preferred setup when I'm not cooking for guests@@brianh395 - It just gives us so many options on how to cook things for the family on weeknights without having to fiddle with changing things over.
Something I've noticed is, how the gap between the front edge of the griddle and the edge that the griddle sits on towards the temp knobs get so freaking hot. I cook on low must of the time but after awhile the heat coming up there can burn you. Do you have any suggestions on taming the heat in that spot?
In just ordered my Primate, cant wait to get it and use it.
Don’t the new Weber genesis grills have the same feature? Just pop the grates out and throw in the griddle. Maybe not quite as large of a cooking area tho?
It's how they come down under normally. Half griddle, half grill. Perfect combo to cook everything you want.
How does this compare to the weber genesis with full griddle insert?
what's the inside clearance? I have a SS basket I often cook veggies in.
This looks pretty awesome. Only two improvements I’d like for my personal preference: higher lid & rotisserie option (I don’t need a rotisserie burner, but that would be nice), and a 1/3 griddle option. Grilled steaks, and fried eggs on the griddle is a great meal but ⅔ griddle takes up too much space (I think)
Got my primate finally. Pretty easy to assemble. Cooked some burgers and dogs. Came out great. Like it so far. Glad to catch it on sale.
How much did you pay? Do you know if they typically have sales at certain times of the year?
@@dakotastewart878 it was 899 I think. Just have to watch for sales. It took me a while. Every time they had a sale the primate would be out of stock.
Defo look aswell as it sound but 1 thing I would like to see is the option to use it as half grill & half griddle aswell as full grill or griddle depending on what iam cooking. So a everything in one box kinda thing
I like using the 2/3 griddle and 1/3 grill grate, but in order to get that functionality, it's an added accessory cost.
@@TheBarbecueLab and another thing to have to store! :)
Looks like the primate is sold out. I want to get it for an outdoor kitchen build. I really like it but I may have to go a different direction. Any other suggestions
They are back in stock now.
Great review. Tell me, have you every made a video comparing high-end BBQ grills? Blaze, Coyote, Alfresco, (my fav) FireMagic??
I haven't done a high end gas grill review yet, but may in the future.
Quick question.....the burners....are they removable? They looked like they are "staked" in a Grilla video.
I'm concerned about getting replacement burners down the road .... Do they appear to be something "standard" that we may could find online? I contacted Grilla about parts before ordering, and was told "they keep a few spare things laying around". That doesn't give me confidence in the company.
How do you drain the bacon grease off the griddle when you’re cooking baking on it where does it go? Is there a hole? I didn’t quite catch it and is there a basin for it to go into when you’re using the grill?
There’s a small oblong hole on the front left of the griddle surface, and a drip tray that sits under the left side shelf. I’m surprised I didn’t show that in the video, but I must have left it on the cutting room floor during the edit.
@@TheBarbecueLab ok
I looked at this in detail and even downloaded the manual... On the web page it is described MANY times as a Combo Gas Grill AND Griddle... BUT, when you look in detail at the Installation section, it states "do not install the Flame Tamers with the griddle configuration". I even called them about this and the Rep. stated this is the case, so it's really not and AND, it an OR. She stated the new 2/3 griddle to leave 1/3 as a grill. I don't really want to go that way.
But in your video I see that the Flame Tamers are installed and you are removing the grill grates and dropping in the griddle.
ANY ISSUES with the functionality of the Griddle with the Flame Tamers in place ?
I would really like to have this unit, it looks great and this is the functionality I want.
You simply just lift the flame tamers off when you want to use the griddle.
I really wish they had an option to get a stainless steel cooking surface to match all of the other stainless steel. I have to avoid carbon steel and cast iron.
I do love a stainless steel cooking surface, but I've only seen those in the higher end outdoor kitchen units like Le Griddle and those of that caliber with the price to match.
I have had a Blackstone the larger 4 burner one for almost 4yrs now. I loved it at first, but the maintainence just became a pain. then I saw that some of these flat tops were coming out with a ceramic type non stick thing that really seemed cool. But did not want to re-invest. Now after a few years, I have heard a fair number of horror stories of those ceramic type models. So Having the Blackstone is a good thing at the end of the day, but I hardly ever use it. I focus on my old school Webber 22" charcoal kettle.
I’m interested to see a few of the new surfaces that come out this year in griddles, but haven’t gotten hands on with them to date. I do love my 22” Weber though. It’s a family weeknight favorite around here!
The griddle itself is made out of good ole cold rolled steel correct? I'd prefer to not have any type of coating whatsoever. Thanks!
There’s no coating that I’m aware of on this griddle, so you’re good to go!
How is it compared to Traeger ?
I’m going to assume that you mean the Flatrock, right? On the griddle side of things, the Flatrock is deeper and can hold more compared to the Primate which loses a few inches on the griddle side of things since it’s a griddle insert. In the plus side, the burners on the Grilla are incredibly powerful, and since it doubles as a gas grill, there’s no comparison in terms of it doing two functions in one body instead of just the griddle. For me, it just depends on whether you want the gas grill and the griddle or just the griddle.
This grill is out of stock. Customer support said it would be back in stock at the end of June.
Well it’s July 3rd and still out of stock..
I'm going through the same thing, trying to get mine on order...
@@johnhawkins3263 they got them back in stock now!!!! I got my combo earlier…
Can the griddle fit underneath?
He literally said it can't
nope, but storing it inside the grill is the perfect solution... except for while you're grilling.
I just ordered one
@@rickdavid1795 I hope you love it!
No discussion regarding the griddles waste water, oil or food. How does it drain and where does it go?
It has nice drainage in the front left corner that goes into a grease pan that is located under the shelf with easy access and keeps out the rain. Oh...and see answer above by TheBarbequeLab
I’ve never had a combo, probably never will, of this sort anyway. Sometimes, we’re entertaining 25+ people at a time, and I can have both my 36” Blackstone, and my Napoleon going at the same time, to produce a full meal. If it was always just the two of us, it would be great. But that isn’t us.
That's always been a concern of mine. I never wanted to have a grill that was too small to entertain, so I ended up with multiple grills in the end. Now we've outgrown our largest offset smoker, so it's time for an upgrade to do bigger fundraisers and non-profit cooks for the causes I care about. It's what appears to be a never-ending struggle.
I can understand your concern, I fight that myself. I have a full outdoor kitchen with my primary smoker being a Memphis Elite Pellet smoker. I have side burners, power burners and even a sear burner. But I must say having a griddle and gas grill combo will give me the flexibility I need to up my game...even for big cookouts I can share the wealth amongst the different cookers.
They currently have 20% off. I got mine a month ago when there was 25% off.
Hi Mr Gafford 👋
Hi!
Never understood why gas outside
Wood or coal is only way
Certainly looks like a workhorse. I'm one of the odd ducks that just doesn't care for the 10% stainless steel look.
It's been a workhorse for us.
What about comparison to Camp Chefs versatility?
It's garbage. A few major design flaws, had several times light wind sparks serious flame up while the lid is closed, it's melted my knobs twice. But a tick more wind, and the flame blows out with the lid closed which is dangerous. Never had these issues with my old gas grill.
I'd be interested to hear David's response to this... If I recall correctly, he's been using it in a windy area for a ~year and this issue has never come up. Maybe there is something wrong with yours? Anyone else with this issue?
I call bs.
Haven’t ran mine in any wind, but the flare ups are terrible. The “flare guards” don’t seem to do $h!t. For the price I’m disappointed, but because of the price I feel forced to keep it and find a fix (which will cost me more money).
1099?! Jeez, hopefully someone from Grilla will post a 50% off coupon code or something...
I think that is pretty bargain priced for what you get
havent looked at prices for outdoor cooking equipment recently have you?
The Primate looks like quite the bargain really.
Took way too long to get to the point so didnt stay