Grilla Grills Review - Must Read This Before Buying

There's a particular type of grill buyer Grilla is built for. Not the person who wants the biggest touchscreen or the most app features, but the one who wants a lid heavy enough to thunk when it closes, temperatures that hold steady through a twelve hour brisket, and a grill still standing in five years.

Grilla makes pellet smokers, kamado grills and a gas-griddle combo, all sold direct rather than through big box retail. That direct model is part of why the pricing undercuts the better-known names, and part of why you're relying on reviews rather than seeing one in a store.

Here's what the grills actually do, based on hands-on testing and long-term owner reports.

Grilla Grills Pros and Cons

Pros:

1. Genuinely heavy build, noticeably sturdier than similarly priced Traeger or Pit Boss models
2. Alpha Connect controller offers both precision temperature and higher-smoke modes
3. Stainless internals including burn pot, drip pan, heat diffusers and quarter-inch cooking grates
4. Double wall thermal jacket helps hold temperature in cold or wind
5. Free shipping on the Grilla and Silverbac anywhere in the continental US

Cons:

1. Like most pellet grills, searing needs accessories such as GrillGrates
2. Ships freight on a pallet at around 200 pounds, so plan delivery day
3. Sold direct only, no chance to see one in person first
4. Phone lines have gone down previously, with the company redirecting to email

The Silverbac Is the Core Product

The Silverbac is the model most people arrive looking for, and the 2.0 version's headline change is the Alpha Connect controller.

It runs two meaningfully different modes. P mode holds tight, steady temperatures, which is what you want for an overnight pork butt or brisket where consistency matters more than anything. Pro mode deliberately introduces more temperature swing, which drives more smoke onto the meat. That's the setting for when flavour beats a flat temperature line.

WiFi connects it to the Grilla app so you can monitor from indoors. In testing, pitmasters ran chuck roasts at 250°F on Pro mode for six hours before wrapping and taking them to 206°F for pulled beef, and the controller held throughout.

Both the Grilla and Silverbac share the same software and controls, a 20 pound pellet hopper, an EZ Pellet Dump, stainless internals and the double wall thermal jacket. The difference between them is design rather than capability.

Build Quality Is the Selling Point

The word that comes up most in hands-on reviews is solid. Reviewers consistently note the Silverbac weighs noticeably more than lookalike grills at the same price, and that extra steel isn't cosmetic. Heavier construction holds heat better, which means steadier temperatures and less fuel burned fighting cold weather.

One long-term owner who has run a Silverbac for close to five years still rates it as unmatched among no-frills pellet grills once you weigh price, features and warranty together.

The practical warning that comes with that build quality is delivery. This ships freight on a pallet at roughly 200 pounds. Have a dolly and a second person ready.

Where Pellet Grills Fall Short

Worth being direct here because it applies to the whole category rather than Grilla specifically.

Pellet grills struggle with high-heat searing. Without a dedicated sear box, you're not getting steakhouse crust straight out of the box. Adding a sear box on brands that offer one costs $500 to $600 extra. The common owner fix on a Silverbac is a set of GrillGrates for around $90 to $100, which pushes surface temperatures up substantially and closes most of the gap cheaply.

Smoke flavour is the other honest caveat. Pellet grills produce milder smoke than charcoal or a stick burner. That's physics, not a defect, and it's true of Traeger and Z Grills equally. Running Pro mode and using a strong pellet brand makes a noticeable difference if you want more.

The Rest of the Range

The Chimp is the portable model for tailgating and small spaces. The Kong is a kamado rather than a pellet grill, for anyone who wants ceramic-style cooking. The Mammoth sits at the large end of the pellet range.

The Primate is the interesting one, a four-burner gas grill running over 60,000 BTU that converts fully into a griddle. Rather than splitting the surface half and half like most combos, you pull out three stainless grates and drop in a full-size griddle top, giving you roughly 663 square inches of grate space or nearly 490 square inches of flat iron. It also converts to natural gas with a separate kit, which is rare in the combo category.

Shipping and Return Policy

Grilla estimates 7 to 10 business days from order to delivery, with 3 to 5 business days typically needed to fulfil the order before it ships.

The Grilla and Silverbac both ship free anywhere in the continental US, and free shipping applies on orders over $79 for parts and accessories, also contiguous US only.

For service issues or replacement parts, the company asks you to pull the part identification number from the Parts Diagram page of your manual along with your model and serial number before contacting them. Error codes are built into the controller, and Grilla publishes a video walkthrough covering FHi, ERH, ERL and C5 codes with guidance from their sales and engineering manager.

Return specifics and warranty terms vary by product, so check the Shipping and Returns page on grillagrills.com before purchase, especially given these are freight-shipped items where return logistics are more involved than a parcel.

Contact Details

1. Phone: 616-392-7410
2. Email: grillmaster@grillagrills.com
3. General Support Email: support@grillagrills.com
4. Hours: 7am to 5pm EST, Monday to Friday
5. Canada: BBQVille Canada partner store, info@bbqvillecanada.ca
6. Note: Phone lines have gone down previously, email is the reliable fallback

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Grilla Silverbac worth it?

For low and slow smoking, most owners and reviewers say yes. The build quality, temperature stability and warranty make it strong value under $1,000, though budget for GrillGrates if searing matters to you.

Does the Grilla Silverbac produce enough smoke?

On Pro mode with a quality pellet brand, yes. Pellet grills in general run milder on smoke than charcoal or offset smokers, so expectations should be set accordingly.

What's the difference between the Grilla and the Silverbac?

They share the same controls, software, 20 pound hopper, stainless internals and thermal jacket. The differences are in design rather than performance.

Can you sear on a Grilla pellet grill?

Not well without accessories. Most owners add GrillGrates for around $90 to $100, which raises surface temperatures significantly and solves the problem cheaply.

How heavy is the Silverbac?

Around 200 pounds, shipped freight on a pallet. Arrange a dolly and a helper for delivery day.

Final Verdict

Grilla isn't trying to out-feature anyone. It's trying to build a heavier, steadier grill than the lookalikes it gets shopped against, and by most hands-on accounts it succeeds. The Alpha Connect controller is a genuine improvement, the stainless internals and thermal jacket are a step above the price class, and the fundamentals of long, slow cooking are handled reliably.

The searing limitation is real but cheaply solved, and the smoke question applies to every pellet grill rather than this one specifically.

If you mainly smoke rather than sear, want something built to survive years of weather, and don't need to see it in a shop first, the Silverbac deserves a place on your shortlist. Just clear an afternoon and find a second pair of hands for delivery day.