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let’s say you are hosting a family gathering. your kitchen is a blizzard of activity from spouses, kids, relatives, and neighbors all "helping" you prepare for the big meal.
now, it's about time to eat. you have a 40-pound roast fully cooked and ready to be plated.
you must lift your roast over your conventional drop-down oven door.
a classic kitchen design with an island in the middle and a drop-down door doesn't leave much room for you, your roast, and other people. you have a better option.
if you walk into a restaurant, the appliances are more basic than what you put in your home. in a busy commercial kitchen, space is at a premium. cutting the door in half saves space. yet, there are few french door wall ovens on the market.
in this article, you will learn the benefits of french door and side swing wall ovens, their features, and the best wall oven brands to consider.
you will also see reliability based on real service data. we logged over 40,000 service calls last year and well over 100,000 over three years.
benefits of french door and side swing wall ovens
french door ovens have doors with two hinges like a french door refrigerator. there are three main benefits:
1. you save space.
commercial kitchens are like ant hives with a frenzy of activity (i used to wash dishes for a caterer and later for the pine street inn). this allows more room than one big door opening down.
kitchens with islands have the same issues. it's hard to maneuver between the island and a large oven door.
2. you don't have to lift a heavy roast over a door.
you open the oven and you’re almost standing in the oven. it is much easier handling your food, especially larger dishes.
3. it's unique.
sometimes you don't want your kitchen to be like the others. you look at mostly identical kitchens in magazines. having a french door wall oven is somewhat distinctive.
short on time? get our free wall oven buying guide
best french door and side swing wall ovens for 2022
best electric french door wall oven: café cts90fp2ns1 - $4,499
double wall oven model: café ctd90fp2ns1 - $6,498
café appliances is one of your best choices for a french door wall oven in single or double ovens.
café appliance's parent company, haier, has made smart capability a priority through their smarthq platform.
this wall oven can be operated on your phone through an app. you also can control it through compatible voice attendants such as amazon’s alexa or google voice.
wi-fi enabled appliances have become worthwhile. in 2020, ge wirelessly sent all the café users a new "turkey" mode, complete with a "gobble gobble" end of cycle signal.
you are also starting to see the merging of appliance companies and recipe apps like yummly and innit. you can scan to cook an item and have the oven set the time and temperature of the recipe while you have step-by-step instructions.
they are also testing a service where the wall oven will self-diagnose problems and send parts to be fixed automatically. smart diagnostics would save a huge amount of time and expense when it’s successful.
in terms of reliability, café appliances is above average, statistically.
the café appliances wall oven is electric with convection. broiling in any electric oven is just ok. you can't get the heat and intense flame of an infrared broiler in an electric broiler.
you also have three styles of colors (white looks good) and three handle styles as well in copper, bronze, and stainless steel.
the difference between café and ge monogram wall ovens
ge also has their professional monogram series available in a single ztsx1fpsnss or double the ztdx1fpsnss for roughly $1,200 more.
i pored through the specifications, and the only major difference is monogram has twin convection while café has single convection. single vs. double convection is debatable in a 30-inch space, but two fans should be technically better.
the styling is a bit different, and café is available in the three colors and handles styles, whereas monogram is just stainless.
best gas french door wall oven: bluestar bwo30ags - $6,195
36-inch wall oven model: bw036agsx - $7,395
if you thought having some selection of finishes was good in ge, you have 1000 color options in bluestar along with ten knob and trim packages. they will even customize your own color.
bluestar is available in electric-like ge but is also available in gas. you can buy bluestar in a 36-inch size, but not in a double oven.
you would think gas would be more of an option, but bluestar is one of the only manufacturers producing a gas wall oven. gas is great for roasting and broiling.
bluestar has an 1850-degree claim, but the btu output is 15,000 btu, about 5,000 btu less than other gas professional ranges. of course, none of those companies produce a gas wall oven, so bluestar is the best by default.
infrared is great for searing. want to caramelize the top of your crème brûlée? the infrared is direct intense heat and can sear the top of that delicious dessert.
speaking of searing, infrared is the sear element on that lynx high-end $9,000 grill. that sear element is 23,000 btu but on a much larger space. bluestar again is the only wall oven with that capability.
bluestar is a good option if you want a matching gas and electric wall oven or a unique color.
drawbacks
however, bluestar is a "boxier" wall oven and protrudes more than any other, while café appliances sits flush.
it also lacks smart capability.
only two french door models are on the recommendation list. then again, there are only three available. viking has the vsof7301ss at $7,799, but we don't sell viking appliances at yale.
best side swing oven: gaggenau bop250612 - $5,999
double wall oven model: bx480612 - $12,499
there are plenty of side swing models available. you don't save the space like a french door, but you don't have to lift the turkey over the door, either.
gaggenau is the best side swing wall oven if you truly like to cook. it has four heating elements inside the oven. you have convection behind the fan, but also top and bottom elements.
as an example, if you wanted to bake a quiche, you would use the convection and the bottom element. when the quiche is mostly cooked, you will finish it with the bottom element for the crust to be perfect.
the top and bottom elements are great for finishing modes, so you have an incredible array of cooking possibilities with 17 modes.
bang & olufson, a danish high-end electronics company, designed gaggenau to be unique. the look is distinctive from every other company.
drawbacks
gaggenau is expensive, and you also must know what you are doing. the interface is not intuitive like archrival miele.
gaggenau currently does not have smart functionality. their parent company bosch has a good smart platform for their other brands.
most affordable side swing wall ovens:
bosch benchmark hblp451ruc - $3,549
double wall oven model: bosch benchmark hblp651ruc - $5249
bosch started manufacturing side swing wall ovens before thermador. it is more of a basic convection oven. with bosch and thermador, you can incorporate steam, speed, and other matching ovens.
drawbacks
both bosch and thermador have had issues with their delivery times.
ge profile pts700rsnss - $3,198
double wall oven model: ge profile ptd700rsnss - $4499
years ago, ge changed the name of their best appliances from ge to profile. for many products, you can opt for a less expensive yet similar alternative to a monogram piece at a less high price.
drawbacks
the profile is similar to café with the same smart functionality, but without the custom colors and options just in a swing door versus a french door.
honorable mention: thermador side swing wall oven pod301lw - $5,799
double wall oven model: thermador pod302lw - $9,099
thermador, bosch, and gaggenau are all part of the same company yet made in different places. thermador has the most choices for side swing ovens.
you can buy a side swing oven in their professional series. the real difference is in the control panel aesthetics.
thermador offers some interesting features, including wi-fi. their system, homeconnect, allows you to control your oven remotely from your phone through an app. you can also use their recipes to enhance your cooking experience, like ge.
other features include a fast preheat of seven minutes and a better 4800-watt broiler. thermador also features a rotisserie for 12-pound roasts.
drawbacks
thermador has been hit hard by overwhelming demand against massive supply chain issues. while it's a great option, you may have an 8-12-month lead time.
should you buy a french door or side swing wall oven?
the design allows you to be more effective in handling food in and out of the oven. for french door wall ovens, you have more room, especially if you have an island in the middle of your kitchen. you can maneuver around two split doors better than one larger one.
there is a certain cool factor to both types as well as it is unique from a conventional oven. however, you will pay more for both types.
the best wall ovens other than gaggenau, miele, and jennair, are regular ovens only. all are more intuitive with easier controls than others on this list.
the french door is a cool concept and certainly better, but it limits your access to choices among the best cooking products.
frequently asked questions
1. are wall ovens reliable?
wall ovens are now the most complicated appliances in your kitchen and have a service rate of 8.6% within the first year.
the figures below are based on a minimum of 100 wall ovens sold and over 2000 total pieces from december 2020 to october 2021.
| service rate | |
| miele | 6.3% |
| bosch | 7.3% |
| wolf | 7.6% |
| kitchenaid | 8.1% |
| thermador | 11.2% |
| jennair | 12.8% |
| grand total | 8.6% |
many wall ovens are wi-fi enabled and have intricate circuit boards making them tougher to repair. it is crucial to find a good, local repair company before considering any wall ovens and sophisticated appliances.
many reviewers point out that a "better warranty" indicates a better product. that is extremely bad advice.
first, companies with poor reliability mask this by adding extra years to a standard warranty to bolster the product and calm your purchasing fears.
read more: most reliable wall ovens
2. what sizes are available for wall ovens?
wall ovens are available in 24, 27, 30, and 36-inch widths. 90% of new wall ovens are sold at 30 inches. french doors are only available in this size. you can buy side-swing ovens in 24-inch, 27-inch, and 30-inch widths.
read more: how to buy a wall oven
3. how much do you more do you pay for a side swing or a french door wall oven?
although side swings and french doors are better, you will pay more for them despite having the same features of a wall oven with a drop-down door.
additional resources
confused about wall ovens? get the yale wall oven's buying guide with updated features, specs, and detailed profiles of the best brands like miele, wolf, viking, bosch, thermador, and more. over 1 million people have read a yale guide.
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a note about pricing
pricing on this blog is for reference only and may include time sensitive rebates. we make every attempt to provide accurate pricing at time of publishing. please call the stores for most accurate price.