It doesn’t look like a backyard grill. Heck, it doesn’t even look like it belongs in any home. In fact, the Vilicci Virtuoso looks like it belongs in some kind of laboratory, where it will be used to experiment on aliens who have, somehow, unwittingly crashed their UFOs on Earth, leading to their untimely demise. We mean… look at the darn thing.
Despite its intimidating looks, this is, in fact, a grill. Not just any grill, by the way, but the flagship model in luxury brand Vilicci’s premium lineup, bringing discerning home cooks a grilling option that can make for a backyard centerpiece like no other.
The Vilicci Virtuoso has a round top and a large round hole in the center, with a body reminiscent of a martini glass, albeit with six sides, that’s supported by three legs at the bass, which, let’s be honest, isn’t the standard aesthetic you expect when you’re thinking about a grill. Function seems straightforward enough: you put the fuel inside the hexagonal body, light it up, and barbecue your food through the center hole. The covered section of the top area is meant to serve as a griddle, of course, apart from being a very hot surface that’s someone’s probably going to unwittingly burn themselves on at some point during a party.
Instead of having grates to go on top of the hole, it comes with an integrated rotisserie system that gives you six skewers positioned right above the opening allowing you to cook your meats by simply hooking them onto the sharp sticks. A built-in wheel allows you to turn the skewers manually to help food cook evenly, although we would have preferred a motorized system since no one wants to spend a barbecue turning a wheel over and over. The rotisserie system is completely removable, by the way, so you can take it out if you’d rather use it for more conventional grilling.
The Vilicci Virtuoso doesn’t include any grates to go on top of the hole, although it looks like it should work with any large grates that aren’t small enough to fall right through. Plus, the skewers will probably be able to integrate into most grilling cages, not to mention there’s the large griddle area, so there’s no shortage of ways to cook your food using this thing. It comes with an integrated worktop for food prep needs (or a place to set down your beer) and an integrated section for holding your grilling utensils.
The body, by the way, has strategic vents located all around it, so air is able to flow optimally into the fuel chamber, ensuring it gets proper ventilation to maximize combustion during your grilling. And yes, it’s height adjustable by up to nine inches (just turn the wheel at the top of the legs), with the legs able to adjust individually by up to an inch for placement in uneven backyard surfaces. Construction is 98 percent stainless steel (the rest are brass), so the whole thing weighs a substantial 420 pounds. Yeah… you won’t be moving this thing around all by yourself.
The Vilicci Virtuoso is priced at €13,500.