The best BBQ charcoal in the UK for 2026: six bags from £20 to £29.99

Published 23 June 2026 · Last updated 16 October 2026 · By Ben Austen · Affiliate disclosure

The best BBQ charcoal I’ve cooked on is Big K’s restaurant-grade lumpwood. It costs more than the bag I use most weeks, which is B&Q’s own restaurant-grade lumpwood, and that’s okay, but definitely not as good as Big K. Those are the two I’ve cooked on. The other four here I haven’t, so what I say about them comes from the makers’ and shops’ own pages, and I checked every price in October 2026. There’s also one bag I’d tell you not to buy.

The best lumpwood charcoal, in order

Tick Compare on any two or more to see them side by side.

At a glance: the six bags

	Price	Bag	Per kg	I’ve cooked on it
Big K Professional Marabu Lumpwood	£29	15kg	about £1.93	Yes
B&Q Restaurant Lumpwood	£20	12kg	about £1.67	Yes, most weeks
Globaltic Birch Lumpwood	£27.90	10kg	£2.79	No
Big Green Egg Oak & Hickory Lump	£29	8kg	about £3.63	No
Green Olive Premium Gourmet	£29.99	2 × 5kg	about £3.00	No
Oxford Charcoal Best of British	£24.95	5kg	£4.99	No

Best BBQ charcoal overall: Big K Professional Marabu Lumpwood, £29

Big K’s restaurant-grade lumpwood is made from marabu, and its 15kg sack is £29 direct from Big K. It’s the best charcoal I’ve cooked on. A London pitmaster who runs Easy E’s BBQ told me it’s the only charcoal he uses.

It’s more expensive than the B&Q bag I use most weeks, at about £1.93 a kilo against £1.67. Big K says a load gives you up to three hours of cooking.

Best value: B&Q Restaurant Lumpwood, £20

This is what I cook on most weeks. It’s £20 for 12kg at B&Q, which is about £1.67 a kilo, the cheapest here. B&Q’s page doesn’t say who makes it, and it says it burns for three hours.

It’s okay, but it’s definitely not as good as Big K.

Best birch lumpwood: Globaltic Birch Lumpwood, £27.90

Globaltic’s 10kg bag is £27.90. Globaltic says it’s silver birch from Ukraine, made from offcuts at an FSC-certified sawmill, and that it’s ready to cook on 10 to 15 minutes after you light it in a chimney. It says a load burns for three to four hours on an open grill, and up to eight hours in a closed kamado on a long, low cook.

I haven’t cooked on it.

Best charcoal for kamado owners: Big Green Egg Oak & Hickory Lump, £29

Big Green Egg’s own lumpwood is oak and hickory, at £29 for an 8kg bag from Big Green Egg UK. Big Green Egg says it’s ready to cook on in 10 to 15 minutes and that one bag gives you up to 24 hours of cooking.

I haven’t cooked on it.

Best from a charcoal specialist: Green Olive Premium Gourmet, £29.99

Green Olive Firewood sells two 5kg bags of its Premium Gourmet lumpwood for £29.99, so about £3 a kilo. It says the charcoal is dense hardwood, sustainably sourced, and restaurant quality. It doesn’t say which wood or where it’s from.

I haven’t cooked on it.

Best British charcoal: Oxford Charcoal Best of British, £24.95

Oxford Charcoal’s Best of British is £24.95 for 5kg, about £5 a kilo, the dearest here. It’s made from British hardwood, a mix of species that changes, and it carries Grown in Britain certification. Oxford says it’s ready to cook on in 15 minutes and that it’s the one to use if you’re adding wood for smoke.

I haven’t cooked on it.

Charcoal I wouldn’t buy: Diall and Fuel Express

Diall is B&Q’s own-brand lumpwood, in a 5kg bag. It’s awful. Don’t buy it. The lumps were tiny, and fifteen minutes after I’d lit it with a woodwool firelighter it had barely caught.

B&Q sells both, so check the bag. The 12kg Restaurant Lumpwood is the one I use.

I also used to cook on Fuel Express Restaurant Grade. It was worse than the B&Q bag, and I wouldn’t really recommend it.

Lumpwood charcoal or briquettes?

Lumpwood charcoal is what I cook on, on my kamado and on a kettle, and it’s what every bag here is. I don’t cook on briquettes and I don’t recommend them for the cooking this site is about. They have a place if you’re on somebody else’s barbecue, say at an Airbnb, or you want an instant-light bag and don’t want to manage a fire.

The best charcoal for a kamado

Lumpwood. On my Big Green Egg I light it with one firelighter cube tucked into a fistful of lump, close the dome, and that’s it. I don’t use a chimney starter on a kamado. For a long cook, one cube is plenty.

Any of the six bags here will work in a kamado. Big Green Egg makes its own, and Globaltic says its birch lasts up to eight hours in a closed kamado, but I haven’t cooked on either.

Common questions

Which is the best charcoal for a barbecue?

Big K’s Professional Marabu Lumpwood is the best I’ve cooked on. If you want something cheaper for every week, B&Q’s Restaurant Lumpwood is what I use.

Charcoal briquettes vs lumpwood: which should I use?

Lumpwood. I don’t cook on briquettes. They’re handy if you just want an instant-light bag on somebody else’s barbecue.

Is B&Q’s charcoal any good?

The 12kg Restaurant Lumpwood is what I cook on most weeks, though it’s not as good as Big K. Diall, B&Q’s own 5kg bag, is rubbish. Don’t buy it.

Sources and how I checked

• My own cooks on Big K, B&Q Restaurant Lumpwood and Diall, on my Big Green Egg Large.
• Big K: the Professional Marabu Lumpwood 15kg, price and cooking time, October 2026.
• B&Q: Restaurant Lumpwood 12kg, price and burn time, October 2026.
• Globaltic: the Birch Lumpwood 10kg, price and burn times, October 2026.
• Big Green Egg UK: Oak & Hickory Lump 8kg, price, lighting and cooking times, October 2026.
• Green Olive Firewood: Premium Gourmet 2 × 5kg, October 2026.
• Oxford Charcoal: Best of British 5kg, October 2026.

How I got this, and what I’ve spent

I bought every bag of charcoal I’ve cooked on. Nobody sent me any, and nobody at Big K, B&Q or the other makers has seen this before you have. None of the links here are affiliate links, so nothing here earns a commission. My Big Green Egg Large was a Christmas present from my sister Kate.

Final verdict

If you want the best BBQ charcoal, buy Big K. If you’d rather pay less for a bag you’ll get through every week, B&Q’s Restaurant Lumpwood is what I use. Just don’t pick up the Diall by mistake.