Monolith kamado review: the TWO 55
Published 30 October 2026 · Last updated 5 November 2026 · By Ben Austen · On loan from Que Fresco · Affiliate disclosure
Monolith TWO 55
The first thing I cooked on the Monolith kamado was a gammon, with a second one going on my Big Green Egg Large beside it. Both had the same glaze and both ran at about 135 to 140°C (275 to 285°F), and from a tasting point of view there was no real difference between them. I’ve done a chicken and bacon pie and a brisket flat on it since, and it cooks like my Egg. Where it beats the Egg is the small quality-of-life things: the hinge, the gasket and clearing out the ash.
The short version
If you’re not swayed by brand names and you just want the best piece of kit, I’d tell you to buy the Monolith TWO 55. I give it 9.5 out of 10, and it’s the kamado I’d buy with my own money. If you want the name everyone recognises, the Egg is still a really good grill.
The split grid with its two half-moon deflectors is really useful. The downside is size. The grid is 44cm against the Egg Large’s 46cm, and it feels noticeably smaller than those 2cm suggest. At £1,499 on its own it’s basically the same price as the Egg Large, and I think you get slightly more for it.
Key takeaways
- A gammon on the Monolith and one on my Egg Large, cooked side by side at 135 to 140°C (275 to 285°F), tasted no different.
- To hold 110°C (230°F), I have the top vent shut apart from a crack and the bottom vent about 99% closed, the same as on my Egg.
- My brisket flat ran at 110 to 130°C (230 to 265°F) and came out juicy, and the slices held when I bent them over the knife.
- The two half-moon deflectors, two drip trays and the split grid all come with it, so you can cook direct on one side and indirect on the other from day one.
- The cart and side shelves are £200 more than the grill on its own.
- The first accessory I’d buy is the pizza stone, which is £49.90.
Monolith TWO 55 at a glance
| Price | £1,499 on its own, £1,699 with the cart and side shelves |
|---|---|
| Cooking grid | 44cm (17.3in) |
| Weight | 74kg without the cart |
| Gasket | Stainless steel and fibreglass tube seal |
| Hinge and fittings | Stainless steel |
| In the box | Split charcoal basket, fire box, chip feeder, grid lifter, ash shovel, and the Smart Grid System: a frame, two half-moon grids, two half-moon deflector stones and two half-moon drip trays |
| Controller | Ready for a BBQ Guru fan controller, sold separately |
| Warranty | Ceramic for the life of the grill, metal parts for five years, accessories and tables for one year, from the date of sale |
| My cooks on it | Gammon and a chicken and bacon pie (17 October 2026), a brisket flat (27 October 2026), a Thor’s hammer (3 November 2026) |
| My rating | 9.5/10 |
Who this is for, and who this isn’t
If you’re ready for a kamado and you care more about how it’s made than whose name is on it, this is the one I’d buy. Monolith is definitely the smallest brand of the three, next to Big Green Egg and Kamado Joe, but it’s brilliantly engineered and the fixtures and fittings are really good quality.
If you want a name everyone recognises, something to show off in the garden, the Monolith isn’t that, though it’s a great piece of kit. And if you’re new to barbecue and not sure it’ll stick, I’d start with a kettle like the one in my Weber Master-Touch review.
What I’ve cooked on it
My first two cook days on the Monolith had my Egg going alongside it. I didn’t do a first burn to season it. I probably should have, but I was excited and wanted to crack on with the gammon.
Saturday 17 October 2026: gammon side by side with my Egg, then a chicken and bacon pie
This was the first time the Monolith had ever been lit. I put about 3kg of B&Q’s restaurant-grade lump in each cooker, lit them within a couple of minutes of each other, and added oak and the deflectors. Each one got an unsmoked gammon of just over a kilo, black pepper only, cooked indirect at 135 to 140°C (275 to 285°F) with a grapefruit, honey and Dijon glaze. Both came off at 68°C and tasted the same. The full cook is in my Christmas gammon on the BBQ recipe.
With the Monolith still going, I took the deflectors out and grilled 500g of boneless chicken thighs and some smoked bacon for a pie filling. Then a half-moon deflector went back in on one side, and the pie sat over it on the middle grid height at about 200°C (390°F). I turned it after eight minutes, worried that the side nearest the open coals would overcook, but it was absolutely fine. It was much easier than I thought it would be. I wouldn’t light a barbecue just to do it, but with one already going it’s a fun thing to do, and the chicken and bacon pie recipe has the details.
Tuesday 27 October 2026: a brisket flat
My first brisket went on the Monolith while a goose went on the Egg. It was a 2.5kg flat with salt, pepper and garlic, no fat trimmed, cooked with the deflector, two drip trays and no water, and oak for the smoke. It was raining when I lit it. It went on at 120°C (250°F) just after nine, and when it was sitting at 64°C and still wet at midday I nudged it up to about 130°C (265°F). I wrapped it in foil with a bit of stock and butter at about 75°C, and by mid-afternoon the Monolith was at about 110 to 120°C (230 to 250°F). It came off at 98°C just after half past four and rested for about three and a quarter hours in foil and towels in a switched-off oven. It came out really juicy, and the slices held when I bent them over the knife. My smoked brisket recipe has the whole cook.
Pros and cons
Pros
- It cooks like my Big Green Egg Large. Gammon on both, side by side, tasted the same.
- The hinge is smoother, and the lid takes less effort to lift.
- The fibreglass gasket looks like it’ll last much longer than the Egg’s felt one.
- Clearing the ash is much easier.
- The split grid, two half-moon deflectors and two drip trays all come with it.
- The cart’s wheels lock, don’t mark decking, and the shelves are super useful.
Cons
- It’s noticeably smaller than an Egg Large, more than the 2cm difference in the grid suggests.
- The bottom vent feels a little flimsier than the Egg’s, though it works perfectly.
Setup and first impressions
Mine was a showroom unit, so it came on a lorry already built on its cart, and getting it going was the easiest thing in the world. Everything was packed inside the barbecue itself, the half-moon deflectors, the drip trays and the split grid, so it’s pretty compact. A new one bought from a shop will come differently, so I can’t tell you what putting one together is like.
My first impression was that it’s a really classy piece of kit. The engineering is good and it looks good, though it’s very similar to the Egg. The cart is really good too. The wheels don’t leave marks on the decking, the wheel locks are good, the side shelves are super useful, and moving it around is easy.
Temperature control and charcoal
I light it the same way as my Egg, with a firelighter in the lump, and I shut the lid after a minute or two with the top and bottom vents wide open. That’s so much better than leaving the lid open, which is a mistake I’d been making. As it comes up to temperature I close the top wheel and the bottom vent down, and the deflectors go in after about 15 minutes.
To hold 110°C (230°F), both vents need to be a lot more closed than you’d think, and I learned that on the Egg. The top wheel is shut apart from a crack and the bottom vent is about 99% closed, on the Monolith and the Egg alike. When I was first learning, I read that lots of people run with the top fully open and just the bottom open a crack, but when I do that it goes way too hot.
The mechanism on the Monolith’s top wheel is slightly better than the Egg’s. The Egg’s bottom vent has two layers with a mesh, where the Monolith’s is a plain opening. It moves more easily, but it feels a little flimsier, though it still works perfectly. On the gammon day both cookers sat at about 135 to 140°C (275 to 285°F), and the brisket ran all day through the rain at 110 to 130°C (230 to 265°F).
On that first cook I put about 3kg of lump in, and with that much in, the half-moon deflectors were basically sitting on the coals. That was me putting too much lump in, not a fault with the Monolith.
Living with it
The small quality-of-life things on my Egg are all better on the Monolith. The hinge is just smoother, takes less effort to lift and feels better engineered. The gasket is night and day. You can see how the felt on my Egg is going to wear and squeeze down, whereas the Monolith’s is a woven fibreglass that looks like it’ll last so much longer. And the ash is much easier to get out, just from how everything fits together and how it’s built. On my Egg, the lip on the vent makes it annoying to get the ash out.
It’s been out in the rain alongside my Egg, but a couple of weeks isn’t long enough to say how it’ll wear over years. Monolith’s warranty covers the ceramic for the life of the grill and the metal parts for five years, from the date you bought it. The tools and tables get one year. Wear parts aren’t covered, and the warranty names seals in particular, which is what the gasket is.
The split grid and half-moon deflectors
The Monolith comes with what it calls the Smart Grid System. The grid is split in half by default, with two half-moon deflector stones and two half-moon drip trays underneath, so you can put a deflector in on one side and leave the other open over the coals. I found it really, really useful, and I wish I had one for my Egg. Compared with my Egg’s deflector, the half-moons cook no differently. You just get more flexibility.
That’s how I did the chicken and bacon pie, with the pie over one half-moon and the other side open to the coals.
My Egg came with a deflector and a single grid. Big Green Egg’s site now says new Large Eggs come with its own two-zone kit, with half-moon deflectors and grids, so check what’s included if you’re comparing the two.
Monolith TWO 55 vs the alternatives
vs the Big Green Egg Large
If you’re choosing between these two today, I’d buy the Monolith. They cook the same and cost the same, and the small quality-of-life things are better on the Monolith. The Egg Large has the bigger grid and the better-known name. If you want something to stand it on, the gap opens up. Big Green Egg’s stand with shelves is £570, so the Egg comes to £2,065, where the Monolith on its cart with side shelves is £1,699.
| Monolith TWO 55 | Big Green Egg Large | |
|---|---|---|
| Price, grill on its own | £1,499 | £1,495 |
| Stand or cart | £1,699 with the cart and side shelves | £570 for Big Green Egg’s stand with shelves |
| Cooking grid | 44cm | 46cm |
| Weight | 74kg without the cart | 73kg |
| Gasket | Stainless steel and fibreglass | Felt |
| Deflectors | Two half-moons and a split grid | Mine came with one deflector and one grid. Big Green Egg says new ones come with its two-zone kit |
| My gammon, side by side | No real difference | No real difference |
vs the Kamado Joe Classic III
I haven’t cooked on a Kamado Joe, but I’ve seen them in person and lifted them, and I’d still buy the Monolith over the Classic III. I’m planning to get a Joe to cook on. Kamado Joe has fixed the same small things the Monolith does better than my Egg, and the Classic III has a slightly bigger grid and a three-tier rack. But it’s £500 more for the grill on its own, and I wouldn’t pay that over the Monolith. Between the Joe and my Egg, though, I’d still buy the Joe.
| Monolith TWO 55 | Kamado Joe Classic III | |
|---|---|---|
| Price, grill on its own | £1,499 | £1,999 |
| With its cart | £1,699 | £2,199 |
| Cooking grid | 44cm | 46cm |
| Split cooking | Smart Grid System: split grid, two half-moon deflectors, two drip trays | Divide & Conquer three-tier rack |
| Have I cooked on it? | Yes | No |
Which Monolith: ONE, TWO or Avantgarde
If you like the sound of the TWO 55 but want to spend less, the ONE.55 has the same 44cm grid and the same split grid system, and BBQ World sells it with its cart for £1,099. What you give up, going by Monolith’s own spec, is the stainless steel hinge and fittings (the ONE’s are powder-coated steel), the stainless steel in the gasket, the chip feeder and the port for a BBQ Guru controller.
The Avantgarde.55 is the same 44cm size again with LED lights in the handle and a satin black finish, at £1,875 on its own at BBQ World or £2,295 with its cart. If you regularly cook for more people, the .66 models have a 52cm grid. I’ve only cooked on the TWO 55. There’s also a smaller 33cm ICON and Junior. Which Monolith should I buy? has the whole UK range and its prices.
| ONE.55 | TWO.55 | Avantgarde.55 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK price | £1,099 with cart | £1,499 on its own, £1,699 with cart | £1,875 on its own (BBQ World), £2,295 with cart |
| Cooking grid | 44cm | 44cm | 44cm |
| Hinge and fittings | Powder-coated steel | Stainless steel | Stainless steel |
| Gasket | Fibreglass | Stainless steel and fibreglass tube | Stainless steel and fibreglass |
| Chip feeder | No | Yes | Yes |
| Ready for a BBQ Guru | No | Yes | Yes |
| Extras | LED lights in the handle |
Where to buy a Monolith in the UK
The TWO 55 is £1,499 on its own and £1,699 with the cart at both BBQ World and FireFly Barbecue, and BBQ World lists that set with side shelves. Black Box BBQ stocks it too. Que Fresco, the UK distributor, only sells to the trade, so to find a UK shop use Monolith’s own dealer search. Buy from one of those shops and keep the receipt. The warranty only covers the person who bought it new from an authorised retailer, and you need the original receipt to claim, so a secondhand Monolith doesn’t carry it.
Monolith accessories worth buying
You don’t need to buy much. The split grid, both half-moon deflectors and the drip trays come with it, and on my Egg that kind of flexibility would mean buying extra. The first accessory I’d add is the pizza stone, which is £49.90 at FireFly Barbecue. Beyond that it’s what I’d use with any kamado: good gloves, metal tongs and a leave-in thermometer like my ThermoPro TP20.
The one thing I’d skip is a fan controller. The TWO 55 is ready for a BBQ Guru, and Monolith now sells its own controller too, but I’ve never wished I had one. If you were cooking commercially, or doing a brisket every single day, I’d get one, because it basically turns it into an oven. For everyone else, I’d save the money, learn the vents and enjoy the cooker.
What I’d do differently
On the first cook I’d put in less lump than the 3kg I started with, so the half-moon deflectors aren’t sitting on the coals.
Common questions
Is the Monolith better than a Kamado Joe?
I’d buy the Monolith TWO 55 over the Kamado Joe Classic III. The Joe has a slightly bigger grid and a three-tier rack, but it’s £1,999 for the grill on its own against £1,499 for the Monolith.
Is a Monolith kamado worth it?
I think so. It’s £1,499, about the same as a Big Green Egg Large, and for that you get stainless steel fittings and a split grid with two half-moon deflectors in the box.
Which size Monolith should I buy?
The .55 models, including the TWO 55, have a 44cm grid. I found that noticeably smaller than my Egg Large’s 46cm, so if you want more room, the .66 models have a 52cm grid.
Sources and how I tested
Everything about cooking on the Monolith comes from my own cooks on it: a gammon and a chicken and bacon pie on 17 October 2026 and a brisket flat on 27 October, the first and the last with my Egg going alongside. I haven’t used the chip feeder yet. The specs and the warranty come from Monolith and FireFly Barbecue, and the prices from BBQ World and FireFly Barbecue, checked on 30 October 2026. Black Box BBQ’s £1,499 for the TWO 55 was read on 5 November 2026.
How I got this
This Monolith TWO 55 is on loan from Que Fresco, the UK and Ireland distributor, and it’s going back to them. Nobody at Que Fresco or Monolith has seen this review before you, and nobody has paid for it. My Big Green Egg Large was a Christmas present from my sister Kate. Big Green Egg had supplied it to her for a paid content partnership, which has since ended. Smoke and Lump has no commercial relationship with Monolith, Que Fresco, Big Green Egg, BBQ World, FireFly Barbecue or Black Box BBQ, and earns nothing from this page.
The verdict: is the Monolith worth it?
I give the Monolith TWO 55 9.5 out of 10, and if I were buying a kamado today, it’s the one I’d buy. It cooks just like my Egg for about the same money, and the small quality-of-life things are better. It’s a little smaller, so if you need the room I’d look at the Kamado Joe Classic III, and if the name matters most, buy the Egg. Otherwise, buy the Monolith.