Having a dedicated area to prepare your outdoor cooking makes life so much easier and organised. If you cook in your backyard or garden area often sooner or later you are going to want to have a BBQ cart, prep station or table to work on and store all the necessities to make a successful cook-out.
Before we look at the different brands, let’s discuss what you should be looking for before buying your BBQ table
What to Look for in an Outdoor Kitchen Prep Table
Weatherproof – the elements can have an adverse effect on outdoor furniture so its always best to check if your product is made from material that will survive outdoors. The other option of course is maybe a kitchen cart or prep station that either folds away so you can store it when not in use or one that you can use outside when the sun is shining and indoors when the weather isn’t so nice.
Durability – You are going to want a prepping area that you can chop up meat and vegetables and ideally have the capacity to hold a lot of additional items. So make sure that you choose something heavy duty enough.
Size – This will depend on different factors, will you be cooking for large groups of people? What sort of room do you have on your patio or backyard? Is it going to be a permanent fixture, or will it be stored away after use? These are the questions you should ask yourself.
Storage – For some people they just want a large working service to prep their food on. For others who like all their equipment and supplies handy they will want adequate storage in their BBQ prep area, so everything is close at hand and organized.
User Feedback – Its always best to check online reviews to get feedback from users. We have provided you a lot of information here but after you have decided on one or two that you like the look of, you are best to check through reviews, such as the one’s at Amazon to get a wider picture.
Affordability – You know what the budget is that you have in mind, work out how often you are going to use the prep table or grill cart. Can it be used for other uses? For instance, indoors or when you going camping or tailgating.
Our 10 Top Picks: Grill Carts, Outdoor Prep Stations & BBQ Work Tables
While we discussed earlier the features that make a great barbecue prep station a lot of the buying decision will be on aesthetic appeal. If you like the look of a particular outdoor grill table and can picture it in your backyard then it’s likely to be on your shortlist of favorites.
If you click on any of the images on this page you will be taken to the Amazon product page where you can view more images and discover what other reviewers have commented about the BBQ food cart or grill prep table, you are interested in.
Suncast Outdoor Grill Prep Station – Durable Plastic with Wheels
So personally, I am not usually a great lover of plastic furniture, but I really do like the look of this BBQ prep station. You can see from the image that its, rather pleasing to the eye!
Of course, being made from plastic its going to be weather resistant and easy to clean.
Its also very simple to assemble and every just fits together with no tools needed. You just need to make sure you put it together in the correct order. Some users did have difficulty but take your time and don’t force anything.
It’s a nicely thought out piece of outdoor kit and the manufacturer obviously know a bit about what us outdoor cooks want from a BBQ prep cart.
The grill cart comes with two storage cabinets to hold all your sauces and other grilling accessories.
The dimensions of the prep area are 20″ x 22″ x 34″ and you have 2 drop down leaves on either side depending on how much room you need.
It’s easy to move around with 4 casters of which 2 of them lock once you have the grill cart where you want it.
Apart from the feedback regarding it taking a bit of figuring out to assemble, once this is done everyone has great things to say about this patio serving station especially its great looks and functionality.
Cuisinart CFGS-222 – Versatile BBQ Grill Table
Some of you might know the name Cuisinart as they have a big range of cooking and kitchen accessories and are well regarded in this area.
This compact grill station is designed to hold the Cuisinart CGG-180T Petit Gourmet Portable Table Top Gas Grill
or other similar sized grills. This one would be ideal for small areas such as balconies or if you want to take your grill and a light-weight table out with you for instance camping.
It’s made of aluminium and folds flat for easy transport and storage
The handy side shelves have plenty of room for all your barbecue extras along with 8 grill tool hooks and 6 drink holders.
This would be our recommendation if you are in the market for a small grill table and grill or if you already own a Cuisinart Table Top Gas Grill.
Keter Unity XL – Outdoor Prep Table with Storage
This prep station, serving cart from Keter comes in a regular size and extra-large and it’s the XL one we are going to look at today.
If we were biased we would say look no further but though it ticks our boxes, it might not what you are looking for, that’s why we are featuring 10 different grill stations in this guide.
Keter are a big-name brand for outdoor storage and furniture solutions, if you are in the market for durable quality products for your yard then check out some of their other products.
For an overview what we like about this one is that it is not only durable and weather resistant its light enough to move around [has two wheels] and a big storage area.
The Unity XL is made of polypropylene resin plastic but looks like natural wood, it comes in two colors, graphite and espresso brown.
This is a lot of great features, which we will cover briefly.
It has a 430-grade stainless steel top just perfect for prepping meat and can be easily cleaned down after use.
Lots of storage space for whatever you want to store, plates, tea towels, whatever! It has a 78-gallon capacity and is lockable as well.
We liked the built-in spice rack and towel holder as well as the Four S-hooks for you grilling tools and a bottle opener, all great features that provide value and matter to us outdoor cooks and chefs!
Another nice touch was the adjustable legs, so if you have slight uneven services you can level the legs as a solution.
Keter offer a 2-year limited warranty on this product.
Similar to the Suncast grill cart there were a few users who found the assembly difficult, while others who said if you work methodically and follow the instructions it’s easy enough. Some mentioned they were worried about the top rusting, if this is a concern you are best to get a cover for when its not in use in the Winter months.
Camco 51097 Outdoor Kitchen Prep Station with Sink
This one from Camco is described as a camping table but we think it would work just as well in any outdoor situation where you are prepping food for a cookout of some description.
This one folds right down so it can be stored and taken on camping vacations if required. It also comes with a handy storage bag.
Getting it set up and ready to prep your BBQ meats and veg takes less than a minute. Just pull it upwards and lock all the hinges in place.
Unlike many of these pop-up camping tables this one is described by customers as durable and sturdy.
Features include;
A stainless-steel surface which will hold a portable grill, or you can use this as a prep area.
Side Table for added space or to use extra prepping area.
A water-tight Kitchen Sink
2 integrated shelves for storage
BBQ tool hooks
Paper towel hanger
The only real issue with this outdoor kitchen is that it can’t be left out in the rain as the shelves which are made of fibreboard are likely to warp.
While it might not have a lot of aesthetic appeal for you yard, it has a lot of functionality. Just spend a minute opening it up, add all your grill tools, food you are prepping, fill the sink with water and you are all ready to go and light up the grill. It will save you time going in and outdoors and at the end of the day just fold it all up and store it away.
Of course, if you enjoy camping in style or have an RV you’ll have the perfect kitchen prep station for while you are on your vacation as well.
GCI Outdoor Slim-Fold Portable Outdoor Cooking Station
If you are looking for a compact, light-weight, foldable grill station with plenty of shelf space this would be worth looking at.
While this is another one that is designed for camping it wouldn’t look out of place in your yard or on the patio and can be stored away in the garage when not in use.
If you are like me and want to be organized with everything within reach for your cookout this is a perfect solution.
The BBQ grill station has a frame made from powder-coated steel. It comes with an aluminum counter top, has four, fold out side tables made from plastic which have hooks for your barbecue & grilling utensils. The side tables have a weight limit of 35lbs.
If you have a small cooking area and want to use it with a table top grill this is excellent or if you just want to use it by the side of your grill to have all your prepped food, sauces, rubs and utensils handy.
We thought this wouldn’t look out of place on our patio and we like the idea that it folds down flat for a small footprint when not in use.
Outsunny Rattan Outdoor Grill Cart with Wheels & Storage
This is a stylish looking compact BBQ grill cart that would look good on any patio or even on a balcony if you have the space.
It comes with plenty of storage space inside and a counter-top to do your prepping on.
The wheels make it easy to manoeuvre and they lock in place ones you have positioned it where you need it.
It’s made from Rattan, with a steel frame and glass counter-top.
Customers describe it as bigger than it looks in the picture, the only real issue seemed to be that some users found the side table didn’t stay down.
Z Grill Stainless Steel Prep Table
This is a commercial quality stainless steel prep table. If you want a highly functional table with lots of space to work from this is great for an outdoor kitchen set up.
Requires a little assembly, using the supplied hex wrench tool, but it’s a simple 15-minute job.
It’s a heavy-duty table that will last a life-time, online reviews were very positive and Z Grills have a good reputation for making quality outdoor grill products.
Wooden BBQ Table
I know that many visitors to this page will be looking for a grill cart made of wood. While this BBQ table is made of Solid Wood, it has been designed for small kitchens.
But being on wheels and foldable this could easily be used for outdoor use as a top-notch grill cart.
As well as a solid counter-top it comes with a paper towel holder, knife block and 2 shelves, the wheels are lockable.
Customers were using it for various purposes and all commented that they loved the Solid Beechwood and said that they found it durable and that it was heavy duty enough to hold a lot of items.
If you are looking for a grill cart made of wood, that is sturdy and can fold up and be stored in the shed or garage then this table from Winsome would be a good purchase.
6-Feet Folding Multipurpose Table – Ideal as a prep station or to seat your guests
This is a really versatile table and could be used for a whole variety of different purposes as well as a large area to do your barbecue prepping.
You might find it a bit of an overkill for a prep area, but it could also be used for people to sit round at a backyard party or for somewhere to put buffet items on.
What we liked about it is that is folds flat and is water, scratch and stain resistant.
Many customers described it as perfect for outdoor events.
Bradley Smoker Foldable BBQ Cart
If you know your grills and smokers then you are likely to know the brand name Bradley, who have a solid reputation when it comes to outdoor cooking equipment.
We really loved the look of this grill utility cart especially the integrated wooden butcher block for cutting up your BBQ meat.
It comes with 4 casters, 2 that lock, so it can be transported with ease.
The frame is made of steel and it can be opened up and closed in second.
This can be used with the Bradley smoker but also as a versatile cart for outdoor use.
The butcher block chopping surface is what we liked about this especially as they cost a reasonable price even without the additional cart, other customers commented on this as well and on how sturdy the cart was.
Conclusion
So, there you have it 10 different BBQ Grill Carts to choose from. Hopefully you have found the perfect prep station or table for your outdoor cooking space. We regularly update our product round-ups so do check back if you still haven’t decided, we might have found something new for you to check out. Good luck in finding the Best grill cart, prep station for your needs.