Barbecue like Beckham - the family's surprisingly affordable Ninja grill is set to sell-out this summer

Summer hosting has a certain pressure to it: the expectation that the food will be effortless, the drinks perfectly chilled, and the host somehow completely unfazed while juggling ten things at once. It’s exactly the kind of setting where the new Ninja FlexFlame BBQ, created by Ninja in collaboration with David Beckham, is positioning itself as the centrepiece.

You've probably seen the footballer stood at the grill on his socials, adverts, and on Ninja's social media. David Beckham has been championing the polished, confident barbecue since its launch at the beginning of the summer. And unlike lots of other collaborations, it's clear that Beckham backs the quality of this barbecue, praising its speed, quality, and clever, stress-minimising features. Now, after months of testing it, so do we.

Having cooked on this since April, our tester Sophie is seriously impressed. "This is not your flimsy, end-of-the-sale-season barbecue you wheel out once a year and hope for the best with," she says, "it’s designed for people who want to host properly." If you've been dreaming of upgrading your outdoor kitchen with a barbecue that can keep up with demand and minimise stress, you're in safe hands with the Ninja FlexFlame Gas BBQ Grill.

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Ninja FlexFlame Gas BBQ Grill review

• RRP: £999-1,999
• Dimensions: 63.7 cm L x 156.69 cm W x 122.71 cm H
• Weight: 61.5 kgs
• Colours: stainless steel, green, and blue
• Temperature range: 95°C to 315°C.
• Functions: Grill, Smoke, Roast, Griddle, Pizza
• Fuel type: Propane gas
• Includes: FlexFlame ProConnect Cooking System, 2x Porcelain Enamel Cast Iron Grill Grates, Expandable Roast & Smoke Rack, Grease Tray, Removeable Pellet Box & Ninja Woodfire Pellets Sample Bag.
• Guarantee: 10 years

Which barbecue does David Beckham have?

You'll have spotted a fair few videos and pictures of David Beckham cooking on the Ninja FlexFlame Gas BBQ Grill. It's part of his partnership with Ninja which has seen him design a coffee machine too. The barbecue, however, seems to be a Beckham favourite.

Who would the Ninja FlexFlame Gas BBQ Grill suit?

• The confident summer host who loves a crowd: this is for someone who regularly feeds groups: the capacity covers garden parties and family gatherings without breaking a sweat thanks to the generous cooking space and keep-warm rack mean you can cook in batches without the first round going cold.
• The flavour-focused cook who wants more than standard gas grilling: if you like a bit of theatre and depth of flavour, the smoke mode is a real draw. Being able to add wood pellets at the touch of a button gives you that smoky, BBQ-house taste without needing a separate smoker setup.
• The practical, design-conscious upgrader: this suits people replacing a basic BBQ and wanting something more engineered: better heat control, less mess, and smarter airflow. It feels like a step up in build quality without moving into intimidating pro-kit territory.

It's safe to say that the Ninja FlexFlame Gas BBQ Grill impressed us. For what it can do, the Ninja is also reasonably priced, making it a great choice for people who want reliability as much as performance. It certainly takes a more modern approach to barbecuing and has a premium feel, but what else would you expect for David Beckham's back garden?

What features does the Ninja FlexFlame Gas BBQ Grill have

With widespread praise, especially for its barbecuing and pizza-making capabilities, it’s no surprise the FlexFlame has been such a hit. It’s also one of the garden trends and popular garden products I’ve been most frequently asked about by woman&home readers. That’s why its UK launch is so exciting: we can finally get cooking on gas.

What really sets the Ninja FlexFlame apart is how it builds on Ninja’s already impressive line-up of outdoor cooking appliances, combining and elevating their best features in one design. Here are just a few of the stand-outs:

• Five cooking functions under one hood
• Precise propane flame control: with a digital panel that lets you adjust function, temperature, and flame level. There's an option to auto-adjust the flames to economise on propane consumption
• Faster cooking using cyclonic air: preheats to 315°C in seven minutes and a fan provides heat in the grill cavity to crisp and brown beautifully
• Smoke infusions using Ninja Woodfire Technology: adding barbecue flavour to everything from low-and-low dishes, cold smokes, or any meal with just two cups of pellets

What is the Ninja FlexFlame Gas BBQ Grill like to use?

Anything SharkNinja puts their hand to comes out well. They're famously good air fryers and vacuums are a testament to that, so we had high expectations for their Ninja FlexFlame Gas BBQ Grill. And (spoiler alert) it delivered.

The first thing to say is that setup isn’t a casual five-minute job. Our tester noted that assembly “takes a bit of time and effort, which is worth factoring in before your first cook.” Whilst Sophie is strong, she noted that that you’ll likely want two people for lifting the firebox onto the base, because it's both large and heavy. That said, Ninja’s 3D interactive guide via the BILT app does help make sense of the process, and once it’s built, it feels solid and well thought through.

Once you get it going, the speed is seriously impressive. Unlike most barbecues, which need at least twenty minutes to get up to temperature, the Ninja needed only five minutes. Our tester was amazed at what a difference this made to her overall cooking experience. "I'll be honest," she said, "I'm not the most organised cook, so there’s normally a bit of a waiting period where we stand around a tepid, at best, grill. However, with the Ninja, I could start almost straight away and get food on plates almost instantly."

You can cook with the hood open for a more traditional BBQ feel, or bring it down to speed things up. Our tester, Sophie, found that “hood down noticeably speeds things up,” which is useful when you’re trying to serve multiple dishes at once.

On the grill itself, there’s a nice bit of nuance in how it cooks. There’s some temperature variation across the surface, but rather than being a flaw, it actually becomes a tool: you can move food around to manage cooking speeds. Burgers develop a proper sear with good structure, sausages cook evenly without splitting, and kebabs benefit from being rotated through hotter zones. "I sometimes miss some of the theatre of traditional barbecues with modern ones," says Sophie, "but with the Ninja, when fat hits the flames, there are satisfying flare-ups that give a proper char, which is exactly what I want from a gas BBQ, as well as tasty food, of course."

Half of Sophie's family are vegan and vegetarian, so whilst it's important to get a good grill on sausages, steaks, and burgers, she was keen to test some veggie alternatives. "Vegetables are where the Ninja really showed off its temperature control," says Sophie, "I loved that my courgettes and peppers picked up clear char lines without collapsing into mush, and I can move them between zones to get that balance of softness and colour really easily." Halloumi also holds its shape well, developing crisp edges without turning rubbery, which makes it an easy win for mixed veggie spreads.

The smoke feature is an unexpected, but nevertheless standout extra. Activated at the touch of a button using wood pellets, it adds a noticeable depth of flavour that goes beyond standard gas grilling. It’s not overwhelming, but it does give food that slightly slow-cooked, wood-fired feel, which a real bonus if you like layered flavour without extra equipment. "Of course," says Sophie, "you do need to buy the pellets and it is extra work, but I didn't mind because the rest of the barbecuing process is so easy." Sophie experimented with smoking vegetables and slow cooking meats, much to her family's delight.

Outside of the delicious food, Sophie was impressed with the practical design touches, which are signature difference to Ninja and which make a difference too. The drip system channels fat neatly into a collection tray, keeping things clean. Sophie added, "I know it sounds geeky, but I loved the the built-in extraction fan. It means that smoke doesn’t rush into your face when you open the lid, and overall output stays low." She also appreciated that the handles stay cool throughout, which gave her a lot more confidence when cooking under pressure, because her old barbecue burnt her hand plenty of times.

There are a couple of small frustrations. The lid doesn’t have a soft-close mechanism, so it can “slam shut if you’re not careful,” says Sophie. This feels slightly out of step with the otherwise premium build and it's not a game-changer, but is something worth noting.

Should you buy the Ninja FlexFlame Gas BBQ Grill?

If you’re after a basic, occasional-use BBQ, this is probably more than you need. But if summer hosting is something you genuinely enjoy, or aspire to do more of, the Ninja FlexFlame makes a strong case for itself.

It’s fast to heat, flexible in how it cooks, and forgiving enough that you don’t need to constantly hover over it. The ability to switch between open grilling, hood-down roasting, and smoke mode gives you far more range than a standard gas BBQ, without tipping into complexity. As Sophie put it overall, “food came out really well: evenly cooked and great results overall,” which really sums up its appeal, consistent, reliable, and satisfying to cook on.

This is a barbecue that offers less stress, more control, and just enough showmanship to make it feel like you’re absolutely barbecuing like Beckham.