Commercial Gas Griddle Buying Guide: Size, BTU, and What Actually Matters

A griddle is the highest-throughput cooking surface in a commercial kitchen — one flat plate that turns out pancakes, eggs, burgers, and stir-fry in continuous waves. Buy it too small and you bottleneck every breakfast rush; buy it too big and you pay to heat steel you don't need. Here's how to size and spec it right.

What a griddle does (and what it doesn't)

A griddle cooks by direct contact with a hot flat plate — food sits on the surface, sears in its own fat, and browns evenly across the whole plate. It's different from a charbroiler, which cooks over open flame with radiant heat and leaves grill marks. The griddle wins on even browning, high volume, and versatility; the charbroiler wins on char and flame flavor.

The spec that decides everything: width + BTU

Griddle output scales with cooking surface and heat input. Westlake's countertop gas griddle line spans 16″ to 60″:

The pattern is consistent — roughly 30,000 BTU per burner, each burner driving its own section of plate. That matters more than total BTU, because it's what gives you independent temperature zones.

Burner zones: the underrated feature

A 2+ burner griddle isn't one giant heat — it's multiple zones you can run at different temperatures. That's the whole point of the 48″ or 60″ unit: eggs on the front-left at low, burgers center at high, onions on the right holding. A single-burner 16″ griddle can't do that — it's one temperature everywhere. If your menu has both delicate and high-heat items, buy at least 2 burners.

Plate: steel, thickness, and why it matters

Griddle plates are steel (or chrome-finished steel). Thicker plates hold more heat and recover temperature faster when you drop a cold load on them — a thinner plate sags in temperature and steams food instead of searing it. When comparing units, ask about plate thickness; it's a direct predictor of how well the griddle handles a full, busy cooktop.

Gas vs electric

Westlake's line is gas, which most commercial kitchens prefer for griddles: faster recovery, lower operating cost in most markets, and independent temperature control. Electric griddles exist for spots without a gas line, but if you have gas service, a gas griddle is the default.

How to size a griddle

Start from menu and covers, not floor space:

• Breakfast-focused (pancakes, eggs, hash browns): griddle is the bottleneck. Allow ~1 linear foot of griddle per 3–4 covers you need to turn per peak hour.
• Burgers / sandwiches: one 24–36″ griddle handles a busy short-order line.
• High-volume diner / 24-hour: 48″ or 60″ for the zone flexibility and raw surface.
• Supplementary station (finishing, toasting buns): a 16″ griddle covers it.

When in doubt, one size up beats one size down — a griddle running at full capacity can't keep temperature, and that shows up as pale, steamed food.

Grease and cleaning

Griddles live or die by grease management: a rear grease trough and removable drip tray keep fat off the floor and make end-of-shift cleanup a scrape-and-wipe instead of a deep clean. Confirm the unit has a proper rear drain and that the plate edges are splash-contained.

The buying checklist

• [ ] Width matched to your busiest-hour throughput
• [ ] 2+ burners if you need temperature zones
• [ ] Thicker plate for heat retention and recovery
• [ ] Gas line sized for total BTU (add all appliances, not just the griddle)
• [ ] Rear grease trough + removable drip tray
• [ ] Clearance for ventilation (griddles need a hood in most jurisdictions)

Bottom line

Spec the griddle by busiest-hour output, not by "what fits." Width and burner count give you the surface and zones; plate thickness gives you recovery; grease management gives you a clean close. Get those right and the griddle is the one station that never backs up.

Browse the commercial gas griddle line, or compare it against a charbroiler if you want char instead of even browning.

Related guides

• gas vs electric cooking
• gas BTU explained
• griddle vs charbroiler