This review is republished, with permission, from the Weber Grill Fanatic Guide.
The folks over at Weber finally caved in and brought back the grill that everyone really wanted, the Genesis II 335. Now, for the first time in years, there is finally a reason to buy a Genesis instead of a Spirit.
The core feature of the 335 is the fire power supplied by three primary burners, side burner and, most importantly, the Sear Station burner. While the Sear Station burner was included on the Genesis 330 from 2010 through 2016, it was not available on any of the the Genesis II grills from 2017 and 2018.
I suspect the Sear Station was removed from the Genesis series in 2017 and 2018 as a way of getting people to upgrade to the Summit series. However, instead of people making the upgrade to the Summit 670 they decided to downgrade and buy a Spirit. The much cheaper Spirit grills were the best decision as the quality of Spirit has sky rocketed in recent years and there was no clear performance advantage in the Genesis grills.
While the 335 grill is spectacular, buying the right one can be confusing. There are three different versions of the grill and while I like them all there is only one that I recommend.
The only one of these grills that I would buy is the Genesis II S 335 (Here is the link to buy on Amazon).
Differences Between the Genesis II 335 E, S and SE Models
The three different versions of the 335 are the E, S and SE. While the functionality is identical between the grills there are some design differences.
The “E” model gets its name from the fact that the lid and cabinet body. are constructed of porcelain “E”nameled steel. This grill has cooking grates made from cast iron.
The “S” model gets its name from the fact that the lid and cabinet body are constructed from “S“tainless steel. This grill has cooking grates made from 7mm stainless steel rods.
The “SE” model gets its name from the fact that it is a “S”pecial “E”dition that is not available online and is only sold through a Weber Alliance dealer. The SE model has a porcelain enameled lid and cabinet with a stainless grate. It also comes with a grill light attached to the handle.
Here is a great video that shows all of the details for the Genesis II SE 335.
Of the three models available the only one that I recommend is the stainless steel “S” 335.
Stick with me here…I can make sense out of this for you!
The cooking grate on the “S” model is made from 7mm stainless steel rods and is spectacular. The rods will not rust, give great grill marks and are ridiculously easy to clean. These grates are just slightly less thick than you get on the premium Weber Summit 670 but are every bit as nice.
The cooking grate on the “SE” model is the same stainless steel grate found on the “S’ model. While I love the grate I hate the cost of the SE. The SE is designed to be a high end money maker for Weber dealers and not a value play for consumers. The SE grills are not listed on the Weber website or anywhere else online so consumers cannot do any price comparisons. As a general rule, whenever I have found an SE model of any Weber grill at a brick and mortar retailer it was ridiculously over priced. You might have better luck in your town.
The cooking grate on the “E” version of this grill is made of porcelain enameled cast iron. While the cast iron grate is wonderful it simply is not as nice as the stainless steel option. That being said, many people do not want to pay for the S version of this grill or are perfectly happy with a cast iron grate. For these folks I suggest that instead of buying the E 335 that they save themselves some money and buy the Genesis II E 330.
E 335 vs E 330
The Genesis II E 330 grills have the same cast iron grate as the 335 grills and come with all of the fire power.
- Three primary burners
- Side burner
- Sear Station burner
However, the 330 grill cost less because they do not have an enclosed lower cabinet. Heck, I don’t mind if my grill is showing a little extra leg…I think it is kind of sexy 🙂
In addition to being less expensive, the 330 grills are available in some stunning colors (Copper, Crimson, Smoke) while the E 335 is only available in black.
E 335 vs E 310/E 315
I wanted to throw this comparison in here for the sake of completeness. It is easy to start thinking that if you can save money by purchasing the E 330 instead of the E 335 then you can save even more money by buying the E 310 or E 315.
Stop.
Don’t do that.
The Genesis II E 310/315 grills are duds. By the way…the only difference between the 310 and 315 is that the 315 has an enclosed lower cabinet.
The E 310 does NOT have a Sear Station or a side burner. It is a simple three burner grill.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting a simple three burner grill. A simple three burner grill will be perfect for a heck of a lot of people.
But……
If what you want is a simple three burner grill then you can save yourself a TON of money by buying the Weber Spirit II E 310. The Spirit II 310 has a slightly smaller cooking grate than the Genesis II 310 but has the exact same performance, build quality, stylish looks and 10 year warranty.
The Spirit II E 310 is the absolute BEST VALUE in the entire Weber product line. If you are on a budget and want a simple three burner grill with amazing performance that will last forever then the Spirit 310 is what you want to buy.
Facts and Figures
Let’s wrap up by checking the specifications for the 335 so you can have a little more detail on what you will be getting.
- Primary Burners: Three primary burners each rated at 13,000 BTU/hr. Combined heat output of 39,000 BTU/hr.
- Sear Station Burner: 9,000 BTU/hr
- Side Burner: 12,000 BTU/hr
- Primary Cooking Area: 513 square inches
- Warming Rack Area: 156 square inches
- Dimensions: 47″H X 59″W X 29″D
- Warranty: 10 years on all components
Overall the Genesis II 335 is just a flat out spectacular grilling machine.
This grill is going to make you happy.
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