Ooni

Origins and track record

Ooni is a British brand founded in 2012 that, in practice, democratised the portable high-temperature pizza oven. Before Ooni, hitting the 450–500 °C a Neapolitan pizza demands at home meant building work or a very expensive fixed oven; its first tabletop model brought that heat within reach of an ordinary terrace. In a decade it has built not just a range of ovens but a whole ecosystem around home pizza.

What sets it apart

Its catalogue covers virtually every format: the gas Koda ovens (12, 16 and the big Koda 2 Max) for those who want to light up and cook within minutes; the multi-fuel Karu range (12, 12G, 16 and the new Karu 2) that take wood, charcoal or gas with an adapter; the pellet-fired Fyra 12; and even the electric Volt 12 for indoor use. Around them turns a very polished accessory ecosystem: anodised aluminium and bamboo peels, perforated peels, an infrared thermometer, a cordierite stone, covers, a modular table and wheel and rocker cutters.

Our take

At mikamado we selected Ooni for its clean industrial design and ecosystem coherence: the pieces fit together and the experience is carefully thought through. It is worth being honest about the fit with a kamado. A ceramic kamado like our Big Green Egg Large already reaches pizza temperatures with the right stone, so an Ooni oven is a complement, not a replacement: it makes sense if you want a dedicated pizza rig that heats up in minutes without managing coals.

Where Ooni shines without caveats for a kamado owner is in the accessories. Its lightweight, long-handled anodised aluminium peels work just as well sliding a pizza into a stone-fitted kamado as into a dedicated oven, and the infrared thermometer is genuinely useful for reading stone temperature on any grill. Good products, well made and widely available.

Who it's for

Ooni ovens are for anyone who makes pizza the centre of their outdoor cooking and wants a dedicated, fast and portable rig. The accessories, by contrast, are a cross-cutting recommendation: they suit any pizza enthusiast, whether they own an Ooni oven, a stone-fitted kamado or both.