An Honest Review of the GE Cafe Range

I’ve been meaning to write this post for awhile now, in hopes to save others money, time, and the trouble of installing a GE Cafe range in their own kitchen. I’ve mentioned it before on Instagram and still receive multiple messages asking for my honest opinion and if this particular range is worth the money (~$6k). In short, I’d say no- but I wanted to give this topic a permanent place to live, so I figured a blog post was in order! Sadly, we’ve experienced multiple issues with our range and I obviously can’t recommend it based on our personal experience. Click through to read my honest review, the issues we’ve had thus far (and how we’ve fixed those issues), as well as some alternative ranges I wish we would have purchased instead.

First, I’ll start by saying that I’m generally an upbeat and positive person, therefore I try to keep an upbeat tone and attitude, especially here on the blog. however, when it comes to renovating, I take recommendations very seriously and try to guide others in the best direction for their home and renovation. We hope this post is helpful if you were considering this particular range for your kitchen. honesty has always been my policy! this review is for the 36″ professional gas ge coffee range.

Reading: Ge cafe ranges reviews

We’ve had electric, induction, and gas cooktops in our previous homes, and my personal favorite of the three is gas. We opted to buy a professional gas range for our kitchen remodel and I was very excited to have a high-end gas cooktop and oven for our space… especially given how often we cook, plus I enjoy spending time in the kitchen baking. When we moved in, the existing range was electric and I was eager to upgrade to something more functional for our family, as well as visually pleasing. Here’s a quick before…

While beautiful and in some areas functional, I cannot recommend our existing GE Cafe gas range. The issue we’ve had multiple (five, to be exact) times is this… upon turning on the oven, it refuses to heat up. It stays completely cool to the touch. You can hear it trying to heat, but the gas never ignites. Basically, the igniter goes bad quite often and when it decides never to work again, that means we have to replace the part altogether if we want to use the oven. The top burners and warmers work wonderfully, but the oven igniter has proven to be a major issue time and time again.

First of all, if you have the same range and are curious how to fix this problem… this is the part you’ll need to order and replace: oven range igniter. While the part is relatively inexpensive (under $30), if Emmett weren’t proficient in replacing this piece, we also would’ve incurred the cost of hiring a technician. You may need to factor in labor if you’re not comfortable swapping parts.

The first time this problem occurred, I immediately called customer service to see what could be done. After too many hours on hold and on the phone with customer support, it was determined that we would have to pay for a technician visit and nothing would be covered in terms of cost (despite being under warranty). Fortunately, Emmett & I solved the problem, did some research and was able to figure out what was going on and solve the problem on our own. the second time it happened, we were upset, but we knew exactly how to proceed… maybe they just gave us a lemon or we were just having bad luck. The third time it happened, we had lost all patience and I decided to send an email, as well as a message to GE on instagram. nothing got resolved, no one tried to help or even contact me, and at that point, after so many messages from other people echoing the same issue, I realized it was going to be an ongoing issue.

We’re a household that cooks and uses the oven quite often- at least 4 times a week for dinner, and more often when we host. Unfortunately the igniter issue has caused us to waste hundreds of dollars worth of food since installing the range. It really goes out at inopportune times… twice while we were hosting friends & family- once during Memorial Day weekend and most recently over New Year’s Eve. It’s just a very inconvenient situation that has turned out to be costly and annoying, especially given the cost of this appliance.

When you spent $6k on a major kitchen appliance, you hope it will function as expected, and at the very least- have an adequate warranty to cover issues or decent customer service to troubleshoot. We bought our range new and it’s now two and half years old. In two and half years, we’ve had to replace the igniter five times.

The first time I shared this issue on Instagram, I received hundreds of messages from people who had the exact same problem. It was really disheartening to hear SO many of you have experienced the same issue and frustration. That’s really what pushed me to write a blog post and give this topic a permanent place to live. I hope that when people are on the hunt for a range and are googling reviews for this particular model, they stumble across this blog post.

As beautiful as this kitchen is, and as much as I love the burners, warmers, and overall aesthetic, the oven is a deal breaker.

After wasting time, plenty of food, and going through the hassle of pulling the very heavy range out of its position five times (and scratching our hardwoods along the way), I truly wish we would have spent our money on a different option. The streamlined aesthetic is not worth the issues we’ve had. We’ve been without an oven for over a week now and are patiently waiting for the replacement part to arrive next week. Emmett actually ordered double replacement parts anticipating to swap the igniter again this summer (which is typically how often it goes out- every six months or so).

Sadly, it’s not in the budget for us to replace our range, as we’re saving for other projects right now, but if I could replace it, this range would be my top pick (or this one… but it’s a bit more expensive). It fits the aesthetic, has great reviews, and I have trusted sources who currently have and love this one. If you’re in need of more options, I polled my trusted audience and these were the highest recommended professional range brands, with similar styles and price points (all are 36″):

wolf
bertazoni
the cornue
oven
fisherman & paykel
thermator
great chill

Do any of you have this particular GE Cafe range? If so, have you been happy with it? Have you had the same issue? Feel free to leave any questions for me in the comment section below. I’d also love to hear if you have a range you really like- please share your glowing recommendations with all of us! Not every home appliance, renovation product, fixture, or material proves to be a win… especially after having lived with it for some time. Please know, I’ll always report back and share our experience- especially if it’s negative and something consumers need to be aware of. I hope this is helpful information for anyone who is in the market for a range and was considering this model. I promise to have a more exciting and positive post for you on Friday, but in the meantime… since I haven’t been able to use our oven- I’d love any of your favorite stovetop or no-bake dinner recipe recommendations. Thanks, friends!