Smeg ECF01WHUK 50's retro style espresso coffee machine, stainless steel filter holder, an anti-drip system, 1L, White

I’ve been using this Smeg 50’s retro espresso machine for my morning coffee routine, and it’s been a fun blend of style and functionality. The vintage‑inspired design instantly elevates the look of my kitchen — it feels like a piece of classic décor rather than just an appliance. The thermoblock heating system warms up quickly and the 15‑bar pump makes decent espresso, plus the steam wand lets me froth milk for cappuccinos and lattes, which is a nice touch. It’s easy to fill and clean with its removable 1 L tank and drip tray, and the intuitive controls keep things simple day to day. A few people online mention mixed experiences with build quality or reliability over time, so I’d say it’s best suited for casual home use rather than heavy daily pulling. Overall, it’s a stylish, solid machine for classic espresso drinks that looks great on your counter — definitely more about vibe and ease than barista‑level precision.

This SMEG coffee machine is expensive, but like most things, it is worth paying for quality. Overall, the machine is easy to use, the build quality and the design are excellent and it makes very good coffee. As to downsides, the milk frother is a little fiddly to remove so that it can be cleaned and the instructions are quite complicated and require some careful study. So, I can recommend this machine if you want a coffee machine that doesn't cost a fortune and looks good in the kitchen. I made the decision to buy the SMEG because when I tried to replace my old Krups coffee machine with a like-for-like Krups product, I found the new Krups machine (which was a quarter of the price of the SMEG) to be cheap, nasty and it didn't work.

This is exactly what I wanted: a traditional, no-gimmick, no fancy lights or displays, Italian coffee machine. This ticks all the boxes for me. I love the fact that it's manual and I can tweak my coffee to my liking and it looks so good! I would recommend it for lovers of Italian coffee who are already familiar, or want to learn, how to make espresso the traditional way. There is also a filter for pods but I've never used it. Bought it with the SMEG grinder and the pair look and perform wonderfully.

Early days, but this seems like and excellent coffee maker. Well made and looks good. Good on Smeg! Excellent pressure for the espresso function and the milk frother makes a good, fine froth that doesn't just dissolve away. There are options for most of the settings, such as temperature and quantity of water pumped through the coffee. No quite sure about the injunction to use the frother from no more than 60 seconds to avoid overheating, but it seems to do the job well inside this time. I bought this machine to replace a large and expensive Kitchen Aid machine that was too big for my new place. First reactions are that at half the price, and half the space, it's better value all round.

Very pleased with it. Looks great, nice retro look. Easy to use. Easy to clean. Great for hot chocolates. Makes lovely coffee. Could not live without it. Very happy.

Don’t buy any products from Smeg – they don’t care about their customers. My Smeg coffee machine broke under warranty after just 12 months so I contacted Smeg. Twice Smeg picked it up, and returned it back still broken. So I asked Smeg’s Customer Service for a new machine or my money back, and they refused. So I contacted their CEO Daniel Hadley who couldn’t be bothered to reply, neither could their CMO Alexandra Rebdi. Then I contacted Amazon, who said ‘sure, no problem’, picked up the machine and immediately refunded the full purchase price. The moral of the story? Buy from Amazon, but not Smeg products. As Dave Lister in the TV program Red Dwarf would say ‘SMEG is smeg.’

Works perfectly well, but costs far more than others which work just as well. The water reservoir is crap to remove every time you want to fill it - you have to take the lid off (awkward with one hand) then pull hard on the plastic tank, and the reverse to put it all back. The coffee container is hard to empty, even by banging it hard (when the filter is likely to drop into the bin); but that's apparently par for the course - only the old Rowenta Silver Line had a wonderful button which ejected the puck. Otherwise it makes good coffee, heats up in decent time, turns itself off when not in use, and you can dose the amount of water going through the coffee; all things I require in a coffee machine. I don't use the brother or hot water appliance so can't judge it.

Having been mostly disappointed by coffee machines in the past, the Smeg ECF01 produced a brilliant coffee with my first attempt and has been consistent ever since. Whilst the menu facility could be improved, as a coffee nerd, all I want is a machine that's easy to use and produces a great flavoursome coffee. I am very satisfied and would definitely recommendf. Also looks great.