The Napoleon Prestige PRO 500 is worth it for the serious backyard griller who wants one premium gas grill that can sear, rotisserie, and feed a crowd without compromise.
Most buyers judge a gas grill on burner count alone and end up disappointed when a flashy big-box model rusts out in a couple of seasons. The real question is build quality and versatility: 304 stainless steel that shrugs off weather, plus dedicated infrared burners that actually change how you cook.
Our pick: The Napoleon Grills Prestige PRO 500 Gas BBQ Grill with Infrared Side & Rear Burners (~$2,799, natural gas) pairs a six-burner system reaching 80,000 total British Thermal Units with an infrared side burner for hard sears, an included rotisserie kit driven by an infrared rear burner, and a lifetime warranty across all-stainless construction.
If deep wood-smoke flavor and low-and-slow briskets are what you're really after, this gas grill isn't the fuel for that ritual, and a quality pellet grill will fit you better. But if you want turn-a-knob convenience without giving up searing power or rotisserie ambition, the Prestige PRO 500 earns its place at every gathering. Planning it into a larger build? Our in-house design team offers free outdoor kitchen design consultations.
Verdict up front: The Napoleon Grills Prestige PRO 500 Gas BBQ Grill with Infrared Side & Rear Burners delivers restaurant-caliber versatility for the home cook who wants to sear steaks, rotisserie a chicken, and feed a crowd off one stainless-steel workhorse — and its lifetime warranty backs up the ambition.
Specs and Build Quality
Let's start where it counts, because this is a grill you build a backyard around. The Napoleon Grills Prestige PRO 500 runs a six-burner system: four main burners, one infrared rear rotisserie burner, and one infrared side burner. Each main burner puts out 12,000 British Thermal Units (BTUs, the standard measure of heat output), and with the rotisserie and side burner in the mix the grill reaches a combined 80,000 BTUs. That's a serious amount of fire for a backyard setup, and it's spread across 900 square inches of cooking space when you count the warming rack and side burner — enough real estate to lay down 31 four-inch burgers at once.
The materials list is where this grill earns its "PRO" badge. The lid, sear plates, grill grates, cart, and shelves are all built from 304 stainless steel, the grade you want outdoors for its corrosion resistance and easy cleanup. The grates themselves are a hefty 9.5 mm, so you get the kind of thermal mass that lays down proper sear marks instead of pale grill lines. Underneath it all sits a double-walled cast aluminum tub — a design choice that helps the cook body hold and radiate heat evenly instead of letting it bleed out through the walls. Napoleon backs the whole package with a lifetime warranty, which tells you plenty about how they expect it to hold up season after season.
Little touches round out the build in a way that feels genuinely thought-through. There's a roll-top lid with zero clearance so you can tuck this grill under a counter or into an outdoor kitchen layout, interior grill lights for those after-sunset cooks, an Accu-Probe lid thermometer for reading chamber temperature at a glance, and a front-access drip tray that makes cleanup far less of a chore. The side shelf even integrates an ice bucket and cutting board, and the propane tank holder is reinforced for the liquid propane crowd. This particular configuration is offered in a natural gas variant, so if you've got a natural gas line run to your patio, you can hook straight in and never chase down a tank again.
Day-to-Day Performance
This is where the Prestige PRO 500 starts to feel less like a grill and more like a full outdoor cooking station. Fire it up with the Instant JetFire ignition and the main burners come to life without the click-click-click frustration of a tired starter. The stainless burners and sear plates do exactly what good sear plates should — they vaporize drippings and disperse heat, which cuts down on flare-ups and keeps your cooking surface even from edge to edge. That even heat is the difference between a whole grate of burgers coming off together and playing hot-spot roulette with the ones near the back.
The infrared side burner is the feature that'll change how you cook. Infrared burners throw intense, direct radiant heat, which is exactly what you want for a hard sear on a ribeye or getting a cast-iron skillet screaming hot for smash burgers. Pair that with the four main burners for a two-zone setup and you can reverse sear a thick steak on the same appliance — gentle heat on one side to bring it up to temperature, then a blast of infrared to build that crust.
Then there's the rotisserie. The infrared rear burner and included rotisserie kit turn this grill into a proper spit-roasting machine. There's genuinely nothing like a rotisserie chicken turning slowly over infrared heat, the skin crackling and self-basting in its own juices while you sip something cold and let the grill do the work. Whole chickens, a pork loin, even a leg of lamb for a holiday gathering — this is the setup that makes it happen. The SafetyGlow control knobs glow red when a burner is on and shift as you dial heat down, a small but genuinely useful bit of feedback when you're managing multiple zones and don't want to leave a burner running.
Who It's For — and Who It Isn't
The Prestige PRO 500 is built for the home cook who wants everything gas grilling can offer in one premium package. If you're the one hosting the neighborhood cookout, if you love the convenience of turn-a-knob-and-cook but refuse to settle for a flimsy big-box grill, and if features like an infrared sear zone and a rotisserie genuinely excite you, this is your grill. It's also a natural fit for anyone planning an outdoor kitchen — that zero-clearance roll-top lid and all-stainless cart were designed with built-in and freestanding layouts in mind.
Who should look elsewhere? If your idea of a perfect Saturday is tending a fire for twelve hours and chasing deep wood smoke on a brisket, gas isn't the fuel for that ritual. This is a grill for searing, roasting, and fast weeknight cooking, not for low-and-slow smoking. Cooks whose hearts are set on that hardwood flavor and hands-on live-fire experience will want to explore pellet or charcoal territory instead. And if you're shopping strictly on price, know that this is a premium, professional-grade grill — it's an investment in equipment that's meant to last, not a season-and-toss purchase.
What Could Be Better
Honesty is how we earn your trust, so let's talk trade-offs. First, the obvious one: this is a gas grill. It grills, sears, and rotisseries beautifully, but it won't produce the deep, rendered smoke flavor you'd get from a wood-fired or charcoal setup. That's not a flaw so much as a fuel choice, but if smoke is your love language, factor it in.
Second, all that capability comes with footprint and heft. Between 900 square inches of cooking space, a six-burner system, and a full stainless cart, this is a substantial grill that wants a substantial spot on the patio. Cooks with a tight balcony or a compact courtyard should measure carefully before committing.
Third, a grill with this many premium touches — 304 stainless throughout, an infrared rear and side burner, integrated lighting — rewards a little upkeep. Stainless steel stays gorgeous when you wipe it down and keep it covered, and the more moving features you have, the more there is to maintain over the years. None of it is difficult, but a grill like this earns its lifetime warranty when you treat it like the professional-grade equipment it is.
Expert Verdict
The Napoleon Grills Prestige PRO 500 Gas BBQ Grill with Infrared Side & Rear Burners is the right call for the serious backyard griller who wants a premium, do-it-all gas grill and expects to keep it for the long haul. You're getting a genuine infrared sear zone, an included rotisserie kit driven by an infrared rear burner, 900 square inches of cooking space, 80,000 total BTUs across a six-burner system, and 304 stainless steel construction backed by a lifetime warranty. That combination puts it firmly in the premium gas grill tier, and it delivers on that promise. If you want the convenience of gas without giving up searing power or rotisserie ambition, this is a grill that will earn its place at every gathering for years.
At All Things Barbecue, we've spent years helping home cooks and pitmasters find the right fit, and it's the reason folks have left more than 5,000 five-star reviews across our site. If you're weaving a grill like this into a larger backyard vision, our in-house design team offers free, professional outdoor kitchen design consultations — real people who build custom frames sized to your appliances for a faster, cleaner install, whether you're after a simple island or a sprawling custom build. Reach out and let's plan a backyard you'll never want to leave.
