Noto Dia tabletop charcoal grill
- Type: charcoal
- Grill size: 11.4 in × 6.3 in × 5.1 in
- Cooking surface: 63 sq. inches
- Handles: no
- Adjustable vents: no
- Material: cast iron, diatomaceous earth with a paper exterior
- Drip tray: no
When you hear the term hibachi, this Noto Dia grill is the first thing that comes to mind because it resembles hand-painted traditional hibachis from centuries ago. It’s definitely a beautiful grill that also acts as a decorative piece in your home.
This small hibachi grill by Noto Dia is made in Japan and has that traditional wooden base that makes it safe for use on the table or countertop.
It’s also built in a traditional Japanese style with a cast iron frame and diatomaceous earth construction, so it looks and feels like ceramic clay. This means the grill is fragile and should only be used indoors.
Some users have reported that the lovely Japanese characters printed on the sides of their grills became brittle because they’re not permanently inked into diatomaceous earth material. Instead, they’re printed on paper.
It’s an unfortunate design detail, but it keeps costs low and makes this a very budget-friendly product for your home.
This grill is very compact with only 63 square inches of cooking space. But that’s perfect for couples and small families. It’s a great hibachi grill for making a quick dinner or healthy meals!
One issue with it is that it’s quite fragile. Using it daily with high heat will quickly cause damage to the fragile material. In addition, you have little control over the ventilation, charcoal height, or cooking surface.
But if you’re familiar with charcoal cooking, you should have no problem with temperature control through the little ventilation holes because the grill is small and doesn’t really overheat.
Overall, the grill is appreciated by users. It’s authentic in design and construction, and works well for occasional cooking, especially if you’re tight on space. There’s no need for a big bulky hibachi.
Although there are no handles, you can pick up this lightweight grill and move it around the house as needed.
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Read for freeUpdate International vs Noto Dia
These 2 tabletop hibachis are both common in Japanese homes. The notable similarities are that they’re small, compact, and easy to use.
However, if you want something practical, the Noto Dia is a better choice. It has a beautiful design, but it also has a larger space for charcoal.
The Update International cast iron mini grill has a tiny charcoal bin and you can barely use a handful. Actually, it’s so small you can heat it up with tealights.
But people like the Update International grill because it combines a heating device with a small cooker. Some customers use it to heat up their tea kettle and make a hot sandwich. But the good news is that you can grill small quantities of meat too, especially yakitori skewers.
If you want the full hibachi experience in your home, then the Noto Dia is the bestselling grill for couples and small groups. It has plenty of space for charcoal and the wire mesh is like that of classic konro and Shichirin grills.
The downside of using both of these grills is the lack of temperature control features, but the Noto Dia is better because it has ventilation holes along the sides. So there’s no real issue with overheating with this one. It’s also a great hibachi for amateurs looking to get into this style of cooking.
Overall, the Noto Dia is better value for money because it’s versatile, whereas the Update International grill is a better fit for very tight spaces.
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Joost Nusselder, the founder of Bite My Bun is a content marketer, dad and loves trying out new food with Japanese food at the heart of his passion, and together with his team he's been creating in-depth blog articles since 2016 to help loyal readers with recipes and cooking tips.
