My friend bought one of these in pastel blue to match her toaster. It does look great on her counter — there's no arguing with the Smeg silhouette, and the cream-and-chrome aesthetic is what people are paying for. The first time I made an espresso on it, though, the machine slid backward across the counter as I twisted the portafilter loose, and the cheap plastic scoop tipped into the sink. I put my coffee down and said, out loud in her kitchen, "this is five hundred dollars?"
The ECF02 is, technically, a competent entry-level espresso machine. It has a 51mm pressurized portafilter that takes single, double, and ESE pod baskets. It heats up fast on a thermoblock — about a minute from cold. It has a one-liter removable water tank, a cup warmer on top, and a pannarello-style milk frother on the side. None of this is wrong. None of it is also five hundred dollars' worth of right.
The shots come out with a thick layer of crema and a body that looks the part. What's worth knowing is that pressurized baskets generate a lot of their crema artificially — by forcing the water through a small hole at the bottom of the basket rather than through an evenly tamped puck. The result tastes okay, especially with pre-ground supermarket espresso, but the ceiling is much lower than what a non-pressurized basket on a Bambino can achieve. You can't really progress as a home barista on this machine. It will pour the same shot at month one and month twelve.
The pannarello wand is the second compromise. It froths milk by injecting air through a sleeve over the steam wand, which produces bubbles — proper meringue-like foam if that's what you want, but not the silky microfoam you'd need for a real flat white or latte art. Smeg also didn't make the wand adjustable, which means you have less control than even cheap competitors give you.
The physical machine, once you live with it, is lighter than it looks. The plastic underneath the painted shell flexes when you push the buttons. The non-slip feet, as I mentioned, do not actually grip the counter when you remove the portafilter, which is the one moment every espresso machine needs to stay put. The included tamper is a flimsy plastic scoop that you'll replace within a month. Each of these by itself is forgivable on a $130 machine. On a $500 machine they accumulate into a complaint.
The two comparison machines are unavoidable. The Breville Bambino Plus is roughly the same money and includes a PID, dual-wall baskets, automatic milk frothing, and pre-infusion — actual modern espresso features. The DeLonghi Dedica Deluxe is $129 and offers the same essential thermoblock-plus-pressurized-basket experience with a smaller footprint. The Smeg sits between them on capability and at the top on price, justified entirely by the design.
Which is a fair thing to pay for, if you're paying for it knowingly. Some appliances are clothing for your kitchen. If a pastel-yellow espresso machine that matches your KitchenAid is what you want, this is the only one that exists, and design is real value.
Verdict: Buy this if the color and silhouette are the point and the espresso is incidental. If you actually care about espresso, the Bambino Plus does it better for the same money.