Abstract: A barbecue appliance capable of cooking a variety of foods by disposing a rotary grill in which food is held vertically within a cooking chamber between heating members provided therein and rotating the rotary grill between the heating members, so that an optimum cooking state is obtained. The barbecue includes a cooking unit and a rotary grill which may be inserted into the cooking unit. The cooking unit has an outer casing provided with an elongated top opening and having a removable drip reservoir provided in the bottom thereof, a main frame encased by the outer casing and having a bottom wall and side walls defining therewithin a vertical cooking chamber opened and its top, heating members disposed on both sides of the cooking chamber, a drive section having a driving gear extended to the inside of the cooking chamber, a solenoid-releasable lifting and lowering mechanism for lifting and lowering the rotary grill in the cooking chamber.