Alessi Juicy Salif - from £80

Last updated: 24 September 2026

What the Juicy Salif actually is

It is a lemon squeezer, though it looks more like a lunar lander. The body is a ribbed aluminium cone, cast and then mirror polished, and it balances on three long legs tipped with nylon. Alessi gives the height as 11.42 inches and the diameter as 5.51 inches, so roughly 29cm tall and 14cm across. The product code is PSJS.

You halve a lemon, press it onto the cone and turn. Juice runs down the ribs and drops off the point, into whatever glass you have pushed under the legs. There is no bowl, no strainer and no collecting jug, because the glass is the jug.

The V&A records the materials as aluminium, cast and polished, with nylon tips. Its curators call it one of Starck's most influential and controversial designs. They also note, drily, that it still works as a status symbol among the young professionals it was aimed at. If you like that sort of object, the Sottsass Shiva Flower Vase is the other one people buy for the argument rather than the job.

Alessi asked for a tray

Starck was commissioned to design a steel tray. He sent back a juicer instead, and Alessi went with it. Alessi's own archive dates the first drawings to 1988. It labels them sketches made on a pizza place placemat, on a seaside holiday in Italy. Production started in 1990 and has not stopped since.

Alberto Alessi has explained the decision in his own words: "a true work of design must know how to move, communicate feelings, evoke memories, surprise, transgress...in short, it has to be poetic." Thirty-six years on, Alessi still sells it as one of its icons.

Does it actually squeeze a lemon?

Yes, and better than its reputation suggests. The legs are tall enough to clear a tumbler, so you are not holding anything steady with your spare hand. The ribs are deep and they do break the fruit down.

There are three things it does not do, though. There is no strainer, so pips and pulp land in the glass along with the juice. The point drips for a few seconds after you stop, so a narrow glass needs watching. At 29cm it will not go in a drawer either. It lives on the worktop whether or not you are using it.

None of that is really a fault. It was never sold as the tidiest way to get juice out of a lemon. It is sold as the thing on the worktop. Buy it on those terms and it does the job. Buy it expecting a kitchen tool, and a plastic reamer will annoy you less.

What it costs in the UK

Three UK sellers had it in stock when we checked on 24 September 2026.

So the spread is five pounds. The cheapest is also the one where you are not buying from Alessi or from a gallery. Prices move, and the figures above carry the date they were read.

Alessi UK, £85   Salts Mill, £84   Amazon, £80

The feet wear out, and you can replace them

The three legs end in nylon tips, and those are the part that goes first: they scuff, they flatten and eventually one falls off. Alessi sells replacements as a spare part, code 24036, at £5.50 for the set. They were in stock on 24 September 2026. It is a small thing, but it is the difference between a thirty-year object and a wobbly one.

Who it suits

It is a good present for somebody who has just moved in with nothing on the worktop yet. That is why it turns up in our housewarming gift guide. It also lands well with designers and architects, who tend to already know the story and enjoy owning the argument. More in the same register sits in our gifts for designers collection.

It suits somebody who juices a lemon or two at a time. It does not suit anybody making a jug of orange juice on a Sunday. Nor does it suit a kitchen with no spare worktop.

Frequently asked questions

Who designed the Alessi Juicy Salif?

Philippe Starck. He drew it in 1988 while on holiday in Italy, and Alessi put it into production in 1990. It has been made continuously ever since.

Does the Juicy Salif actually work?

It does. The ribbed cone breaks the fruit down and the legs are tall enough to stand over a glass. There is no strainer though, so pips and pulp go into the glass with the juice.

How tall is the Juicy Salif?

Alessi gives it as 11.42 inches high and 5.51 inches in diameter, which is about 29cm by 14cm. That is too tall for most kitchen drawers, so plan on leaving it out.

What is it made of?

Cast aluminium, mirror polished, with nylon tips on the three feet. The V&A lists the same materials for the example in its collection.

Can you buy replacement feet?

Yes. Alessi sells them as spare part 24036 for £5.50, and they were in stock when we checked on 24 September 2026.

Where can I see one before buying?

The V&A has one on display in Design 1900 to Now, Room 76, at South Kensington. Admission to the museum is free.

Is the Juicy Salif worth £85?

As a squeezer, no, and Alessi has never really claimed otherwise. As an object you will look at every day for thirty years, it is priced about where the rest of the Alessi icons sit. It also has a replaceable wear part and a place in the V&A.

More from CoolCuration

• Gifts for a new home: the full collection for somebody who has just got the keys.
• Best gifts under £50: fourteen picks in the band where design starts getting interesting.
• David Hockney Serpentine tray: another gallery-shop object that earns its place on a worktop.
• Our Place Always Pan Pro: the kitchen buy that does get used every day.
• theprintspace discount code: for framing the print that goes on the wall behind it.

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