Casual Dining Dishes

Casual Dining Dishes

macys

The perfect dinnerware set should not only look stylish on your dining table over many years, but should be lightweight enough to pick up comfortably and be impervious to daily wear and tear. It should be functional (microwavable) and easy to clean (dishwasher-safe). You should also be able to add more settings or buy replacements as your family grows over the years or a piece breaks.

When researching dinnerware in the Good Housekeeping Institute Kitchen Appliances & Technology Lab, we evaluated classic ware in a range of prices, weights, and styles. In general, we like sets that have a large dinner plate, a small salad plate, and a shallow bowl that can be used for soups or pastas. Our picks include best-selling models from long-standing brands, many of which have replacement programs for broken and defective dinnerware. Here are our favorite dinnerware sets you can buy in 2020:

Best Overall Dinnerware Set: Wedgwood Gio 16-Piece Dinnerware Set
Best Value Dinnerware Set: Fiesta 12-Piece Bistro Dinnerware Set
Best Break-Resistant Dinnerware Set: Corelle 18-Piece Dinnerware Set
Best Everyday Dinnerware Set: Gibson White Elements Paloma Embossed 42-Piece Set
Best Formal Dinnerware Set : Lenox Federal Platinum 5-Piece Place Setting
Best Stoneware Dinnerware Set : Noritake Colorwave Coupe 4-Piece Place Setting
Best Long-Lasting Dinnerware Set : IKEA 365+ 18-Piece Dinnerware Set
Best Outdoor Dinnerware Set : Williams Sonoma Rustic Outdoor Melamine 12-Piece Dinnerware Set
Best Open Stock Dinnerware : Crate and Barrel Mercer Dinnerware

What's the best dinnerware material?

You should base your dinnerware selection on the material. It drives its price, durability, weight, aesthetic, and functionality. Here are advantages and drawbacks of the most common offerings:

• Bone china is your best bet if refined formal dinnerware is what you are looking for. When bone ash is added to porcelain, it becomes a delicate, slightly translucent, and perfectly-constructed material that has a milky white, luminous glaze. Bone china is lightweight and thin, but it is considered the most durable ceramic dinnerware. It is also the most expensive material. Not all bone china is dishwasher- and microwave-safe, so check the care instructions before you buy.

• Porcelain is the most ubiquitous ceramic dinnerware. Also referred to as china, it is less expensive than bone china, and with the right balance of price, durability, and weight, it is great for both daily use and formal dinner parties. It has a glazed, non-porous surface that makes it dishwasher-safe, microwavable, and sometimes oven-safe.

• Stoneware is popular for its rustic and textured aesthetic. It is often off-white and ivory with speckles (rather than pure or bright white). Heavier, thicker, less durable, and more porous than bone china and porcelain, stoneware is relatively inexpensive. The unique pieces may not uniformly stack for storage, especially if they were handmade. Stainless steel utensils often leave marks on lightly glazed stoneware: This is not an imperfection and can be wiped off with commercially available cleaners. (Earthenware is similar to stoneware in its organic design, but more prone to chipping.) Both are great options for daily use if you don't mind the extra care required.

If you are looking for reusable break-resistant dinnerware to bring outdoors we recommend these two options. Both are great choices for families, outdoor dining, and college students:

• Melamine is a food-safe plastic that is break-resistant, dishwasher-safe, and relatively inexpensive. Even if BPA-free, the FDA recommends that you do not microwave food and drinks on it.
  
• Laminated glass (also called Vitrelle) is an incredibly durable (we tested it) material proprietary to the Corelle brand. It is resistant to breaking, chipping, scratching, and staining. If dropped on a hard surface, it will shatter.

How to find the best dinnerware for you

Dinnerware sets come in an array of combinations. Each set serves one, four, six, eight, or twelve people, depending on the brand.

• Formal sets include a dinner plate, a salad plate, a bread plate, a soup bowl, a tea cup, and a saucer for each setting.
  
• Traditional sets include a dinner plate, a salad plate, a cereal bowl and a mug. Recently, mugs have been left out of sets to adjust to modern preferences.
  
• Open stock dinnerware allows you to pick and choose your pieces rather than buy a set with pieces you do not need. Open stock pieces are coordinated to match and it gives you the flexibility of creating your own set based on what you like and need. Although buying pieces separately is more expensive than buying a complete set, it is cheaper to replace individual broken pieces from open stock.

1

Best Overall Dinnerware Set

Gio 16-Piece Dinnerware Set

Wedgwood amazon.com

$315.28

Wedgwood has been making ceramics for over 260 years (!). We like the unique and muted textural design of this set. Made of bone china, reviewers love that the pieces are light, thin, practically flawless, and stack neatly. Although they look delicate, they are durable enough to withstand the rigor of daily use:You do not have to set them aside only for special occasions.

A set includes four of each of the following: Dinner plate, salad plate, bowl, and mug. They are microwavable and dishwasher-safe. The set is part of a collection that includes cups, bowls, plates, and serving pieces that are sold separately in case you accidentally break a piece or simply want to add more pieces.

Material: Bone china
Number of settings: Four
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Microwave-safe: Yes

2

Best Value Dinnerware Set

12-Piece Bistro Dinnerware Set

Fiesta bedbathandbeyond.com

$115.99

The highly-popular Fiesta dinnerware is known for its 18 bright color options and a fun concentric pattern around the rim. You can buy different color sets to mix and match or to decorate for the holidays. Reviewers love that they are sturdy yet lightweight. The dishes are chip-resistant andFiesta provides a five-year chip replacement warranty. The pieces are dishwasher-, microwave-, and oven-safe up to 350°F. A set includes a dinner plate, a salad plate, and a bowl. We also love that the Fiesta brand is committed to sustainability by creating conscious and actionable plans.

Material: Porcelain
Number of settings: Four
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Microwave-safe: Yes

3

Best Break-Resistant Dinnerware Set

18-Piece Dinnerware Set

Corelle amazon.com

$56.99

The Corelle brand is known for its sturdy dinnerware that is resistant to breaking, chipping, scratching, and staining. It performed well in our tests and this dinnerware set has over 3,000 reviews on Amazon.It is microwavable, dishwasher-safe, and even oven-safe (for up to 350ºF). This set includes six of each of the following: Dinner plate, salad plate, and bowl. We highly recommend this set for families that want durable dinnerware, but would prefer not to use plastic. It's also a great option to use when eating outdoors. Corelle sells this set in a wide-variety of patterns.

Material: Vitrelle (laminated glass)
Number of settings: Six
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Microwave-safe: Yes

4

Best Everyday Dinnerware Set

White Elements Paloma Embossed 42-Piece Set

The Gibson dinnerware set is the only one in our tests that includes plates in three sizes and bowls in four sizes. A set comes with six of each of the following: Dinner plate, dessert plate, bread plate, cereal bowl, round bowl, fruit bowl, and dip bowl. It not only gives you the perfectly-sized serving piece for any meal, we love that you can use the handy-sized bowls for kitchen prep work. An exclusive to Macy's, this best-selling dinnerware set is made of light and durable porcelain, perfect for daily use.

Material: Porcelain
Number of settings: Six
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Microwave-safe: Yes

5

Best Formal Dinnerware Set

Federal Platinum 5-Piece Place Setting

The Lenox Federal Platinum dinnerware set has all of the characteristics that makes bone china luxurious and perfect for special occasions). A set includes a dinner plate, a salad plate, a bread plate, a tea cup, and a saucer, all of which are dishwasher-safe. Although these are not microwavable (the platinum trim will get damaged), they are made of bone china, the most durable material, and have a simple, timeless design. We recommend these for special occasions and think the superior quality is well worth the price. Plus, Lenox has a breakage replacement program that offers a replacement for half of the MSRP.

Material: Bone china
Number of settings: One
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Microwave-safe: No

6

Best Stoneware Dinnerware Set

Colorwave Coupe 4-Piece Place Setting

Noritake macys.com

$69.99

These coupe-shaped rimless dinnerware are a soft and creamy off-white shade that is typical of stoneware. We love the simple clean lines, the matte-textured exterior, and the glossy glazed interior that prevents scratching and food from getting stuck. A set includes a dinner plate, a salad plate, a bowl, and a mug, which are all dishwasher-safe and microwavable. Some reviewers noted that the pieces get very hot in the microwave over time, and silverware can leave scratch-like markings on the surface. To increase longevity, we recommend avoiding sudden temperature changes.

Material: Stoneware
Number of settings: One
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Microwave-safe: Yes

7

Best Long-Lasting Dinnerware Set

365+ 18-Piece Dinnerware Set

This Ikea dinnerware set has been used in our Good Housekeeping Institute Director's home for years. She says they're extremely scratch-resistant and look as new as they did when she first bought them. The set is made of feldspar porcelain, which makes them very durable and smooth. The flat plates feature slightly angled edges, while the bowls have sharper ones that add contrast to the overall design. The many pieces can double as servingware, a pro of buying an all-white dinnerware set with many place settings.

Material: Feldspar porcelain
Number of settings: Six
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Microwave-safe: Yes

8

Best Outdoor Dinnerware Set

Rustic Outdoor Melamine 12-Piece Dinnerware Set

Williams Sonoma williams-sonoma.com

$124.95

Melamine dinnerware is a great choice for outdoor dining because they will not scratch, chip or break, even when dropped on a hard surface. It is also more functional and sustainable than paper plates. The Williams Sonoma dinnerware has a rustic look with stylish wide rims reminiscent of stoneware, but they are made of BPA-free melamine. A set includes a plate, a salad plate, and a salad bowl. They are top rack dishwasher-safe, but not microwavable. The collection includes serving platters, bowls, and chargers sold separately to further elevate your outdoor dining experience.

Material: Melamine
Number of settings: Four
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Microwave-safe: No

9

Best Open Stock Dinnerware Set

Mercer Dinnerware

The Crate and Barrel Mercer open stock dinnerware gives you the flexibility to personalize a set with your favorite dishes and ones that you will use the most. For example, we love their six and one-quarter inch deep bowls, but you may prefer the more shallow eight-inch bowls. Additional options include a dinner plate, a salad plate, an appetizer plate, a mini bowl, and a mug. Pieces are sold individually or in sets of eight of the same. We love the rustic free-form rims, slim profile, and rippled organic design of these porcelain pieces. They are dishwasher, microwave, and oven-safe up to 350°).

Material: Porcelain
Number of settings: Pieces sold individually
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Microwave-safe: Yes

Myo Quinn Myo Quinn is a professionally trained chef, recipe developer, food writer and on-air talent.

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Casual Dining Dishes

Source: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home-products/g32309876/best-dinnerware-plates-sets/