Types of plates — every kind, its size and what it is for

Well

Also: centre, mirror, bassin.

The flat central floor of a plate, inside the rim: the surface food actually sits on and the number that matters more than the plate's diameter.

Rim

Also: lip, marli.

The flat raised border framing the well. Trade catalogues from Steelite, Churchill, Bauscher and Denby all call it the rim; collectors say lip, and French ceramics say marli.

Cavetto

Also: bouge, the slope.

The sloping wall that joins the rim to the well. Pewterers called it the bouge and hammered it to strengthen the metal; on a soup plate it deepens until rim and well read as one bowl.

Foot ring

Also: foot.

The ring the plate stands on, left unglazed on cheaper ware because it rests on the kiln shelf. Premium hotelware is fired on pins so even the foot can be glazed, which slows glaze wear in a stack.

Base

The underside inside the foot ring, where the backstamp, the pattern name and any oven, microwave or dishwasher rating are printed.

Rimmed plate

Also: wide rim, broad rim.

A plate with a border clearly separated from the well. The traditional European profile, descended from metalwork; it frames the food, catches juices, and gives the server somewhere to hold.

Narrow rim

A discreet border rather than a wide flat one, so more of the same diameter is usable as a plating surface. The commercial middle ground between rim and coupe.

Coupe plate

Also: rimless.

A plate with no distinct rim, its surface flowing evenly from the centre to a gently upturned edge. Reads flatter, quieter and more modern, and makes the whole disc the canvas.

Deep coupe

A rimless plate with a genuinely bowled centre, sold under that name by Steelite and Bauscher: the shape that holds a risotto, a curry or anything with a moat of sauce.

Flat plate

Also: presentation plate.

An almost perfectly flat disc with no well at all. Dramatic for dry, composed food and useless for anything that runs.

Pasta plate

Also: deep plate, assiette creuse.

A wide rimmed plate with a shallow bowled well, typically 28–29 cm, built so a nest of pasta sits proud in the middle with the sauce held around it.

Square plate

A four-sided plate, common in Asian restaurant ranges and 2000s Western fine dining. Sharp corners chip more readily than round rims, so most commercial squares now have softened corners.

Rectangular plate

Also: oblong, naga-zara.

A long plate for sequences: three canapés, a row of sashimi, a tasting flight. It forces a left-to-right reading order that round plates do not.

Oval plate

The elongated round, traditional for fish and for any food longer than it is wide; also the practical shape for platters, since ovals store where big rounds will not.

Triangle plate

A rarer fine-dining and appetiser shape, sold in commercial ranges at 18–31 cm; the point gives a natural focal direction.

Organic plate

Also: free-form.

A round-ish plate with a deliberately uneven, hand-thrown edge. Churchill's official word for the profile; it reads handmade even when it is not.

Ramekin

A small straight-sided glazed dish, usually 4 to 8 oz (120–240 ml) and 3 to 3.75 in across, for baking and serving one portion of anything set or custardy.

The word came from French ramequin and originally named a cheese preparation, not the dish. A shallow crème brûlée dish about 4 ½ to 5 in (11 to 13 cm) across and 1 in (2.5 cm) deep is the crème brûlée default, because the wide surface gives the caramel crust its area; a standard 3 in ramekin works but sets a deeper, slower custard. 6 oz is the usual home soufflé size. Cook one.

Cocotte

Also: mini cocotte.

The French name for a heavy lidded braising pot; in individual sizes, a 8–24 oz cast-iron or stoneware pot that goes from oven to table as one person's portion.

Gratin dish

A shallow oval or rectangular baking dish, wide and low so the maximum surface browns under heat. Its shape is a recipe instruction, not a style choice.

Cazuela

A shallow unglazed or glazed earthenware Spanish cooking dish that goes straight to the table, traditional for gambas al ajillo and baked rice.

Tagine

A North African vessel of a flat rimmed earthenware dish and a tall conical lid, which condenses rising steam back onto the food; the word also names the stew.

Cloche

The bell-shaped dome cover lifted off a plate at the table, from French cloche, a bell; the same word gives the garden cloche and the 1920s hat.

Practically, a cloche keeps a plate hot between the pass and the table and delivers a small piece of theatre when it lifts. It is also the vehicle for smoke service, where the dome traps aromatic smoke that escapes at the table.

Escargot plate

A round metal or porcelain dish with six or twelve dimpled wells that hold snails upright in their garlic butter; the wells double for baked oysters.

Oyster plate

A plate moulded with individual oyster-shaped wells around a central sauce well, most famously the six-well Victorian majolica versions by Minton.

Deviled-egg plate

A plate with moulded oval wells that hold halved eggs steady, a mid-century American form whose popularity peaked in the 1950s.

Sizzle platter

A thin oval metal platter heated to serving temperature so food arrives audibly cooking, carried in an insulated holder.

Divided plate

Also: compartment plate.

A plate with moulded sections that keep foods apart: Korean banchan dishes, cafeteria trays, children's plates and portion-controlled healthcare ware.

Platter

An oversized dish, usually oval and 13 in (33 cm) or larger, for food distributed to several people at the table rather than eaten from directly.

Chop plate

Also: round platter.

A large round platter, typically 12–13 in, named for the chops it once carried. Confusingly, some suppliers use the same word for a charger.

Cake stand

Also: footed cake plate.

A round plate raised on a pedestal, about 10–10.5 in, which lifts a cake into its own visual space and makes slicing possible from every side.

Tiered stand

Two or three plates stacked on a central post for afternoon tea, commonly 12/10/8 in or 10/8/6 in, with 10–11 in regarded as the ideal bottom tier.

Board

A flat wooden, slate or marble serving surface with no well at all. The direct descendant of the medieval trencher, and the working surface of every charcuterie board.

The board is where plating becomes table-scale. Our charcuterie board guide covers quantities, arrangement and the safety windows.

Tray

A carrying surface with a raised edge, distinguished from a platter by intent: a tray moves food, a platter presents it.

Mamezara

Also: bean plate.

A Japanese plate of roughly 6–10 cm, for a pinch of pickles, a condiment or a single bite; the smallest plate in regular use anywhere.

Kozara

The Japanese small plate, about 12–15 cm, for one person's portion of a side dish.

Chūzara

The Japanese medium plate, about 18–21 cm, the everyday plate for a grilled fish or a main side.

Ōzara

The Japanese large plate, 24–30 cm, used as a Western dinner plate would be or as a sharing platter for sashimi.

Chawan

Also: rice bowl.

The Japanese rice bowl, about 12 cm across and 6 cm tall, sized to hold roughly 150 g of steamed rice and to be lifted in the hand.

Donburi

A deep Japanese bowl about 15 cm across holding around 900 ml, for rice topped with a single dish; the word also names the meal.

Ramen bowl

Also: ramen-bachi.

A wide flared bowl of about 18 cm and 1,400 ml, big enough that noodles, broth and toppings each keep their own territory.

Volume is the whole design brief: a bowl that looks absurdly large empty is the one that lets you lift noodles without flooding the table. Tonkotsu, miso and shoyu all want it.

Geta

Also: sushi geta.

The wooden sushi board raised on two feet, named after the geta sandal it resembles; the height keeps the rice clear of any moisture on the counter.

Bento box

A compartmented Japanese single-serving lunch container, a form dating to the Kamakura period and popularised as a school and office lunch in the Taishō era.

Thali

A round metal platter used across South Asia, holding small bowls of individual dishes around a central mound of rice or bread; also the name of the meal.

Katori

The small metal bowl that sits on a thali to keep each wet dish separate from the rice.

Banchan dishes

The set of small Korean side-dish plates and bowls placed in the middle of the table to be shared through the meal.

Verrine

A small glass in which a starter or dessert is layered and served, so the construction is visible from the side rather than from above.

Amuse-bouche spoon

A flat-based tasting spoon that stands on the table and holds a single bite; the Chinese soup spoon does the same job.

What are the different types of plates?

A full place setting uses, from largest to smallest: the charger (11–14 in / 28–36 cm), the dinner plate (about 10.5 in / 27 cm), the luncheon plate (9 in / 23 cm), the salad or dessert plate (7–8.5 in / 18–22 cm), the side or bread-and-butter plate (5–7 in / 13–18 cm) and the saucer (about 6 in / 15 cm). Add the soup plate, a rimmed shallow bowl of 9–10 in, and the specialised forms: fish plate, bone dish, appetiser plate, pasta plate, escargot and oyster plates. Beyond the place setting sit the serving pieces (platters, chop plates, cake stands, boards) and the bake-and-serve dishes (ramekins, cocottes, gratin dishes, cazuelas).

What is a charger plate?

A charger is a large decorative plate, usually 13 inches (33 cm), laid on the table before guests sit down. It works as an underplate: each course arrives on its own plate set on top of it, and it is cleared before the main course or exchanged for the entrée plate. The name comes from Middle English chargeour, from Latin carricare, to load, because it once carried a whole roast to the table.

Do you eat off a charger plate?

No. Food is never placed directly on a service plate in formal etiquette, and many decorative chargers in metal, glass, acrylic or painted finishes are not made from food-safe materials. If your charger is a plain glazed porcelain plate from a dinnerware line, it is simply a large plate and you can use it as one.

What size is a standard dinner plate?

About 10.5 inches or 27 centimetres. Sources vary between 10 and 12 inches, and restaurants often use 11 or 12 inch plates, but those usually carry a wider rim around a well of the same size, so the eating surface has not grown as much as the diameter suggests. Above 11 inches, plates start to be hard to fit in domestic dishwasher racks.

What is the difference between a rimmed plate and a coupe plate?

A rimmed plate has a flat border clearly separated from the well, the traditional European profile that frames the food and catches juices. A coupe plate has no distinct rim: the surface flows from the centre to a gently upturned edge, so the whole disc is the plating surface. Coupe reads more modern and quieter; rim reads more formal and makes the same portion look larger.

What is a ramekin?

A ramekin is a small straight-sided glazed dish, usually 4 to 8 ounces (120–240 ml) and 3 to 3.75 inches across, used to bake and serve an individual portion of crème brûlée, soufflé, custard, flan or a small gratin. The word comes from the French ramequin and originally named a baked cheese preparation rather than the dish it was cooked in.

What size ramekin do I need for crème brûlée?

A shallow crème brûlée dish about 4 ½ to 5 inches (11 to 13 cm) across and 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep is the classic choice, because a wide shallow custard gives the most caramel surface per spoonful and bakes evenly in the water bath. A standard 3-inch (7.6 cm), 4-ounce (120 ml) ramekin works too, but the deeper custard takes longer to set. A 6-ounce ramekin is the standard size for a soufflé, where height matters more than surface.

What is a cloche?

A cloche is the bell-shaped dome cover lifted off a plate at the table. The word is French for bell, from Medieval Latin clocca, and is a doublet of clock and cloak, which is why the garden cloche and the 1920s hat share the name. In service it keeps a plate hot between the kitchen and the table, and it is the standard vehicle for smoke service.

What is the difference between a plate and a platter?

Intent and size. A plate holds one person's food; a platter is an oversized dish, usually oval and 13 inches (33 cm) or larger, from which food is distributed to several people. Pewter collectors still use a size rule: under 7 inches is a saucer, 7 to 11 inches a plate, 11 to 18 inches a dish, and anything larger a charger.

What is the difference between porcelain and bone china?

Bone china is a porcelain with calcined bone ash added, at least 25% by the ASTM definition and at least 30% by UK industry practice. The bone ash makes it warmer and creamier in colour, more translucent, lighter and thinner than hard-paste porcelain, and it rings when tapped. Hard porcelain is fired hotter, is brighter and slightly cooler in tone, costs less, and chips a little more readily.

Is stoneware or porcelain better for plates?

Neither is better; they do different jobs. Porcelain is whiter, thinner, lighter and closer to non-porous, which makes it the neutral canvas most restaurants use for main courses. Stoneware is heavier, opaque, warmer in tone and suits speckled and reactive glazes, which makes it a design statement rather than a frame. A common professional answer is white porcelain for mains and stoneware for starters, sharing plates and desserts.

How do I know if a plate has lead in it?

Plain white commercially made dishes are very unlikely to be a problem; lead is rarely found in them. The risk list is traditional glazed terracotta, brightly decorated imported or hand-made ware, orange, red and yellow decoration, decoration on the rim or the food surface that you can feel, antiques made before lead in tableware was regulated, and any piece with a corroded, dusty or chalky glaze. Swab kits give a useful positive but an unreliable negative, since they cannot see lead below the surface. Anything marked 'Not for Food Use' should never hold food.

Can you put a plate in the oven?

Only if the base says so, and never straight from the fridge or freezer into a hot oven. Ratings vary hugely by material: many stoneware ranges go to 260 °C, laminated glass such as Corelle only to 176 °C and only in a preheated oven, some fine bone china not at all, and melamine never. Warming empty plates is gentler than baking in them, and even then a manufacturer may cap it: Wedgwood says 65 °C is safe for warming its tableware.

Do smaller plates make you eat less?

Probably not, on the evidence. Three crossover experiments at Penn State found no effect on energy intake, and the only pre-registered general-population trial found a difference of 19 kcal with a confidence interval spanning zero. A meta-analysis of dishware experiments pooled to a marginal effect whose interval touched zero. Where plate size does bite is self-service: people serve themselves more onto a larger plate, especially when they do not know they are being watched.

What plate colour is best for food?

White is the safe default and the one most restaurants use, and a pale dessert on a white plate was rated sweeter and more intense than the same dessert on black. But the effect follows the food: in a 253-diner restaurant test, a pink fraisier scored far better on white while a brown raspberry dessert was liked more on black. The practical rule is contrast with the food, not with the tablecloth: pale food glows on dark plates, colourful food sings on white.

How many plates do I need?

Common guidance is eight to twelve place settings for a household of three to six people, or about two dinner plates per person, rising to one and a half to two plates per guest if you host multi-course meals. A five-piece formal setting is a dinner plate, salad plate, bread-and-butter plate, cup and saucer; a four-piece casual setting is a dinner plate, salad plate, bowl and mug. That is why sets are sold as 16 pieces (four settings of four) or 20 pieces (four of five).