17 Best Serving Dishes For Your Next Party

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There’s nothing like hosting a dinner party, especially if you like to cook. Not only are they a great platform for socializing with friends, but they’re an opportunity to let your skills in the kitchen shine and to let the people close to you know that preparing food is part of your identity.

If a dinner party is like putting on a show, though, the serving dishes you use are the props. If you don’t use high-quality serving dishes, in other words, your efforts will be for naught and people won’t fully appreciate the food, even if it’s delicious!

To help you get the credit you deserve at your next dinner party, I’ve put together a guide on how to choose serving dishes and written about some of the best serving dishes I’ve found.

What to Look For in Serving Dishes

Sometimes, you’ll want to buy a serving dish that’s not on my list. If you’re in a foreign country, for example, a nice serving dish makes a great souvenir. Or maybe you need to buy a specialty serving dish for a recipe you’re making.

If you are looking at serving dishes, keep this “checklist” in mind so you know what to look at before you buy.

Appearance

With serving dishes, appearance is key. Of course you also want something functional, but a serving dish that looks boring or badly designed. Keep in mind the color scheme of your dining room, living room, or wherever you’ll be using the serving dish and try to get a dish with designs and colors that compliment its future surroundings.

Durability

A good serving dish will last generations if it’s not dropped. Make sure that the dish you’re getting has some good thickness to it, because that means it’s solid. Serving dishes that are hand-wash only are generally more fragile than dishwasher-safe ones but also tend to last a lot longer if treated with care.

Price

Serving dishes can be tremendously expensive – I’m talking thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. However, I’ve found that you can usually find dishes that are just as well-made and aesthetically pleasing as the really expensive stuff for a fraction of the price. Unless you find something that you feel inexplicably drawn to, I really don’t recommend springing for something too expensive.

Care

Lots of handmade serving dishes are not to be put in the dishwasher, but instead gently cleaned by hand. Like I said, these dishes are often prettier and more durable in the long run, but they’re also more of a pain to take care of. If you’re buying one big dish, handwash-only is fine. If you’re buying a set of smaller dishes, though, handwash-only may be more trouble than it’s worth.

Appetizers

Some of the best serving dishes I’ve seen for the food that comes before the main meal:

1. Brooklyn Slate Cheese Board

by [amazon link=”B004JWHNW8″ link_icon=”none” title=”Brooklyn Slate Co.” /]

[amazon fields=”B004JWHNW8″ value=”thumb” image_size=”large” image_align=”center” image_alt=”Brooklyn Slate Co. Slate Cheese Board”]

This cheese board has an unusual and rustic look, and it’s also dishwasher-safe – a rare combination. It has little added touches, like its four cork feet that protect your table or the included soapstone pencil to hygienically label your cheeses, that make it my pick for the best cheese board on the market. Throw some crackers on there with the cheese and you’ve got a surefire hit on your hands.

2. Flow Chip and Dip

by Crate & Barrel

Chips and dip are always a crowd pleaser. They’re easy to eat, they’re delicious, and you can choose a dip to suit any taste or dietary need. This porcelain dish is the best way to present both chips and dip in one serving dish. The design is simple but elegant, with two elegantly sculpted sections that are perfectly sized for a before-dinner snack.

I have one of these and have used it at nearly every dinner party I’ve held for the past few years. It’s a good serving dish for shrimp and cocktail sauce, vegetables and hummus, or fruits and cream cheese dip in addition to classic chips and dip.

Utensils

The best dining utensils for your guests to eat your food with:

3. Berglander Stainless Steel Golden Serving Utensils, Set of 6

by [amazon link=”B07KJHJSHZ” link_icon=”none” title=”Berglander” /]

[amazon fields=”B07KJHJSHZ” value=”thumb” image_size=”large” image_align=”center” image_alt=”Berglander Stainless Steel Golden Serving Utensils”]

The gold-plated titanium used to make these serving utensils gives them an eye-catching flair that you don’t see in many similar sets. It also has a solid, durable feel, and the utensils will never scratch or rust.

All six pieces—serving spoon, slotted spoon, meat fork, cake server, sugar spoon, and butter knife—have very nice tapered handles and feel really good in your hand while you’re using them.

4. Zwilling TWIN® Brand Opus 18/10 Stainless Steel 45-Pc. Flatware Set

by Macy’s

This set contains all the silverware you’ll need for every dinner party you’ll ever hold. It has eight pieces each of knives, forks, spoons, salad forks, and teaspoons, so your guests will never have to ask for more utensils. It also includes five serving implements—a large serving spoon, a large slotted serving spoon, a sugar spoon, a meat fork, and a snub-nosed butter knife.

All 45 pieces are made from mostly stainless steel, which makes them easy to keep clean. They also contain 18% chrome, which keeps them from corroding over time, and 10% nickel, which gives them a luxurious gleam you don’t see in competitors very often.

For the Table

Now for the main course. The best dishes to serve your entree from:

5. Cole & Mason Derwent Salt & Pepper Mill

by [amazon link=”B0099V31D4″ link_icon=”none” title=”Cole & Mason” /]

[amazon fields=”B0099V31D4″ value=”thumb” image_size=”large” image_align=”center” image_alt=”Cole & Mason Derwent Salt & Pepper Mill”]

These salt and pepper shakers have a few features that make them stand out. Let me go through them one by one.

• The grinders have a special precision technology called the “lifetime mechanism” that strips down the salt/pepper grains layer by layer instead of crushing them. By doing so, they release the full flavor of the spices.
• There are six settings that let you determine the fineness of the grains that come out.
• The grinders at the top of both shakers are ergonomically designed so they are comfortable in your hand and easy to twist.
• The refill mechanism is convenient and intuitive.
• The set is available in two metal colors, silver and bronze, both of which look very nice. The dark wood color is also beautiful.

6. Le Creuset 4.5 Quart Round Dutch Oven

by [amazon link=”B00VA5H8AY” link_icon=”none” title=”Le Creuset” /]

[amazon fields=”B00VA5H8AY” value=”thumb” image_size=”large” image_align=”center” image_alt=”Le Creuset 4.5 Quart Round Dutch Oven”]

Dutch ovens make fantastic serving dishes because of their superior heat retention. They’re also one of my favorite cooking tools (I have an entire article about why Dutch ovens are fantastic),but if you stick a burn-proof mat under one and bring it to the table it will keep food hot for the whole meal.

This one is particularly great to put in front of your guests, because it looks great and can withstand metal utensils. This model also has a ceramic nonstick coating that’s dishwasher-safe and resistant to cracking, dulling, staining, and chipping. 

7. Serving Platter

by [amazon link=”B09S6T8GPV” link_icon=”none” title=”Made In Cookware” /]

[amazon fields=”B09S6T8GPV” value=”thumb” image_size=”large” image_align=”center” image_alt=”Made In Cookware Serving Platter”]

This shiny white platter looks a bit flimsy at first glance, but let me assure you that the restaurant-quality vitrified china used to make it is anything but flimsy.

In fact, it’s pretty amazing how much wear and tear these things can go through and still retain their “like-new” sheen. You can stack them on top of each other in a cabinet, cut steak on top of them, and put them through the dishwasher dozens of times, and they’ll still look like the day you brought them home.

The material won’t chip, either, even if you are a bit clumsy with it. Made In is so confident in the strength of the material that they have a policy of replacing any plate of this model that chips within the first year of ownership.

8. Pillivuyt Coupe Porcelain Shallow Serving Bowl

by [amazon link=”B0028XV8Y4″ link_icon=”none” title=”Pillivuyt” /]

[amazon fields=”B0028XV8Y4″ value=”thumb” image_size=”large” image_align=”center” image_alt=”Pillivuyt Coupe Porcelain Shallow Serving Bowl”]

This is the kind of sturdy serving dish that you’ll get more use from over the next few decades than any other piece of cookware in your kitchen. The size is just perfect for group-sized pastas, salads, risottos, and sides. And the classic, simple design doesn’t draw the eye away from the food like a more colorful bowl might.

It’s difficult these days to find white porcelain serving dishes that are made anywhere except China, but this product shows that it’s worth the search.

9. French Kitchen Marble Covered Butter Dish

by Crate & Barrel

This is a refreshing new take on a butter dish, because instead of holding a rectangular block of butter like most American butter dishes it holds French-style softened butter in a cylindrical bowl.

My family much prefers softened butter, because we think it’s easier to spread and has a better consistency. Your dinner party guests may very well feel the same. Who knew that something as simple as spreading butter on bread could be a memorable dining experience?

The bowl itself is made of very attractive white marble and is hand-wash only. It holds eight ounces of soft butter, the same amount of butter that’s in one stick. The lid, which keeps the butter safe from dust or foreign odors, is made of glass and is dishwasher-safe.

10. Blossom Lane Salad Set with Wooden Servers

by Kate Spade

The bowl itself is luxurious. It’s made of gleaming white porcelain, and it has an adorable yet classy floral design etched into it. It’s also big, holding 78 ounces of deliciousness. It’s dishwasher- and microwave-safe, too, which is nice with a bowl this big because you’ll almost definitely have leftovers.

I haven’t even mentioned the varnished dark bamboo serving utensils included with the bowl, either. They make serving easy, and they’re treated with a high-quality nonstick coating so washing them off is a snap.

Dessert

No dinner party is complete without dessert, and here are the best serving plates for the after-dinner revelry:

11. Chateau Wood Cake Stand

by Potterybarn

I’ve served literally hundreds of cakes at dinner parties on dozens of different cake stands, and this dark mango wood and acacia beauty has gotten far more compliments from guests than any of them. It adds a touch of natural beauty to anything served on it, and it’s very easy to clean afterwards thanks to a great nonstick finish.

I love the slight inward tilt on the stand, too. It’s not so slanted that it makes serving a cake on it awkward, but it’s just angled enough to where it makes pieces of cake falling off the stand a very rare occurrence.

12. Caesna Mirror Pastry Server

by Crate & Barrel

The name of this product is not misleading; the forged 18/10 stainless steel used to make this pastry server really does shine like a mirror. 18/10 means that the utensil contains 18% chrome and 10% solid nickel, which gives it a gleam that you just don’t find in similar products for the price of $20.

Drinks

The best serving dishware for after-dinner drinks:

13. HiCoup Wine Decanter

by [amazon link=”B01FJ0KAOQ” link_icon=”none” title=”HiCoup Kitchenware” /]

[amazon fields=”B01FJ0KAOQ” value=”thumb” image_size=”large” image_align=”center” image_alt=”HiCoup Wine Decanter”]

This decanter has two openings, one on either “arm” of the beautifully-designed glass shape. The large opening is for pouring in the wine, and the decanter holds 800ml, so you can pour in an entire standard-sized bottle of wine, which is 750ml. The smaller opening is for pouring the wine after you let it breathe in the decanter.

The design works spectacularly and is as stylish as it is functional. It’s also ergonomic and provides wine with the maximum amount of oxygenation.

14. Ona Large Pitcher

by Crate & Barrel

This is one of those serving dishes that looks like a work of art even when it’s empty. Once it’s at the table and filled with a delicious drink, though, it’s even more eye-catching. It also feels great in your hand, and it’s easy to pour. The sleek profile is easy to grip and makes storage a non-issue.

My one complaint is that it’s a bit heavy when full, but I have some ridiculously puny grip strength and I don’t think it will be an issue for most people.

15. Punch Bowl 8-Piece Set

by Sur La Table

I love making punch for dinner parties because it looks nice, it’s easy to make taste delicious (it’s hard to go wrong with fruit), and it’s a great “group activity” drink when you have a nice punch bowl. The bowl with this set fits the bill, and the gorgeous clear serving ladle compliments it nicely. It also includes six glasses with a matching modern design.

16. Aspen Stemless Wine Glasses 11.75 oz., Set of 12

by Crate & Barrel

Having nice wine glasses at a dinner party basically elevates it to a truly classy affair, but it’s also hard to make it through a party without at least one breaking. Seriously, you don’t know how many wine glasses I’ve lost just because that thin glass rod connecting the base to the glass itself shatters. And that’s why I love these glasses, which retain the elegance of wine flutes while removing the most common break point, the stem.

They’re surprisingly solid for how nice they look, and the fact that you can get a set of 12 of them for only $30 at Crate & Barrel makes them a must-buy.

17. 2-Liter Thermal Coffee Carafe

by Crate & Barrel

This carafe keeps coffee hot for longer than any other one I’ve seen. It’s completely plated with stainless steel, which gives it great insulation and a heavy-duty appearance. At the same time, though, the gentle curves of the handle and spout temper that rugged look with a graceful appearance that makes it a great addition to the end of your dinner party.

Serving Dish FAQ

One Last Thought

Remember, your ensemble of serving dishes and utensils will make or break your dinner parties. To wow your friends and become known as the most stylish cook around, gear up with some high-quality dishes!