11 Unique Serving Dishes For Your Next Dinner Party

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Most people go with fairly nondescript and “classic” design themes when they’re throwing dinner parties, but the more adventurous among us like to mix things up a bit by using decor that is a little out there and will really make guests sit up and take notice. Unique serving dishes are a great way to create that “wow” factor, so I thought it’d be helpful to some people if I put together a post covering the coolest and most useful unique serving dishes out there.

In the table below, I’ve included 12 of the best unique serving dishes I’ve seen, along with the type of dish it is and the price range (from $-$$$$$$) for quick reference.

Name	Type of Dish	Price Range
Lobster Platter	Long Serving Plate	$$$$
Flamingo Punch Bowl	Punch Bowl	$$$$
Titania Serving Platter	Shallow Serving Bowl	$$$
Serpent Serving Bowl	Double Serving Bowl	$$
Oyster Platter	Segmented Serving Bowl	$$
Coastal and Lake Serving Tray	Rectangular Serving Tray	$$$$$$
Hamsa Mezze Server	Removable Serving Dishes w/ Holder	$$$$
Wine Bottle Topper Serving Set	Perching serving Trays	$$$
Bamboo Lotus Serving Platter	Star-Shaped Serving Tray w/ Indents	$$$
Nachosaurus Snack and Dip Set	Chips and Dips Set	$$
Wine Bottle Serving Tray	Long Serving Trays	$$

1. Lobster Platter

by Pottery Barn

This coastal-inspired plate is part of a collection inspired by the serenity of the sea. The whole collection is pretty amazing and is hand dipped to give an authentic old world feel, but this plate is my favorite piece because the orang-red used for the lobster in the middle of the plate juxtaposes the dark blue that lines the plate so nicely.

It’s also the perfect size for holding a good-sized side dish without being excessive. The glaze on the plate is microwave- and dishwasher-safe, which can not be said for a lot of hand-painted dishware.

2. Flamingo Punch Bowl

by Mark and Graham

A big bowl of punch is a great centerpiece to get a dinner party in gear, but a regular ol’ glass bowl of punch is a little bit played out. Instead, I’d recommend this gold-beaked pink flamingo punch bowl from Mark and Graham. It’s made of hand-painted ceramic and it holds 32 ounces — a perfect size for seven or eight small servings of punch. For a few extra bucks, it can even be monogrammed to reflect the owner’s initials.

It brings to the party a fun, tropical vibe that most punch bowls don’t, and it pairs well with the Palm Leaf glasses also sold by Mark and Graham.

3. Titania Serving Platter

by Anthropologie

Parisian designer Nathalie Lete’s work is described as “a dreamlike world that centers on themes of fantasy, humor, and childlike memories.” In my opinion, this piece is her best. The two stoneware cupped hands that make up the bowl are painted with a white base and decorated with bright floral patterns as well as the lines you would see on an actual pair of hands. The sculpture has a striking appearance and brings a light, summery mood to the table. It’s also microwave- and dishwasher-safe

As a bowl, the dish is very shallow and could not hold something like soup, but it’s perfect for keeping small fruits, nuts, or candies.

4. Serpent Serving Bowl

by CB2

Double serving bowls are a dinner party essential, and an edgy version like this one will definitely add some flair to your table when you’re hosting. The silver metal of the bowls juxtaposed against the gold finish of the snake makes this piece interesting to look at.

The piece features a snake cradling the bowls in its tail and is perfect for dips or nuts.

5. Oyster Platter

by Etsy

Each of the six bowl-shaped indents in this ceramic serving tray are painted with light blues, dark blues, and earthy browns to create an interesting and appealing pattern. The indents are meant to each hold an oyster, but they are also great for other snacks like vegetables or potato chips. There’s also a smaller circular well near the center of the dish meant for holding a sauce or dip to go with the food in the oyster-shaped indents.

Despite all that eye-catching paint, though, the platter is still dishwasher-safe as long as you use cool water.

6. Coastal and Lake Serving Tray

by Uncommon Goods

This wooden tray is genius, both in terms of aesthetics and functionality.

When you order the tray, you choose a body of water or island to be depicted on it from a large database on the product page. The manufacturers will then laser-engrave the body of water you chose and the land surrounding it (or the island and the water surrounding it, if you chose that option) onto a rectangular sheet of maplewood. The area of the water will be slightly sunken below the “land” and the water will be painted a deep blue color that looks great with the natural tan of the wood. The surface of the water will be embossed with black lines that show the real topography of the floor on its bottom, and the land will be marked with roads, towns, and state lines.

The maplewood sheet depicting your chosen area is affixed to the bottom of a rectangular cherry wood tray. The result is a gorgeous and sturdy serving dish with a unique look based on a place in the world that’s special to you. Don’t worry about arranging food on the tray or cleaning it after use being difficult, either; the maplewood sheet at the bottom of the tray is covered with scratch-resistant glass so that the engraving is clearly visible but the food will not actually touch it.

7. Hamsa Mezze Server

by Uncommon Goods

Even when all the pieces are separate, this hand-painted stoneware set looks amazing. The five long curved trays are shaped like the five fingers of a hand, and they are all adorned with a stunning and brightly-colored pattern that can’t be done justice in words. There is also a large circular bowl with the same pattern as the fingers.

What makes the set really amazing, though, is that the five fingers and the bowl slide together into the hand-shaped stoneware outline included in the set to form an ancient Moroccan symbol of protection – the bowl serves as the palm of the hand. Not only is the assembled symbol meaningful, but it’s a convenient way to carry around all six platters of food at once. It’s also dishwasher-, microwave-, and oven-safe.

8. Wine Bottle Topper Serving Set

by Uncommon Goods

The three differently-sized organic bamboo trays in this set didn’t strike me as unique serving dishes at first, but my viewpoint changed when I realized that the holes near the sides of the trays are meant to slip over wine bottle necks and rest on the bottles, creating the appearance of rope bridges stretching in between trees (where the trays are the bridges and the bottles are the trees). Since you’ve probably got some wine bottles handy at any venue where a dinner party is being held, finding them shouldn’t be a problem. The resulting spead is eye-catching and memorable.

Added bonus: when you’re done with the food on the trays, you can remove them and open up the bottles!

9. Bamboo Lotus Serving Platter

by Uncommon Goods

The lotus flower shape of this bamboo tray is gorgeous, as the lotus flower is the symbol of peace and kindness in many Eastern countries, but it’s also great functionally since each of the flower’s petals serves as a tray for food. And to make some of the trays even more useful, designers Micheal and Ania Shepler carved into the platter a wide ident that runs along three of the petals.That indent makes a perfect storage space for fruits, vegetables, olives, and other foods that might drip a little. Flat, dry foods like crackers, chips, or cheeses can be kept on the flat areas of the tray. There is even an indent in the center of the flower shape that can hold dips or sauces to supplement the rest of the food.

10. Nachosaurus Snack and Dip Set

by Uncommon Goods

This plastic chips-and-dips set has more of a playful, quirky appearance than the other items on this list, but that’s a testament to how distinct and memorable the piece will be at your dinner party. The chips holder is essentially a standing model of a stegosaurus that has a deep indent in its back. The indent is large enough to hold a few dozen corn chips to stand in for the spikes that would normally come out of a stegosaurus’s back. You can put in pretzels, candies, or other small snacks to give the stegosaurus a different look.

The set also includes a circular dip tray that is split into two segments. I think it’s intended for guacamole and salsa, but feel free to pick and choose your own flavors.

The whole thing is made out of ABS plastic, a material that is food-safe, abrasion-proof, and dishwasher-safe.

11. Wine Bottle Serving Tray

by Etsy: SongbirdAndTwig

These two serving trays are made from a very unique material: repurposed wine bottles. The bottles are actually heated to 1500 degrees Fahrenheit in a kiln and then pressed down while the glass is still viscous to create a tray shape. One of the bottles in the set has a flat tray shape that’s perfect for cheeses or fruits, and the other has two sunken compartments that are ideal for holding crackers or nuts. The trays are very unique and great for all kinds of dinner parties, especially those hosted by wine connoisseurs!

Serving Up Style

Don’t fall into the trap of making all your dinner parties look like ones you’ve seen before! Take risks and show guests your creative side instead. I hope this post will help inspire you to inject your dinner soirees with a dose of the wild side.