Dinner Bowls

Entree Bowls: What You Need to Know

Our commercial dinner bowls category holds a broad variety of bowls, with variations in size, material, and style. Choosing the right piece can be difficult when all the options run together, which is why we're here to help. We'll go over the different materials, discuss their strengths and weaknesses, and review other things a restaurateur should consider to choose the best bowl for their needs.

Entree bowls are usually larger than salad or soup bowls because they're the centerpiece of your dinnerware. These bowls must fit your decor, be large enough to hold a full entree, and be durable enough to withstand high-volume use. For establishments that specialize in bowl meals, this choice is even more important. Soups, pastas, and rice or noodle dishes are all very popular, and every operator should find a way to serve them appropriately.

Common Questions About Dinner Bowls

What materials are restaurant bowls made of?

Bowls can be made of a wide range of materials, but the most common by far are stoneware and melamine. Melamine is a type of plastic, while stoneware encompasses ceramic and porcelain dinnerware. We'll discuss these three main materials here, along with how to clean them.

Melamine is perhaps the most common material used in dinnerware. It's an incredibly tough plastic that can be shaped and colored in almost any fashion, resulting in versatility that stoneware usually can't match. Melamine is light but not as light as cheaper plastics, which places it solidly between normal plastic and stoneware in terms of perceived quality. It's cheaper than stoneware alternatives, which makes it a great solution for casual and mid-tier establishments. Melamine is also dishwasher safe for high- and low-temperature commercial dishwashers, which means these bowls should fit right into your existing warewashing procedures. Melamine cannot be used in a microwave, which is a potential drawback for some commercial operators.

Ceramic, the most common type of stoneware, usually has a higher perceived quality than melamine. With its distinctive weight and texture, ceramic dinnerware works for any restaurant that can afford it over melamine. However, because stoneware can be made in different ways, not all ceramic dinner bowls can be put in every type of commercial dishwasher. Consult product specification pages for the bowls you're considering before making a purchase to ensure you can sanitize them properly.

Porcelain is a fully vitrified ceramic that is white and semi-translucent. It is lightweight, durable compared to other ceramics, and fits in with fine-dining aesthetics. Customers also see porcelain as the highest quality of the three materials we've discussed. Porcelain is a great option for any operators who can find space in the budget, but for most casual establishments, this won't be the case.

What capacity bowl will I need?

Capacity can be tricky because different bowl shapes may look higher or lower capacity than an equivalent bowl. The best way to approach capacity is to measure the volume of your most commonly served bowl dishes. Use measuring cups or other bowls you know the capacity of to see how much space you need to serve your guests comfortably. Keep in mind that you won't want to fill the bowls to the brim; over-full bowls can result in spills, wasted food, and even injury.