Restaurant Plates

Restaurant Supply Plates: What You Need to Know

Restaurant plates come in a wide variety of styles and purposes. Depending on the type of food that'll be placed upon them, these plates might be tiny or massive, colorful or pristine, melamine or porcelain. Choosing the right style, material, and brand can be tricky, but we're here to help. We'll go over the different styles and materials to help you make an informed decision.

Melamine, stoneware, and plastic restaurant plates all have different benefits and drawbacks. Depending on the aesthetic of your establishment, you may want to opt for a casual material, such as melamine, or go for fine china plates for upscale dining. Appetizers, salads, and desserts all require different plates, and the amount used in a commercial foodservice establishment can lead to dinnerware being a significant investment of capital.

Common Questions About Restaurant Plates

What types of plates are available?

Our restaurant plates category contains all the plates you need to run everything from a casual eatery to a fine dining establishment. Each plate style has a different purpose:

• Dinner Plates: The most common type of restaurant supply plate, dinner plates are typically large and mostly flat with a rolled edge. Showcasing your guest's entrée, these plates highlight the centerpiece of a meal and are the most important type of plate for most restaurants.
• Salad Plates, Bread Plates, and Appetizer Plates: Smaller in size, these plates are intended to precede or accompany a dinner plate. They should accent or complement your dinner plates, not draw focus away from them.
• Serving Platters: Serving platters are used to bring food out for multiple people or create eye-catching displays that draw guests towards your most profitable menu items.
• Dessert Plates and Saucers: Meant for holding after-meal sweets or cups of coffee, these are the smallest type of plate. Not every restaurant will need these items since saucers may not be expected at a casual eatery, and dessert could be served on an appetizer plate. However, these options can add a touch of class to your desserts, making them more of a special event for your guests.
• Charger Plates: Placed underneath dinner plates in upscale table settings, these plates protect the table and tablecloth underneath by catching drippings while also providing elevation and color variation to the presentation.
• Specialty Plates: This category houses everything else. All the creative, wild, and unusual pieces that don't fit into the traditional styles of restaurant supply plates can be found here.

What material should I choose?

The two main materials used for dinner plates are melamine and stoneware. Stoneware encompasses ceramic and porcelain and is an incredibly popular choice for all restaurants. China plates, also known as porcelain, are a fully vitrified type of stoneware, meaning they won't absorb any liquids, scents, or stains. Porcelain is used in high-tier fine dining establishments, and it's more expensive than casual eateries will usually want to spend.

Melamine is a wonderful mid-tier material for restaurant plates. This combination of organic fiber and plastic resin makes a durable, shatterproof, attractive plate for a very affordable cost. Melamine is by far the most common type of dish material in commercial foodservice. Melamine and stoneware can both be washed in commercial dishwashers, but melamine can't be used in a microwave, which will be an important distinction for some businesses.