Choosing Tableware for Your Table Top
The quality of a foodservice operation's meal presentation relies upon the appearance of the food itself, as well as the dinnerware, glassware, and flatware provided at the table. Because serving items have an immediate effect on customer perceptions of value, how food is presented can cause someone to form an opinion about a meal before even taking a bite. Every restaurant owner wants the taste of their food to be the highlight of a guest's visit, but presentation can have a huge impact on the overall experience.1
In addition to selecting the table top items required when opening a restaurant, operators should regularly take inventory and order items necessary to replenish their stock from broken or damaged items as needed. Every few years, operators should also evaluate current trends and customer feedback to determine if those initial selections need to be replaced to update the look and feel of the dining room. Choosing the right tableware will enhance your dining room with colors, styles, and materials that reflect the level of service you intend to provide. Whether you're choosing tableware for the first time or hoping to refresh your table top with fresh patterns, we'll explain all your options below.
Choosing Dinnerware for Your Restaurant
Dinnerware might not be the first serving item to appear on the table top during a customer's visit, but it does provide the biggest visual impact. If a restaurant's plates, bowls, or other dishes are outdated or show visible signs of wear and tear – chips along the rim or scratches in the glaze – guests may view that business as outdated or poorly maintained. The right dinnerware for a casual Mexican restaurant will not be the best choice for an upscale concept with a tasting menu, so your selection should be influenced by your restaurant's menu items, expectations for daily use, and budget.
Dinnerware can also have a direct impact on your sales. Fazoli's, an Italian fast-casual chain, saw an almost 5-percent increase in revenue in 2017, which the CEO attributes to plating their food on real plates rather than black plasticware.2
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Melamine plates, bowls, and platters are the most common option for casual restaurants. They're made of a durable resin that resists discoloration and damage but should not be heated, and in some cases, they can be stained by acidic foods such as tomato sauce or curry. Melamine dishes are lightweight, making them easy to handle and great for high-volume use. This dinnerware is available in a variety of styles and sizes, so if you run a laid-back restaurant, cafe, or diner, there is likely a collection to fit your establishment.
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Ceramic dinnerware is popular in cafes, casual-dining chains, and family restaurants. Ceramic dishes are available in varying shades of white for more traditional place settings, along with patterns, colors, and materials for those looking to branch out. Coupe styles as well as those with thin or wide rims are available. While porcelain and stoneware are both durable options, porcelain's strength is derived from being more refined and fired multiple times; stoneware boasts a thicker body that is also heavier. The biggest difference between these dinnerware materials is weight. Stoneware has an earthy appearance, which may be desired in farm-to-table concepts but might be out of place in settings where porcelains' smooth elegance is more appropriate.
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China is the costliest dinnerware option. These pieces are available in both traditional and modern shapes, and in white or with elegant designs. The highest-grade china is known as bone china because bone ash is included in the clay during production. Bone china goes through multiple firings to create a durable final product that is most often used in fine-dining restaurants and hotels. Even though fine china and bone china are very durable for such thin materials, these pieces are the most fragile dinnerware options and should be handled with immense care.
More Dinnerware Resources
Choosing Drinkware for Your Restaurant
Much like dinnerware, the drinkware you choose for your table top can have a direct effect on how customers perceive your restaurant and the quality of the drinks you serve. When it comes to glasses, finding the right drinkware depends on your restaurant's concept. Fast-casual eateries and upscale dining rooms usually don’t utilize the same drinkware. Because these pieces are handled so often, you will need to balance cost with heft, feel, durability, and appearance when selecting glassware for your restaurant. Also keep in mind you will likely need more than one type of glass, especially if you offer beer, wine, or cocktails in addition to soft drinks.
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Plastic drinkware is durable and lightweight. While these pieces are most often made of SAN plastic or polycarbonate, durable Tritan plastic is steadily claiming more of the market. Plastic tumblers, cocktail glasses, beer mugs, wine glasses, and shot glasses are available in clear and colored designs, including red, blue, and amber hues. These are most used in casual eateries and in outdoor bars where glassware is impractical or not allowed. For easy storage, many plastic glasses are stackable.
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Glasses are the most common type of restaurant drinkware, which as the name suggests, are made of glass. These are often shaped for a specific type of beer, wine, or cocktail, so bars and restaurants may need multiple types to accommodate their full drink menu. Most glasses are clear, though some have elaborate designs with splashes of color that uphold the restaurant's theming. It's important to note most glassware should not be stacked, as it can damage the glass; however, some glasses are designed to be stackable but still must be transported with care.
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For coffee shops, diners, and tearooms, coffee and teacups are essential. These cups come in several materials such as ceramic, glass, and melamine and are also available in a wide range of sizes ranging from 21⁄2 to 24 ounces – capable of serving espresso shots or large specialty coffee drinks. Tea and coffee cups can be used in both casual and fine-dining establishments that have a hot drink service.
More Drinkware Resources
Choosing Flatware for Your Restaurant
Flatware is a small but necessary piece of your restaurant's table top. These utensils are used frequently by customers throughout their meals, so the way they look and feel is important. Worn flatware – anything from tarnish to bent fork tines – can give customers the impression that the establishment overlooks small details or is in need of updating. Most restaurant flatware is made of stainless steel, though the grade of that metal often differs, determining its durability, how polished it is, and how well it retains its shine.
Flatware is often continuously replaced by operators because individual pieces end up damaged, are accidentally thrown away, or are even pocketed by diners. As part of this replacement process, the pattern and type of flatware you purchase should be evaluated every few years to make sure it fits the theme the rest of your table top presents and to see if your budget allows for an upgrade that might not have been possible when you first selected it.
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18/0 stainless steel flatware is made of an alloy that includes 18 percent chromium and no nickel. Because of this lack of nickel, these pieces usually have a matte finish, and any shine they have will wear off quickly. These are lightweight pieces that usually have a flat handle that may have a design stamped into it. This grade of silverware is often thin and easily bends, which can mean it has to be replaced more often. These are often used by new restaurants on a tight budget and in casual restaurants.
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18/8 flatware is made of a stainless steel blend that contains 18 percent chromium and 8 percent nickel. These pieces are a bit heavier than 18/0 flatware, and the nickel content also makes these shinier and more capable of retaining that shine. These are available in a variety of patterns and usually feature thicker handles than the more economical options. These are a popular choice for chain restaurants, family dining, and catering for high-end events.
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18/10 stainless steel flatware is the highest-grade silverware available. These are available in a wide array of elegant designs and usually provide some heft in the hand. Because these have 10 percent nickel content, they can be polished to a high shine and will retain that shine much better than lower grades of flatware. These are most often used in high-end and fine-dining restaurants, as the high polish can give the appearance of silver while still offering the easy maintenance of stainless steel.
More Flatware Resources
- How to Choose Different Types of Silverware for Your Restaurant
- Matching & Comparing Flatware Patterns Between Brands
References
- Top 11 Food Presentation Tips for Your Restaurant. TouchBistro. Accessed October 2022.
- How Fazoli's Shift to Real Plates Changed Everything. Nation's Restaurant News. Accessed October 2022.