The Best Outdoor Dinnerware

Who this is for: Someone who appreciates dainty patterns, whimsical color combos, and perhaps the occasional tea party.

Meri Meri is best known as a company for children’s party supplies. But the sweet floral print plates and brightly colored, striped ones we tested (or any design from the reusable bamboo plates line) are equally great for adult soirees, family picnics, and even an impromptu PB&J served poolside.

They are durable. We tested Meri Meri’s large floral and striped reusable bamboo plates (but not the compostable ones, which the company said are intended to be single-use). Like the Xenia Taler and Poketo bamboo plates, the Meri Meri plates are lightweight, but they beat those other picks on durability. They passed our drop tests without cracking, and they suffered no scratches when we ran knives back and forth over their surfaces (this was not the case with our Xenia Taler and Poketo picks, which scratched easily). The Meri Meri plates also resisted sauce stains as well as our other picks.

They’re available in unique shapes and colors. Meri Meri’s bamboo plates come with scalloped edges or raised rims, which keep food on the plate while you’re standing and eating (or help them work as adaptive dinnerware). These plates come in a variety of colors and patterns, including speckled and solid options. Seasonally, the company also offers holiday plates, in the shape of Easter bunnies, for instance, or Halloween ghosts.

They’re widely available and inexpensive. These dishes are available directly from the company’s online store, as well as from Nordstrom, Target, and Maisonette; you can also find them in various brick-and-mortar shops across the country. (Our Poketo and Xenia Taler picks are not as ubiquitous.) Normally running about $10 per dinner plate, these are the least expensive of our bamboo or melamine picks.

Flaws but not dealbreakers:

These plates are suitable for hot food only up to 158 degrees Fahrenheit; that’s about the same temperature as a medium-rare burger. We don’t expect that most people will be serving food hotter than that outdoors. (If you do plan to serve food that’s hotter, consider our Falcon or Red Co. enamelware picks, which are oven-safe.)

Dish options: large plates, small plates, cups, cake stands
Colors and patterns: bright colors, pastels, earth tones, prints
Pricing: about $6 per small plate; about $10 per large plate (usually sold in sets of four or six)
Material: bamboo fiber mix (bamboo, melamine, and cornstarch)
Care: dishwasher-safe up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit; not microwave-safe

Who this is for: A style-forward person who appreciates abstract patterns and prefers a compostable option.

The plates in Poketo’s Bamboo Salad Plate Set are lightweight and pretty, but they will especially appeal to someone shopping with environmental impact in mind.

The plates are compostable. Unlike a lot of bamboo-blend dinner plates (such as Meri Meri’s), these plates from Poketo aren’t bound with plastic or melamine, so they’re reusable as well as commercially compostable (but always check your local waste guidelines).

They come in beautiful graphic patterns and modern colors. Beyond their environmental friendliness, the Poketo plates are delightful to eat from. “They add a festive graphic element to my picnics and tablescapes, but they also just brighten up a regular weekday meal,” said Wirecutter contributing writer Gregory Han, who’s used his set for a few years.

They can tolerate hot foods. Unlike the Meri Meri plates, the Poketo plates don’t carry an explicit warning about serving food that’s hotter than 158 degrees Fahrenheit. When we reached out to Poketo, a representative told us the plates can support a maximum temperature of 248 degrees Fahrenheit, which is hotter than boiling and likely hotter than you’ll ever serve food. That means you don’t need to worry about plating a burger right off the grill or a hot slice of lasagna.

Flaws but not dealbreakers:

These plates aren’t quite as durable as the Meri Meri plates; when we scraped a knife against the Poketo plate’s surface, thin scratches were easily left behind. And because of their compostable nature, these dishes are more sensitive to water than others; you can’t leave them soaking. At about $12 per dinner plate, they are pricier than our more-durable, enamelware picks. They also tend to cycle in and out of stock quickly, but you can sometimes find the plates at other retailers online.

Dish options: dinner plates, salad plates, coasters, bowls, serving bowls
Colors and patterns: six colorful, abstract prints (designs change seasonally)
Pricing: about $10 per salad plate; about $12 per dinner plate (usually sold in sets of four)
Material: bamboo fiber and cornstarch printed with food-grade ink
Care: dishwasher-safe; not microwave-safe

Who this is for: Someone who loves graphic patterns, a funky tablescape, and being able to mix prints or sizes when ordering.

Designed at Xenia Taler’s studio in North York, Ontario, this bamboo tableware is an art lover’s dream, with dozens of prints spanning different color palettes and moods.

They come in the greatest variety of colors and patterns. The Xenia Taler plates distinguish themselves from our other picks with their vast print and color options—over 40 at the time of writing and greater than options from other sets we looked at.

You can create your own custom set. The dishes are sold in sets of four or six matching plates, but you can also customize your set by mixing patterns and even patterns and sizes.

Flaws but not dealbreakers:

As with the Meri Meri plates (and many other bamboo-and-melamine plates), the Xenia Taler plates are suitable for holding food heated up to 158 degrees Fahrenheit only. (This detail isn’t listed on the site, but we spoke to company representatives.) As with the Poketo plates, with these plates we were able to easily scratch the surface with a knife. They’re safe for the top rack of a dishwasher only. Designs tend to go in and out of stock frequently. And, at about $12 per dinner plate, the Xenia Taler plates (like the Poketo plates) are more expensive than our more-durable enamelware picks.

Dish options: dinner plates, side plates, bowls, cups, serving trays, coasters
Colors and patterns: over 40 different prints and patterns
Pricing: about $12 per dinner plate (sold in sets of four); about $10 per side plate (sold in sets of four); $11 for a bowl (sold in sets of four); about $35 for a large tray
Material: bamboo fiber (bamboo, melamine, and cornstarch)
Care: dishwasher-safe (top rack only); avoid soaking; not microwave-safe

Who this is for: Someone who loves classic enamel or who prefers sturdier metal plates over plastic and bamboo ones.

London-based Falcon Enamelware has the widest variety of dinnerware of any of our picks—from tumblers and jugs to teapots. If you take care of these pieces, they should last you a lifetime.

They’re versatile and sturdy. Unlike bamboo or plastic, enamelware dishes like these from Falcon are able to withstand real heat or cold: You can put them in the oven (up to 530 degrees Fahrenheit), in the freezer, or even on an electric or gas stovetop (just don’t put them in the microwave!). The Falcon Enamelware plates also withstood all of our stress tests: They didn’t crack or chip when we dropped them, they didn’t stain under sauce, and they didn’t scratch when we scraped a knife against them. Falcon even sells a bake set and a prep set for all of your baking needs.

They have a retro vibe. With their clean, simple design—white with a thin colored rim—these dishes would look equally at home in a rustic farmhouse or a modern apartment. Limited edition colors are sometimes available.

Flaws but not dealbreakers:

Falcon Enamelware’s serving pieces have over a dozen color options, but the plates come only in white with four colored rim options. On some of the plates, there were thin patches of exposed metal on the underside of the rims—the exposed rims weren’t necessarily sharp, but they were rough in the way a nail file is. This didn’t really bother us, though. But when you stack the plates, the exposed metal on one plate could scratch another plate. The plates are usually more expensive than those from Red Co., our other enamelware pick.

Dish options: dinner plates, bowls, mugs, tumblers, jugs, serving trays, and more
Colors and patterns: white plates with blue, red, gray, or black trim (teapots, tumblers, and jugs are available in up to 17 solid colors)
Pricing: about $11 per 9½-inch plate (sold in sets of four); $55 for a 3-pint jug; about $40 for a serving tray
Material: enamelware (steel bonded with powdered glass)
Care: dishwasher-safe, oven-safe, stove-safe; not microwave-safe; avoid abrasive sponges and brushes

Who this is for: Someone who is seeking heat-resistant dinnerware that makes a colorful splash.

These enamelware dishes from Brooklyn-based Red Co. work equally well for dinner in a country home or nestled on laps around an open campfire.

They’re durable and inexpensive. The Red Co. Enamelware plates performed just as well as the Falcon Enamelware at withstanding drops, sauce stains, and scratches. At the time of publication, the Red Co. dishes cost less than the Falcon plates, but we’ve also seen both for around the same price; we recommend comparing the two lines before purchase. You can usually find the plates on Amazon and the Red Co. website.

They come in classic and vintage patterns. Beyond price, the thing that sets the Red Co. collection apart from the Falcon line is appearance: In addition to the simple white with colored trim (which is nearly identical to the pattern of the Falcon plates), some of the Red Co. enamelware pieces comes in colorful swirl and splatter prints, as well as graphic prints (like on this cute popcorn bowl). The Red Co. dishes are slightly glossier than the Falcon dishes, and they weigh a few ounces more.

Flaws but not dealbreakers:

We noticed the splatter pattern could sometimes vary in density and size within the same set. Some of the reviewers have complained that the seam on the underside of the plate isn’t evenly enameled, leaving a rough edge they feared could be sharp enough to cut skin. While we didn’t get any cuts or scrapes, we did see some slightly exposed patches, similar to what we saw on the Falcon plates.

Dish options: dinner plates, bowls, mugs, serving plates, and more
Colors and patterns: five colors of splatter and swirl prints, plus white with colored trims
Pricing: about $8 per 10-inch plate (sold in sets of four); $25 for a serving tray; $5 for a mug
Material: enamelware (steel bonded with powdered glass)
Care: dishwasher-safe, oven-safe, stove-safe; not microwave-safe; avoid abrasive sponges or brushes

Who this is for: Someone who’d rather not splurge on dishes but still wants cute plates for family members to eat off of.

From Target’s line for kids, Pillowfort’s 7-inch and 9.6-inch plates don’t look fancy, but they perform impressively well, especially considering their superlatively low cost.

They’re inexpensive, but they last. The Pillowfort Plastic Dinnerware line is designed with kids in mind. This dinnerware is colorful, light, and extremely inexpensive—in fact, it’s the cheapest we found, at just 50¢ for a single plate. Despite the price, the 7-inch plates and divided trays performed well in our tests; sauce didn’t stain them, though they did scratch in our knife tests. Senior staff writer Jackie Reeve has used a Pillowfort plate set for several years—not just for her daughter but at cookouts for the whole family. She reports they’re holding up marvelously, even after countless runs through the dishwasher.

You can reheat them in the microwave. Especially good for families with small children, these dishes are the only ones among our picks that are safe for reheating—but not for cooking—in the microwave. We nuked them for 1 minute, about what a reheat would take, and the plates didn’t even get warm—so they may be less likely to burn little hands.

They have high, angled rims. Raised lips are great for many reasons, including keeping food on a plate while you’re walking around at a barbecue. And these plates work well as adaptive dinnerware. Plus, there’s more room for food on these dishes than on ones with wide, flat rims.

Flaws but not dealbreakers:

These plates scratched more easily than any other plates we tested. Simply scraping a dinner knife across the surface left a thin but permanent line; of course this didn’t impede the plates’ function, but it made them looked shoddy upon closer inspection. The plates are available only in solid colors.

Dish options: 9.6-inch plates, 7-inch plates, 10-inch divided plates, bowls, tumblers, cutlery
Colors and patterns: bright, solid colors and seasonal prints
Pricing: 50¢ for a 9.6-inch or 7-inch plate (sold individually); 50¢ for a tumbler; $1 for a 10-inch-square divided tray
Material: polypropylene
Care: dishwasher-safe; microwave-safe (for reheating only)

Who this is for: Someone who loves modern rimmed plates in pleasing muted colors.

The West Elm Modern Melamine Outdoor Dinner Plate Set is great for someone who wants a modern, wide-rimmed plate that comes in beautiful colors and large sets.

They are sunny and sturdy. These cheery melamine dinner plates from West Elm are available in five summery colors, each one begging to be set under a folding umbrella somewhere breezy. They aced our sauce, drop, and scratch tests—making them a triple threat, in the same ranks as our Williams Sonoma, Meri Meri, and enamelware picks. They can go in the dishwasher, though only in the top rack, as with the Williams Sonoma and Xenia Taler dishes.

They’re generously sized and have raised rims. At 10.25 inches in diameter, these dishes have the largest food area of our picks (the Williams Sonoma plates measure 11 inches, but the wide rim reduces the serving area). One plate can easily fit a hot dog, a cob of corn, and a scoop of potato salad without any crowding. The plates also have a raised rim (like the Meri Meri and Pillowfort dishes), so it is harder to spill food while you’re meandering around the yard. They also work well as adaptive dinnerware. You can get the plates in sets of eight (the most of any of our other recommended sets).

They have a luxurious, satin finish. There’s just something pleasing about their texture; they’re not as glossy as the Williams Sonoma dishes or the enamelware plates, but they’re also not as matte as the bamboo dishes. The satin finish looks particularly chic.

Flaws but not dealbreakers:

Unlike our Pillowfort pick, these melamine plates are not microwave-safe. We wish you could mix colors when ordering or order plates individually, rather than in sets of four. While the plates look cute laid out all in one color, they are even cuter mixed up.

Dish options: dinner plates, salad plates, cereal bowls, pasta bowls
Colors and patterns: yellow, white, grapefruit, turquoise, silver pine
Pricing: about $10 per plate (sold in sets of four or eight), $8 for a cereal bowl (sold in sets of four or eight)
Material: melamine
Care: dishwasher-safe (top rack only); not microwave-safe

Who this is for: Someone seeking outdoor dinnerware that’s worthy of an indoor meal.

The Sicily Outdoor and Soleil White Melamine dish sets from Williams Sonoma are the most traditional-looking of our picks.

They are the most substantial sets we tested. These dishes from Williams Sonoma—we tested the embossed Soleil White set and the rustic Sicily print—seemed closer to ceramic than any other dishes we tested. They’re thicker and weigh more than any of our other picks, and they look like something you’d use for your indoor meals. (In fact, you can buy a porcelain version of the Sicily plates on the Williams Sonoma site.) They passed all of our stress tests with flying colors (they didn’t crack or chip, stain with sauce, or scratch easily).

They’re suitable for year-round use. The company offers an entire collection in the Sicily print—including tablecloths, chip-and-dip bowls, and serving pieces—to make it all feel as comprehensive as your regular china. We think if you are going to be dining on a particularly windy day, these dishes are the best choice, and they’re so beautiful you may even want to use them indoors.

Flaws but not dealbreakers:

Due to their heft, these dishes are less appealing to pack for a picnic or camping trip than our other picks. They’re also the priciest of our picks.

Dish options: dinner plates, salad plates, serving bowls (in the Soleil White and Sicily patterns), serving platters, chip-and-dip bowls (in the Sicily pattern)
Colors and patterns: blue, red, or yellow versions (in the Sicily pattern)
Pricing: $15 for a dinner plate (sold in set of four); $13 for a salad plate (sold in set of four); $30 for a serving bowl
Material: melamine
Care: dishwasher-safe (top rack only); not microwave-safe

If you want lots of color and pattern options, and you don’t mind battling the occasional sticker: In the previous version of this guide, we recommended the (now discontinued) GlitterVille Studios Harlem Toile de Jouy plates and cups. GlitterVille’s designs come and go, but they usually include at least one melamine plate option (at the time of publication, there are two: the Beesy’s Garden Plate set and the Color Couture Stripe set). Dishwasher-safe, durable, and cute, they were perfect but for one minor detail: A plate in the set came with the toughest sticker we’ve ever encountered. Our tester reported that even after they washed the plate with soap and water for a year, its sticky residue remained. Also, stock at GlitterVille is inconsistent, and some of the dishes can be expensive ($15 to $20 apiece).

If you like a handmade look and have the patience to wait for a restock: CB2’s Pebble Melamine dinner plates (available in black or white) would have been a pick were it not for their limited stock. They aced all of our stress tests. They’re also gorgeous, with a thinner, more delicate shape than the rest of the competition and natural-looking edges designed to evoke hand-thrown pottery. If you can get your hands on a set, we think you’ll be happy with them.

If you need lots of melamine dishes ASAP: The Teivio 32-Piece Dinnerware Set is a good option if you need something in a hurry; they’re available via Amazon Prime, and there are multiple color options. However, they cost more than the Target Pillowfort dishes and perform about the same. (Metal knives will scratch them, but they withstand staining and cracking as well as our other contenders.)

The number of outdoor dish sets is vast and always expanding. To narrow our options for this guide, we limited ourselves to testing dishes in three categories: plastic/melamine, enamelware, and bamboo. (Stainless steel tends to retain heat, and wooden dishes are prone to warping and retaining flavors.)

Across these categories, we checked out dishes at popular suppliers like Amazon, Target, and Walmart, as well as at retailers including West Elm, Pottery Barn, and Williams Sonoma. We prioritized companies that had reliable stock and dishes that scored well in buyer reviews. Since these dishes are usually supplemental, rather than for everyday dining, we also kept an eye peeled for those that came in especially pretty colors and lively prints. And finally, we prioritized dishes that were available in several sizes or color options, as well as collections that also offered serving pieces.

We then tested 15 sets of outdoor dishes. And we paid attention to how they were packaged and whether they experienced any damage in transit. If the dishes came with stickers or labels, we assessed how easy it was to remove those (and whether they left a sticky residue). To assess their durability, we dropped each plate onto a tile floor four times, from a height of 36 inches (the height of a standard counter). We then noted any damage or cracking that test caused. To determine how likely the plates are to stain and absorb food flavors, we poured one cup of marinara sauce onto each dish and let it soak in at room temperature for four hours (impressively, none of the plates stained at all). We used a blunt dinner knife and a sharper, serrated steak knife to scratch each plate and see how it held up to abuse. And we microwaved the plates that were marked “microwave-safe” to make sure they didn’t warp, melt, or overheat (a reminder: melamine, bamboo, and enamelware are not microwave-safe).

The Fable Colorful Bamboo Plates & Dinnerware set looks beautiful, but we were able to scratch the dishes fairly easily. The scratches were no more noticeable than on the Target Pillowfort dishes, but the Fable dishes cost about 16 times as much. They also have an odd, almost papery finish that we found off-putting.

The dishes in The Get Out’s Enamelware Set were our favorite enamelware items aesthetically—their two-tone designs are genuinely gorgeous. However, after one drop from the counter, some of that beautiful, glossy finish cracked off.

Introduced in the 1960s by Italian architects Massimo and Lella Vignelli, the Vignelli Hellerware Rainbow Stacking Dinnerware is a classic in the design world. These dishes are just as beautiful in real life as they are in photos, but they don’t perform any better than other melamine dinnerware; we were able to make thin scratches on the surface with a dinner knife. The much cheaper Target Pillowfort set is also stackable and available in rainbow colors, and they perform just as well.

This article was edited by Daniela Gorny and Christine Ryan.