10 Best Dinner Sets in India 2021 (MIAH Decor, Corelle, and more)

A dinner set is so much more than just plates and bowls holding and serving food. They need to be functional and ideal for everyday use. So, we evaluated dinnerware in various materials, designs, and sizes to list the best options for you. Our picks include best-selling sets from long-standing brands.

A dinner set typically includes a large dinner plate, a small salad plate, and a shallow bowl for soups and curry. However, these days, there are many different variants to choose from – patterns, sizes, materials, and colours. The perfect dinnerware set should not only look stylish but should be functional. 

It should be light-weight enough to be picked up comfortably and resistant to daily wear and tear. It should also be microwave-safe and easy to clean. We evaluated all these factors and prepared a buying guide to include everything you need to keep in mind before making an online purchase.

The dinner set is a focal point of your table. Before you jump to the set's colours and patterns, you must consider the material as it drives its price, durability, weight, and aesthetics. While dinnerware sets are available in a wide range of materials, some of the most common options are Bone China, Earthenware, Porcelain, Melamine, and Stoneware.

Bone china is chip-resistant (surface doesn't chip easily), therefore, makes for the best bet for everyday and formal occasion dinnerware. Bone china is made from bone ash by mixing it with clay and porcelain to create a light-weight, delicate, and slightly translucent material with a luminous glaze.

Though bone china is thin and light-weight, it is considered the strongest and the most durable ceramic range of dinnerware. It is also the most expensive material, so you might want to keep that in mind. Not all bone china is microwave- and dishwasher-safe, so read the care instructions before buying.

Porcelain, also known as china, is one of the most common materials found in dinnerware. It is made with fine-particle clay, which is fired at high temperatures, making the surface glazed, non-porous, and highly durable.

Porcelain is less expensive than bone china, and makes for a perfect pick for daily use and formal dinner parties. The dinnerware sets made of porcelain are typically dishwasher, microwave, and oven-safe. However, some pieces can contain metallic accents, which makes them not safe for microwave.

Most of the stoneware pieces are handmade, which means every piece is unique and may not uniformly stack for storage. They also need to be maintained and kept at even temperatures as the material cannot withstand high heat or freezing temperatures. If you get a hand-painted stoneware set, you will have to wash it with your hands to keep the paint intact.

Considering all the extra care stoneware requires, people still choose the material for its rustic and textured aesthetic. You will find stoneware dinner sets in off-white and ivory colours rather than pure and bright white. Stoneware dinnerware is heavier, thicker, less durable, and more porous than bone china and porcelain.

If you’re looking for an inexpensive dinner set available in a range of designs and colours, melamine would be an ideal pick. It is a shatterproof material that is also harder to chip. The melamine dinner set is perfect for outdoor use when you're heading for a picnic or a road trip.

Melamine is made up of food-safe plastic that is dishwasher safe but not oven or microwave safe, in most cases. Being light-weight, melamine is a rigid and inflexible material.

Earthenware is one of the oldest industrial materials used for making dinner sets and other kitchen utensils. The earthenware plates undergo firing and glazing, adding significant weight to them.

Earthenware dinner sets are affordable and sturdy but are prone to chipping. To keep the set looking its best, it's better to avoid leaving them submerged in liquid because of the probability of straining. Also, avoiding unexpected temperature changes, like high heat settings on the oven and microwave adds to the life of the utensils.

Opalware is one of the most common dinnerware materials in India. It is made out of opal glass, which is non-porous that makes your dinnerware 100% food safe and hygienic. Well, non-porous means that the material does not absorb food particles, thus preventing bacteria formation.

Opalware dinner sets are either opaque or translucent, giving the entire set an elegant and sophisticated look. They are dishwasher and microwave safe and have a mechanical resistance of up to three times more than other dinnerware materials.

Dinner sets come in a wide range of designs, styles, and colours. From formal sets to casual dinnerware, there’s a lot to choose from. If you're looking for formal dining sets, bone china, porcelain, and stoneware are the perfect material. They make for a stylish pick for dinner parties and social gatherings. 

Earthenware and melamine make great casual dinnerware sets as they are durable and sturdy. In terms of style, dinner sets are further divided into hand-painted, patterned, solid, and banded styles. For informal dinner parties, you can be adventurous and choose dinnerware with colours and patterns. 

However, neutral colours such as white or ivory are the most versatile choice for a formal dinner. If you want to add a perfect touch of colour and persona to the table while still focusing on the meal on the plate, choose dinnerware with a nice band or rim detail, designing on the outer edge of the plate.

Dinner sets come in various combinations, serving one, four, six, eight, or twelve people. You can pick the one that suits your family-size, or the headcount for the party you’re hosting. Formal dinnerware is often solid in settings with five pieces: a dinner plate, a salad or dessert plate, a bread plate, a soup bowl, a teacup, and a saucer. 

Traditional sets include pieces serving four people in a sixteen-piece set: a dinner plate, a salad plate, a cereal bowl, and a mug. The open stock allows you to pick individual pieces rather than buying a set with pieces you will not use. 

It gives you the flexibility to colour coordinate and choose pieces to create your own set. Although buying individual pieces is expensive than buying a complete set, it is cheaper to replace broken pieces as and when required.

Those big and beautiful plates might look like a perfect addition to your dinner set, but if they don't fit under your cabinet, you might not love them anymore. So, it is important to consider the storage restrictions before buying any set. 

Buy dinner plates that fit in normal cabinets and standard dishwashers (24 inches wide, 24 inches deep, and 35 inches high) to save the hassle of exchanging or returning. A lot of today’s dinner sets are huge (11-14 inches serving plates), whether it is the plate size or number of pieces you get in a dinnerware. 

So, whether you're planning on getting a single set with more pieces or two different sets for formal and casual dinner nights, either way, consider the amount of storage space you have available.

No matter how much you spend on your dinnerware, it does require special care. Before purchasing, make sure you read the care instructions to check if your set is dishwasher, microwave, and oven safe.

Some tips for caring for your new dinnerware are:

1. To remove hard-water spots, soak pieces in white vinegar for three minutes before washing them.
2. To remove coffee stains from mugs and spoons, rub a paste of baking soda and water over the area.
3. To prevent scratching and chipping while stacking plates and bowls, put in a storage case or fabric between each piece.

Whether you're looking for products to upgrade your kitchen or add a new element to your tableware, there are many products listed in our articles. Here are some of our listings for you to get inspired!

No matter which style or material you pick, an everyday dinner set should be easy to use and care for. In the article, we have listed all the top qualities of different dinnerware sets. We hope it helped you find the best one for your home.

Author: Srishti Sikka