The 8 Best Outdoor Tableware Sets
The 8 Best Outdoor Tableware Sets
As you head outside to enjoy a meal al fresco, consider reusable tableware that is light enough to carry around the patio and to your outdoor bar, and resistant to breaking when you accidentally drop it on the deck. The Good Housekeeping Institute found outdoor tableware that is not only break-resistant, light, durable, and easy to clean, but just as beautiful as your ceramic dinnerware.
1) Rustic Outdoor Melamine 12-Piece Dinnerware Set
williams-sonoma.com
We love the Williams Sonoma tableware set for its rustic stoneware-like design that looks elegant and stylish. It's made of sturdy BPA-free melamine, which makes it scratch-resistant, shatterproof, and lightweight without feeling cheap. The pieces are top-rack dishwasher-safe, but should not be microwaved. A set includes a dinner plate, a salad plate, and a salad bowl, and you can also purchase matching serving platters, bowls, and trays all available in a variety of colors to fit your taste.
Material: Melamine
Number of settings: Four
Dishwasher-safe: Yes, top rack only
Microwave-safe: No
2) Gibson Brist 12-Piece Dinnerware Set
Gibson Home
amazon.com
This sturdy and affordable melamine tableware set is highly popular on Amazon. Reviewers love that it is lightweight and the bowls are deep — preventing food from spilling on the go (RV trips, boat rides or camping). The pieces are top rack dishwasher-safe, but some users with dishwashers that get extra-hot found that excessive heat destroyed the color coating. If unsure, best hand wash! A set includes four of each of the following: Dinner plate, salad plate, and bowl. It's available in a variety of high-gloss colors that can be mixed and matched.
Material: Melamine
Number of settings: Four
Dishwasher-safe: Yes, top rack only
Microwave-safe: No
3) US Acrylic Cambridge Plastic Dinnerware
US Acrylic
amazon.com
This is an affordable and break-resistant option perfect for families and college students. We also love that it is made of polypropylene, a recyclable plastic. They are top rack dishwasher-safe, but keep them out of the microwave. Reviewers like the bold blue color (also available in gray or teal) that does not fade even after years of use. A set includes four of each of the following: Dinner plate, deep bowl, and tumbler that is made of BPA-free SAN, another form of plastic that is not heat-resistant, so cold beverages only!
Material: Polypropylene
Number of settings: Four
Dishwasher-safe: Yes, top rack only
Microwave-safe: No
4) Corelle Tranquil Reflection 12-Piece Dinnerware Set
Corelle
amazon.com
Corelle tableware is wildly popular and highly-rated. It comes in a wide assortment of colors, patterns, shapes and set sizes, and performed well in our past tests — they didn’t stain or show scratch marks. Every piece is microwave-, dishwasher-, and even oven-safe. Made of vitrelle glass, a laminated glass proprietary to Corelle, the pieces are resistant to breaking, chipping, scratching, and staining. They are also very light and thin, which makes them great for indoor and outdoor use. Corelle will replace any dinnerware that cracks, breaks, or chips within three years from date of purchase. This set includes four of each of the following: Dinner plate, salad plate, and bowl.
Material: Vitrelle (laminated glass)
Number of settings: Four
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Microwave-safe: Yes
5) kate spade new york Rainbow Citrus Dinnerware Collection
Kate Spade New York
amazon.com
We love the colorful patterns and outdoor serving dish options (serving tray with handles, serving bowl, chip and dip platter) that come with this melamine dinnerware collection. Dinner, salad, and accent plates and bowls are also available, each with unique but matching bright designs. They are dishwasher-safe. Break-resistant (as long as you don’t microwave it) and chic? Yes, please! If you love this pattern, like we do, Kate Spade makes a tumbler, a recipe box, and an insulated lunch bag with the same design.
Material: Melamine
Number of settings: Pieces sold individually
Dishwasher-safe: Yes, top rack only
Microwave-safe: No
6) Fable New York Colorful Bamboo Dinnerware
food52.com
This Fable bamboo tableware set is made of organic bamboo fiber bound together with BPA-free melamine, which provides a layer of durability and makes it top rack dishwasher-safe, but not microwave safe. A set includes a dinner, plate, a salad plate, a deep bowl, and a shallow bowl. Cups are sold separately. We love the five beautiful matte color options that can be mixed and matched to create your own set. Testers say this tableware looks like ceramic, but is more lightweight. The dark blue marks, like most dark matte products do, but the other colors clean up nicely.
Material: Bamboo and melamine
Number of settings: One
Dishwasher-safe: Yes, top rack only
Microwave-safe: No
7) Divided White Melamine Plate
crate and barrel
crateandbarrel.com
At first sight, we thought these were just another paper plate! They look like the classic three-compartment white picnic plates (to stop the salad dressing from getting your burger buns soggy), but they are made of durable and top-rack dishwasher-safe melamine. The plates are sold individually. Reviewers noted that these are surprisingly weighty and very well-made.
Material: Melamine
Number of settings: One
Dishwasher-safe: Yes, top rack only
Microwave-safe: No
8) Golden Rabbit Enamel Simple Dinnerware
food52.com
If you are looking for reusable tableware that is shatterproof, lightweight, and durable enough for your next camping trip, Golden Rabbit tableware is a great choice. This food-safe enamelware is made by fusing porcelain onto a steel base and further coating it with porcelain enamel. This makes it oven-safe up to 550°F, stovetop-safe (including open flame), and dishwasher-safe. But like all ceramics, it will chip if dropped on a hard surface. The manufacturer claims that the exposed metal is not toxic: Simply rub on cooking oil to prevent rusting. Dinner plates, bowls, and mugs are each sold in sets of four.
Material: Porcelain enamel-coated carbon steel
Number of settings: Four of the same piece
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
Microwave-safe: No
No more flimsy paper plates on your patio table.