Aspen 7 Piece Dining Set
A good set of dinnerware will bring a touch of class to any dinner table and remain in style for years while withstanding the rigors of daily use. After researching more than 200 collections and evaluating 37, we have recommendations for three classic-looking whiteware sets. Our picks range in weight, design, and price, so you can find the best set for your style and budget.
If none of our picks appeal to you, and you'd rather shop around, see our Other dinnerware sets we like section or our dinnerware buying guide for more advice.
Our pick
The Crate and Barrel Aspen Dinnerware set was the best-quality set we tested for the price. We found some minor imperfections, but the overall quality of this set far exceeds its low price, and we like its clean lines and simple design. With the Aspen collection, you can even choose mugs or teacups and soup or cereal bowls, which is unusual for most dinnerware in this price range.
Key specs:
- Material: porcelain
- Buying options: fully open stock or in open-stock sets of eight (in stores and online)
- Serving pieces: none
Our pick
If you prefer heavier dinnerware, we recommend the Williams Sonoma Brasserie All-White Dinnerware collection. Although this set is thicker than the Crate and Barrel Aspen dinnerware set, it still feels refined. The porcelain is grayer and less creamy than some other dinnerware we tested, but it has an even glaze with no visible pitting. The Brasserie set allows you to choose mugs or teacups and soup or cereal bowls.
Key specs:
- Material: porcelain
- Buying options: $60 for a 5-piece set (online only), $230 for a 16-piece set (online only), open-stock sets of four (in stores and online)
- Serving pieces: none
Upgrade pick
The Wedgwood White 5-Piece Place Setting is made from fine bone china, so it's thin, light, and practically flawless. But don't mistake its refinement for fragility—it's still durable enough for everyday use. This set has a bright creamy hue and a simple yet sophisticated design. We think its superior quality is well worth the high price. The White collection also includes bowls and several serving pieces that are sold separately.
Key specs:
- Material: bone china
- Buying options: $100 for a five-piece setting, $90 for a four-piece setting, $340 for a 16-piece setting, or open stock
- Serving pieces: a handful of options, all sold separately
Everything we recommend
Our pick
Our pick
Upgrade pick
Why you should trust me
In researching this guide, I interviewed William Carty, PhD, emeritus professor of ceramic engineering and materials science at the Inamori School of Engineering at Alfred University. (Full disclosure: Carty has worked as an unpaid consultant for Buffalo China, Syracuse China, Hall China, Sterling China, Lenox China, Pfaltzgraff, and Homer-Laughlin.) I also spoke at length with Jono Pandolfi, potter and owner of Jono Pandolfi Designs in New Jersey, who has created dinnerware for a long list of notable restaurants around the world (he also used to design dinnerware for Crate and Barrel). He gave me a tour of his pottery studio in Union City, New Jersey, so that I could see how dinnerware is made firsthand. The American Ceramic Society provided me with resources about ceramic production and terminology.
I also talked to experts about what they looked for in a basic dinnerware collection. Those experts included Eddie Ross, the co-founder and chief content creator of Maximalist Studios and the former design, decorating, and food editor for Better Homes & Gardens, Food Network, Martha Stewart Living, and House Beautiful; Marion Hover, former tabletop decorative gifts buyer for Macy's; and chef Candy Argondizza, vice president of culinary and pastry arts at the International Culinary Center at the time of our interview. (The ICC has since been acquired by the Institute of Culinary Education.)
To determine the durability and availability of dinnerware collections, I relied heavily on customer reviews from Amazon, Bed Bath & Beyond, Crate and Barrel, Macy's, and Williams Sonoma.
As a kitchen staff writer for Wirecutter, I have reviewed all kinds of tableware items, including wine glasses, drinking glasses, and flatware, as well as other kitchen gadgets and equipment. Prior to joining Wirecutter, I was an editor at the International Culinary Center in New York City, and I worked in various facets of the food and restaurant industry for over a decade. I'm the person who flips plates over at restaurants to see the maker, much to the dismay of my family and friends.
Who this is for
An all-white porcelain or bone china dinnerware set is classic, timeless, and versatile enough to work for any occasion. According to our experts, food always looks best on an all-white plate because the design is free of distractions. Whether you're looking for a full set of everyday dinnerware or choosing a few plates for a holiday gathering, whiteware is the best choice. If none of our picks match your style, and you'd rather shop around, see our Other dinnerware sets we like section or our dinnerware buying guide for more advice.
How we picked
With thousands of patterns to choose from, shopping for a set of dinnerware can be a daunting task. Our goal was to find the best whiteware for anyone who doesn't want to search endlessly for a pattern and just wants a versatile, affordable, quality set that will last. We prioritized sets that were elegant enough for fine-china occasions like a dinner party but also sturdy and casual enough for everyday use.
Dinnerware can be made from a variety of materials, but we've limited our selection to all-white porcelain or bone china due to its aesthetic appeal, resilience, and practicality. Good dinnerware should be a neutral canvas for any meal: As chef Candy Argondizza noted, "A simple white plate allows the food to make a statement so that the diner's eye is drawn to the food with no distractions." Decorated sets can be exciting, but they're also more likely to become dated with time, so we avoided those with any designs. And although we think stoneware is another great option for everyday dinnerware, it typically isn't white and varies a lot in style, so it was beyond the parameters we set for this guide. However, we hope to expand this guide in the future to include stoneware options. (For an overview of different ceramics, see our guide to buying dinnerware.)
We also searched for dinnerware collections that you can purchase open stock, which allows you to customize the set to suit your needs and to replace the dish or two that will inevitably break. Ideally, we wanted sets that allow you to choose shallow soup bowls or deep cereal bowls, simple coffee mugs or dainty teacups and saucers, and a variety of dinner and salad plate sizes. But at the very minimum, we thought each set should contain the essentials: dinner and salad plates, cereal bowls, and coffee mugs (the latter two are more practical and versatile than daintier soup bowls and teacups). We also ruled out any sets with bowls that were flat-bottomed, too deep, or too shallow. Additional serving pieces offered outside the main place setting were a nice bonus but not a requirement for us.
Finally, we tried to find dinnerware sets that have been around for a while, which increases the likelihood they'll remain in stock down the road. The longevity of patterns is important, especially if you need to replace pieces or grow your set in the future. That said, we also tested a handful of newer sets in order to include some options with more modern styling, and we checked with the manufacturer to confirm that they would remain in production for the foreseeable future. Note: While writing this guide, we've seen some of our picks go in and out of stock, which is not uncommon for dinnerware. We'll continue to monitor the availability of our picks, but we've confirmed with each manufacturer that if stock is low or unavailable, it's only temporary.
How we tested
After considering hundreds of dinnerware collections in stores and online, we settled on 30 place settings to test for our 2019 update (roughly 140 pieces of dinnerware in all), and invited 15 Wirecutter staff members to evaluate them in our New York City test kitchen. To prevent our testers from being influenced by brand names, we covered the manufacturer's marking on the bottom of each piece.
We judged the dinnerware on its weight, size, shape, and overall design. Since the shade of whiteware varies dramatically from set to set, we also compared the hue and brightness of each; in general, dinnerware that had a blue or gray hue was less appealing to our testers than pieces that were creamy or bright white. We then examined each piece under light to check for any flaws, such as uneven rims, drippy or inconsistent glaze, pitting, scratches, or crazing (you can read more about these flaws in our guide to buying dinnerware).
After our test panel helped narrow down the list, we took a plate from each of our top-rated sets and scratched it with a fork and knife 50 times to see if the utensils damaged the glaze or left metal marks. Finally, we refrigerated a mug or teacup from each of our picks and filled each with boiling water to see if the extreme change in temperature caused them to break. Spoiler alert: All the dinnerware remained unscathed after we performed both tests.
| Set | Dinner plate | Salad plate | Bread & butter plate | Cereal bowl | Soup bowl | Mug | Teacup | Saucer | Mug volume (fl. oz.) | Teacup volume (fl. oz.) |
| Crate and Barrel Aspen | 24.05 | 12.5 | n/a | 16.6 | 14.85 | 10.9 | 8.1 | 7.15 | 12 | 8 |
| Williams Sonoma Brasserie | 31.65 | 20.65 | n/a | 14.2 | 18.95 | 11.1 | 8.85 | 7.45 | 13 | 10 |
| Wedgwood White | 18.75 | 9.25 | 5.65 | 14.6 | 10.7 | 6.5 | 5.55 | 5.45 | 10.4 | 7.2 |
The weight of our recommended sets, in ounces. n/a = not applicable
Our pick: Crate and Barrel Aspen Dinnerware
Our pick
Get this if: You want an inexpensive but stylish set of porcelain dinnerware with a classic design that boasts excellent quality for the price.
Why it's great: Our testers liked the Crate and Barrel Aspen Dinnerware for its clean lines and simple design. Remarkably, the collection isn't plagued by the pitfalls of most dinnerware in this price range, such as wonky plate rims, drippy glaze, and pitting. Although we spotted some very minor inconsistencies on the surface of the glaze, this set's quality far exceeds its low price. One of our testers remarked that the Aspen was "a really nice set with even glazing and decent heft."
The Aspen dinner plates have a pleasant medium weight that falls in between that of the Wedgwood plates and the Williams Sonoma Brasserie plates. Their slightly angled rims, like those in the Brasserie set, make these plates easy to hold and help keep food from spilling. The plates also stack surprisingly evenly, which is uncommon for such a low-cost set of dinnerware. Many of our testers liked the Aspen set's wide cereal bowls because they also work well for salad and pasta. The mugs are narrower and taller than your run-of-the-mill mug, which makes them a bit more elegant, and the set also offers a flat-bottomed teacup and saucer. Some testers liked the wider handle on the Aspen teacup more than the thin, dainty ones on the teacups in our upgrade pick, the Wedgwood White set.
The Aspen dinnerware has been sold at Crate and Barrel for more than 20 years and has excellent owner reviews that attest to its quality and longevity. We've also been using this dinnerware daily (until the pandemic) in the common kitchen at our New York City offices, and it's held up very well.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: The Aspen set has some minor inconsistencies on the surface of the glaze, but you can detect these only when you hold the pieces up to the light. Our testers weren't bothered by these very minor flaws. Although the Aspen set is slightly bluer than our other picks, we don't think this is a problem unless you plan to use it next to creamier bone china serving pieces.
We wish the soup bowl were a little deeper and had more of a rounded bottom, like those in the Brasserie and Wedgwood White sets. It feels a little shallow for eating soup, but we don't think this is a dealbreaker.
Our pick: Williams Sonoma Brasserie All-White Dinnerware
Our pick
Get this if: You're partial to thicker, heavier dinnerware.
Why it's great: The Williams Sonoma Brasserie All-White Dinnerware collection feels similar to durable restaurant dishes, but it's still refined and not at all clunky like the plates you'd use at a diner. Thanks to the heft of the pieces, you won't feel like you need to be gentle with them (though they're not necessarily more durable than lighter bone china—see our section on durability in our dinnerware buying guide for more information). The porcelain has a slightly gray hue compared with the creamy white of bone china. But in our tests we were impressed with the overall quality of this set, which had almost no visible pitting and an even glaze.
The Brasserie plates have wide, slightly angled rims that give them a classic bistro style. The soup bowls are shallow but still plenty big for a decent serving of pasta. And although the teacup and saucer are thicker and a bit larger than some we tested, they're still more tasteful and refined than most heavy dinnerware. You can also buy mugs and cereal bowls in open-stock sets of four outside of the main place settings.
This set has been around for decades—one reviewer on the Williams Sonoma website says they've used their set for 27 years—so replacing pieces or growing your set shouldn't be a problem.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: At just under 2 pounds, the Brasserie dinner plate is about 8 ounces heavier than the Crate and Barrel dinner plate. And our testers who preferred lighter bone china found the set to be too heavy overall, though most still liked its classic styling. Just remember, even if the weight of one plate doesn't bother you, the weight of a whole stack might. Some testers also thought the color of the Brasserie dinnerware looked muted and gray next to the bright creamy color of bone china.
Another drawback to this set is that you can't buy individual pieces fully open stock. Each piece is sold only as part of a place setting (online only) or in open-stock sets of four (in stores and online).
Upgrade pick: Wedgwood White 5-Piece Place Setting
Upgrade pick
Get this if: You like to host dinner parties and want wide-rimmed dinnerware that's made from fine bone china, but that can still withstand the rigors of daily use.
Why it's great: In our tests, the Wedgwood White 5-Piece Place Setting stood out on a crowded table of dinnerware for its bright creamy hue, attractive translucency, and simple but sophisticated look. It's expensive, but you're paying for a superior-quality set that has virtually no visible flaws. We're confident that its classic design will elevate any table setting and never go out of style.
This set is made from bright and creamy bone china, and its superior quality is undeniable. It feels more refined than any of the other sets we recommend because all of the pieces are flawlessly shaped and glazed. The wide-rimmed plates have a smaller eating surface than other plates of a similar diameter, and they look like something you'd see at a fine-dining restaurant. And it's hard not to feel like royalty drinking from the thin, dainty teacups. If you entertain often, the saucers are handy for resting a demitasse spoon, holding a small cookie, and keeping coffee rings off your tablecloth. Note: The 5-piece place setting doesn't include bowls, but both soup and cereal bowls are sold open stock.
If you don't love the items in the five-piece place setting (which includes dinner, salad, and bread-and-butter plates, plus a teacup and saucer), Wedgwood also sells a four-piece place setting that includes a dinner plate, salad plate, cereal bowl, and mug (these pieces are also sold in a 16-piece set). Or you can purchase mugs, cereal bowls, or soup bowls separately outside the main five-piece set. This dinnerware collection offers several serving pieces too, such as large platters and bowls, which are nice for entertaining.
According to the Wedgwood representative we spoke to, the original design for the White dinnerware was introduced in 1920, though newer pieces have been added to the collection over the years. Since the set has stood the test of time, replacing any broken items or growing your collection in the years to come shouldn't be an issue. Wedgwood, which dates back to the mid 1700s, has a long history of making high-quality ceramics for various heads of state and royal families, including custom dinnerware for the White House during President Theodore Roosevelt's term in 1903.
Flaws but not dealbreakers: The five-piece setting comes with bread-and-butter plates instead of bowls, which probably isn't as practical unless you entertain often. But since buying the five-piece place setting is significantly cheaper than getting each piece individually, you can buy bowls separately and still save money over buying all the same pieces individually. Plus, as mentioned earlier, Wedgwood sells a four-piece place setting that includes a bowl and mug instead of a bread-and-butter-plate and a teacup and saucer if that's more practical for your lifestyle.
Some testers who were accustomed to thicker dinnerware mistook the thinness of bone china as an indication of poor quality. One even called a similar-quality set "cheap and flimsy." But we don't think the weight disparity should deter you: Bone china and porcelain are both durable options for everyday dinnerware (we discuss the durability of ceramics in more detail in our dinnerware buying guide).
Wedgwood's mugs and teacups are on the small side, and some of our testers preferred ones that could hold more. As other testers noted, however, the cups' smaller size allows you to finish hot beverages before they have time to cool. The pedestal on the foot of the teacup was also polarizing for our testers, as some thought it was too formal for everyday use. Also, the soup bowl measures 7⅞ inches in diameter, so it's smaller than those in most other sets we tested, but we still think it's sufficiently deep.
Care and maintenance
Although most dinnerware is designed to be dishwasher and microwave safe, emeritus professor of ceramic engineering and materials science William Carty told us that neither ASTM International (formerly the American Society for Testing and Materials) nor the American National Standards Institute has a standard test. Many manufacturers develop their own testing standards, but since everyone has a different dishwasher, uses different detergents, and operates microwaves at various power levels, it's impossible to create a standardized test. That said, we don't think you should worry too much about your dishes being damaged in the dishwasher or microwave (unless the manufacturer explicitly advises against putting them in either appliance). Not all dinnerware is oven safe, however, so always refer to the manufacturer's instructions if you're unsure.
All of our dinnerware picks remained free of scuffs after our fork-and-knife tests, and any glazed dinnerware is unlikely to mark up. If for some reason metal marks develop after prolonged use, Noritake recommends using Bar Keepers Friend to remove them. To avoid coffee and tea stains, it's best to rinse mugs and teacups with water after use if you can't get to cleaning them right away. You can remove most stains with regular dish soap and hot water.
Always retrieve plates from the top of a stack rather than sliding them out from the middle, to avoid unnecessary pressure that could scratch or break them. Also, avoid subjecting your dinnerware to extreme temperature changes, such as pouring boiling water into a cold teacup, as this can cause breakage due to thermal shock. Though none of the mugs or teacups from our picks broke in our thermal stress tests, breakage can occur, so be mindful.
We're confident that our picks will be around for years to come should you need to replace pieces. However, if pieces become unavailable in the future, companies such as Replacements, Ltd. specialize in selling discontinued dinnerware.
What to look forward to
For our next update, we'd like to expand this guide to include stoneware. We hope to do another round of testing once our test kitchen is fully operational again later this year.
Other dinnerware sets we like
Everyday dinnerware
The Dansk Ingram Bone China Dinnerware Collection was our former top pick, but it's been consistently low in stock, so we no longer recommend it. We still like the simplicity of this set, which includes only the essentials: a dinner plate, a salad plate, a bowl, and a mug. The modern coupe silhouette was popular among our testers, who liked "the clean, modern lines of the rimless plates," as one person put it. We also appreciated the slight dimple around the perimeter of the dinner plates, which helps keep sauces from running aimlessly to the edge of the rim.
The Villeroy & Boch Royal 30-Piece Bone Porcelain Set was our former upgrade pick, but it's discontinued. You can, however, get the Royal 16-Piece Starter Set, which costs significantly less and is the same style as the discontinued set, except it comes with mugs in lieu of teacups and saucers. We love its classic design and durable, superb quality. This set comes with soup bowls, but you can purchase cereal bowls open stock.
Thicker, heavier dinnerware
The Fiestaware 3-Piece Bistro Place Setting was more popular among our testers than the Fiestaware 3-Piece Classic Place Setting, because they preferred deeper, rounded bowls as opposed to flat-bottomed bowls (mugs or teacups and saucers are sold open stock outside of the main sets). However, if you're a fan of the flat-bottomed bowls, they're included in the 4- and 5-piece place settings. We like that all of the Fiestaware pieces are sold open stock, so you can mix and match styles or buy only what you need. That said, Fiestaware was probably the most polarizing set of dinnerware we tested due to its thickness and the ridges around the perimeter of each piece. Nevertheless, this longtime American-made dinnerware may be just what you're looking for if you prefer heavier, thicker pieces that are available in a full spectrum of colors.
Least expensive
Initially we didn't include the Corelle Winter Frost 18-Piece Dinnerware Set in this review because it's made of Vitrelle (a proprietary type of durable glass laminate), a material that falls outside the parameters we set for this guide. But at just over $4 per piece, it was among the least expensive dinnerware we considered, and we think it's a great option depending on your needs. The Winter Frost set includes plates and bowls only. However, it's also available as a 16-piece set, which includes thick ceramic mugs, but we found them too clunky compared with the thinness of the other pieces in the set. Since this dinnerware is so thin, it takes up surprisingly little space when stacked, which is great if you're short on cupboard space. One thing to keep in mind: Some of our testers found this set too informal for entertaining. That said, it's incredibly durable, so we think it's suitable for kids, college students, rentals, or when you're just starting out. We've toured the Corelle manufacturing plant in Corning, New York, and we can attest to the quality and high standards that go into making this dinnerware.
Great for parties
IKEA's 365+ Dinnerware did well in our tests and is very inexpensive, but it doesn't offer as many pieces as the affordable Crate and Barrel Aspen set. Some of our testers said the mug was too big and the bowl was too wide. The glaze was even, although we did see some minor pitting on the surface of the plates. We think the 11-inch plates are nice to have as a backup for large holiday dinners.
Although we recommend the dinner plates from the Pottery Barn Caterer's set as an affordable backup for entertaining in our Thanksgiving guide, they're typically available only in open-stock sets of 12. We prefer dinnerware that's sold fully open stock, so you can pick and choose what you need.
The competition
The Nevaeh White by Fitz and Floyd Rim Dinnerware Collection was our previous top pick. Several customer reviews on the Bed Bath & Beyond site say the mugs and teacups crack when filled with hot water. We ran a series of thermal-shock tests and had no problems, and the Fitz and Floyd customer service representative we spoke to was not aware of the issue. But since the breakage seems common enough, we no longer feel comfortable recommending the set. We still think the plates, bowls, and other serving pieces are good quality, especially for the price.
The Williams Sonoma Open Kitchen Dinnerware Collection was our former budget pick, but in our new round of testing, we noticed that the quality had diminished. This set looked notably gray next to our picks and had uneven plate rims plus a drippy, inconsistent glaze.
The Crate and Barrel Maison Dinnerware had a balanced weight, and we especially liked the styling of the mug. However, our testers found the cereal bowl was much too deep and awkward to eat from.
Crate and Barrel's Toben Dinnerware was unavailable at the time of our testing this round, so we were unable to include it in our review. We think the design of the mug handle may not date as well as those of our picks.
The coupe plates in Fortessa's Caldera 16 Piece Place Setting have a sloped shape that was popular among our testers. However, since it's not sold open stock, replacing broken pieces would be difficult. This set also has an off-white or pink hue in certain light, which makes it too difficult to match to other porcelain pieces.
The AmazonBasics 16-Piece Dinnerware Set had inconsistencies in the glaze, and the plates were badly scratched. This set was also noticeably grayer than our picks, an effect that most of us found unappealing.
The Aaron Probyn Bone China Dinnerware set, which is sold at both West Elm and Pottery Barn, has a coupe shape similar to that of our former main pick from Dansk. However, the rimless plate is so big, some of our testers mistook it for a charger.
We also ruled out a number of dinnerware collections from Bloomingdale's, CB2, Dansk, Emerson Creek Pottery, Fishs Eddy, Food52, The Home Depot, Jay Import Co., Juliska, Lenox, Michael C. Fina, Noritake, Rosenthal, Royal Doulton, Spode, Target, Villeroy & Boch, Walmart, Wedgwood, and Year & Day for a variety of reasons, including polarizing designs, unappealing color, insufficient or unfavorable reviews, limited stock, replacement problems, high prices, or quality issues.
Sources
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Arthur Dodd and David Murfin, Dictionary of Ceramics, The Institute of Materials , December 1, 1994
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Walter W. Perkins, Ceramic Glossary , American Ceramic Society, 1984
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Ian J. McColm, Dictionary of Ceramic Science and Engineering, 1984
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William M. Carty and Udayan Senapati, Porcelain-Raw Materials, Processing, Phase Evolution, and Mechanical Behavior , Journal of the American Ceramic Society, 1998
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Choosing Bone China or Porcelain Dinnerware, TriMark R.W. Smith , July 8, 2015
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William M. Carty, PhD, emeritus professor of ceramic engineering and materials science at the Inamori School of Engineering at Alfred University, phone interview , January 17, 2019
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Jono Pandolfi, potter and owner of Jono Pandolfi Designs in New Jersey, phone and in-person interviews , January 16, 2019
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Marion Hover, former tabletop decorative gifts buyer at Macy's , email interview , November 4, 2015
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Candy Argondizza, chef and vice president of culinary and pastry arts at International Culinary Center , email interview , March 1, 2016
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Eddie Ross, author of Modern Mix: Curating Personal Style with Chic & Accessible Finds, phone interview , March 14, 2016
About your guide
Michael Sullivan has been a staff writer on the kitchen team at Wirecutter since 2016. Previously, he was an editor at the International Culinary Center in New York. He has worked in various facets of the food and restaurant industry for over a decade.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-dinnerware-set/
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