Size, and not much else. A dinner plate has to hold a full portion with room around it, so ours is 29cm, with a raised edge that keeps sauce on the plate. Our side plate is 22cm. It's the one you tend to use between courses and alongside them but increasingly used for sharing dishes as habits change.

It is best to think about how you eat and host, and start from there based on size. Ours compare like this:

Side plate: 22cm across, 2cm high, 420g. £11.50 single, £22 for 2, £40 for 4.
Dinner plate: 29cm across, 2.5cm high, 840g. £18 single, £34 for 2, £65 for 4.

All ours are stoneware, microwave and dishwasher safe, and finished by hand in Portugal in reactive glazes. No two are the same.

What is a side plate used for?

No rules. Bread, starters and sharing dishes. Also toast and pastries at breakfast, and cake or cheese after dinner.

The side plates are really good for a sharing set up. The big dish goes in the middle, everyone takes what they want onto a side plate, and if it's a starter, the dinner plates stay clear for the main.

Our new Tokyo Brunch range side plates have a gentle Japanese-inspired curve and come in organic green and white.

What is a dinner plate used for? How is it different.

At 29cm and 840g ours have a good weight to them and generally just used for main courses. The glaze and subtle texture are calibrated to make food look good, and the size helps. It could also work as a serving plate for a one-centre dish if you're just having nibbles, or a platter for a small roast chicken or roasted vegetables

The 29cm diameter and curved edges make it versatile.

How many side plates and dinner plates do I need?

For a two person household, our customers usually go for four to six dinner plates and matching side plates.

Although increasingly people use the Everything Bowl with some side plates and maybe a couple of dinner plates to keep things sharable. It really is just what works for you.

Side plates are used across starters, mains and desserts and always run out first. Worth bearing in mind.

All come as singles, sets of 2 and sets of 4, so you can start small and add later. Additions in the same colour cost the same per plate, and your first breakage is replaced at half price.

Do side plates and dinner plates have to match?

No! Ours are designed together and made in the same Portuguese workshops, so the greens, whites in The Tokyo Brunch range are made to sit together, and the reactive glazes make every piece slightly different anyway.

A white dinner plate with a green side plate looks intentional. We also wrote a post on choosing colours that work together.

FAQ

Is a side plate the same as a salad plate or dessert plate?

Roughly, yes and there are no rules. They're different names for plates in the 18-23cm range. Ours is 22cm, so it covers all three jobs.

Can I buy one plate to try first?

Yes. Every plate comes as a single, so you can try the weight and glaze before committing to a set.