This store requires javascript to be enabled for some features to work correctly.
The Ultimate Dinner Party Hack: Why the Right Pasta Plate Matters
The stuffy, multi-course dinner party is officially dead. The modern way to host is all about low-stress cooking, great wine, and an unapologetically massive carb pull. The secret weapon for this relaxed vibe? The bowl-plate hybrid. It is a deep dive into the perfect, versatile bowl-plate hybrid for everything from weeknight spaghetti to hearty salads.
By Lara Silva
The Rise of the "Blate"
If you haven't yet discovered the joy of the bowl-plate (affectionately dubbed the "blate" by the internet), your kitchen cupboards are seriously missing out. It is the ultimate piece of italian dinnerware, designed specifically to handle the saucy, messy reality of really good food.
Unlike a flat dining plate that lets your cacio e pepe slide dangerously close to the edge, or a deep soup bowl that makes twirling spaghetti impossible, the pasta plate offers the perfect middle ground. It features a wide, flat base for easy cutting and styling, flanked by raised, curving lips that confidently contain olive oil, dressings, and rich ragùs. It is a design masterclass in functional eating, allowing you to aggressively mix your meal without redecorating your tablecloth in the process.
Styling the Weeknight Supper
The beauty of these hybrid dishes is how they make even the most basic meals look incredibly intentional. When you scoop a quick, 15-minute Tuesday night arrabbiata into dedicated pasta plates, it stops looking like a frantic mid-week refuel and starts looking like a moment of genuine self-care. The wide rim naturally frames the food, gathering it neatly in the centre so that even a modest portion looks abundant and restaurant-ready. This is the ultimate "cool girl" hosting hack: you don't need to cook a complicated, Michelin-level menu if your presentation is spot on. Serving a giant, family-style mound of linguine directly from the pan into beautiful, earthy ceramics instantly sets a warm, communal tone that makes everyone feel instantly at home.
The Heavy-Duty Kitchen Workhorse
Do not let the name fool you; these vessels are fiercely versatile. While they are obviously the go-to for a classic carbonara, their shape makes them the hardest-working dishes in your entire collection.
They are absolutely brilliant for serving up a rich, brothy stew, a messy serving of shakshuka, or a heavily dressed grain bowl. They are designed to act as a deep dive into the perfect, versatile bowl-plate hybrid for everything from weeknight spaghetti to hearty salads. Because they handle liquid so well, you can finally say goodbye to that annoying puddle of vinaigrette seeping across a flat plate. If you are trying to pare down your kitchen cupboards and want a single, brilliant dish that can literally do it all, the pasta bowl is the only answer.
Building Your Italian Dinnerware Collection
When sourcing these pieces, we recommend looking for designs that feel robust and grounded. Authentic italian dinnerware often features slightly thicker ceramics to retain the heat of the food, ensuring your meal stays piping hot while you sit and chat.
We love an off-white, slightly speckled glaze for a classic, rustic feel, or a bold, hand-painted striped rim for something a bit more graphic and modern. Mix and match your pasta plates with contrasting side dishes and colourful glassware to keep the table feeling eclectic and unstudied. It is about bringing that noisy, joyful, and highly practical trattoria energy directly into your own dining room, proving that the best design is always the most functional.
What You Need To Know
What is a "blate" or a bowl-plate hybrid?
A "blate" is a versatile hybrid of a bowl and a plate. It features a wide, flat base for easy cutting and styling, combined with raised, curving sides that contain sauces, dressings, and oils, making it the ideal vessel for messy or saucy meals.
Why is Italian dinnerware better for serving pasta?
Authentic Italian dinnerware, specifically pasta plates, is designed with thicker ceramics to retain heat, keeping your meal warm while you dine. The shape also allows for easy twirling of spaghetti and prevents sauces from sliding off the edge of the dish.
Can pasta plates be used for meals other than pasta?
Absolutely. The pasta bowl is a kitchen workhorse, perfect for serving brothy stews, grain bowls, shakshuka, or heavily dressed salads. Its ability to contain liquid makes it more versatile than a traditional flat dining plate.
Shop Plates
Our Editor's Pick
Shop the look
More from the Magazine
View all →
Discoveries
The Best 11 Staycations in Ireland
There is a particular kind of magic to staying close to home and discovering it feels a world away and nowhere does that alchemy quite like Ireland. From clifftop lighthouses battered by Atlantic spray to Georgian manor houses wrapped in ivy, thatched cottages with turf fires and copper tubs pitched beneath the trees, the very best staycations in Ireland prove that you never have to cross an ocean to feel utterly transported. We've combed the country, county by county, to bring you our most beloved picks — this is your quintessential companion for booking an unforgettable Irish escape.
The Edit
10 Autumn Trends We're Already Obsessed With
September has a way of rearranging a home's whole mood, the light turns amber, the candles come back out, and suddenly beige feels like a missed opportunity. This season's interior trends lean warmer, moodier, and considerably more textured than summer's breezy minimalism, from dark wood furniture staging a proper comeback to a bed layered so thoughtfully it borders on architecture. Consider this your quintessential forecast for the season ahead: ten trends worth folding into your home before the first frost.
Discoveries
The Ultimate Guide to Paris for Foodies
Paris does not simply feed you; it seduces you, one chalkboard menu and candlelit corner at a time. This ultimate Paris foodie guide is our love letter to the addresses we return to again and again — the natural wine bars tucked behind unmarked doors, the century-old bistrots still turning out the same perfect dish, the coffee shops hiding inside a former shoemaker's shop. Consider this your quintessential companion for eating and drinking your way through the city, arrondissement by arrondissement, croissant by coupe de champagne.
The Edit
Transitional Decor for September: Our Editor's Picks
September arrives with its own quiet magic — the golden hour lingers a little longer, the evenings turn a shade cooler, and our homes ask, gently but insistently, for something new. This is the season of transitional decor for September, the art of easing a room from late-summer light into autumn warmth without abandoning either. We asked four of our most trusted in-house tastemakers to name the pieces carrying them through the turn, and their picks are as considered as they are covetable. Consider this your quintessential companion to a home that changes with the light.