Creating an ideal dining setup is not as easy as it looks because every piece of cutlery has to be in the right place to enhance the appeal of the entire setup. It is easy to identify the right place for main cutleries, such as the dining plate and soup bowls. 

But things start to get a little tricky when placing the small plates such as the bread and butter plate or the salad plates. However, not most formalized meals have both these plates, but it is better to know the difference between them if an exceptional situation arises.

Bread And Butter Plates

The bread and butter plates are generally smaller in size than dinner plates. Also known as butter plates, these plates usually come with a diameter of 6-7 inches, and they are commonly used for serving an individual with bread and butter. However, the main purpose of these plates is to keep the bread out of other dishes on the plate where the bread may get soaked in sauce or gravy. The bread and butter plates are placed on the left-hand side of the place setting, right above the tips of the forks. Most people indicate the purpose of the plate by keeping a butter knife over the plate. These plates are ubiquitous in European and American countries. 

Salad Plates

Salad plates commonly come with about seven inches, making them smaller in size compared to dinner plates. But which is the ideal place for a salad plate on the dining setup? These plates are generally placed on the left-hand side of the place setting. To be more precise, they are placed just to the left of the forks. Having a salad plate from the beginning of a meal and placing it on the left side of the forks is a characteristic of an informal meal. However, in a formal dinner, the salad plate is brought to the table when it is time to serve the salad course.

How to Differentiate Between Salad Plates and Bread & Butter Plates?

As we know by now, bread and butter plates and salad plates are smaller and placed on the left-hand side of the place setting. Nonetheless, it is not very difficult to distinguish between both plates because both are placed in slightly different locations in the place setting. The salad plate should be placed directly on the left-hand side of the place setting, while the bread and butter plate must be placed on the left space above the main dinner plate. Scenarios where the bread and butter plate is placed directly on the left of the main dinner plate indicate that the salad course will be a part of the main course or there won’t be any salad course. One last tip here would be to not confuse the bread and butter plate with the dessert plate placed right above the main dinner plate.      

Conclusion

Both salad plates or bread and butter plates are used to make the entire dinner setting more appealing and presentable to the guests. However, one can always experiment by making a few tweaks here and there and see if this enhances the overall appeal. Check out Rina Menaradi dinner plates to bring home some beautiful and unique collections of different cutleries.   

Author’s Bio

Shrey Jain is the Co-Founder of Writofy & a Chartered Accountant who works with a team of creative content writers. He holds a forte in creating informative content on niches like crypto, business, fintech, digital marketing, and several others. In addition, his willingness to learn and share his knowledge can immensely help readers get valuable insights on varied topics.