How To Set A Dinner Table: Basic, Casual, Formal & Party

When it comes to setting the table, there is the right way, the wrong way, and if Aunty Helen is in the room, a better way. If you’re caught in the middle of setting the dinner table and unsure what goes where our quick and easy guide can help you decide where that blasted soup spoon goes. Better yet, our guide will teach you that a charger isn't just something you plug your smartphone into.

And yet, there's a nagging little voice in your head. "Do the wine glasses go to the left or the right of the plate?"

Setting the table for any meal, whether it be formal, casual, or an entire party, can be a little confusing and complicated for the inexperienced. To help you navigate the almost endless selection of tabletop crockery, flatware, glassware and of course linen, we've put together the essential guide on how to set the table.

Our handy guide will show you what goes where for a correct table setting every time. It won’t matter what the occasion, from informal to formal place settings, Minimax has covered for dinnertime.

The everyday table setting

During the week, most of us are setting the table for more informal meals and everyday dinners. For those meals, a quick and straightforward table setting is all you need. Funnily enough, just about every other table setting builds off this one. So if you get this right, the others will logically follow.

Dinner Table Checklist:

Placemat
Cutlery - fork, knife and spoon
Dinner plate
Water glass
Napkin

Lay the placemat on your table.
Place the dinner plate in the centre of the placemat.
Lay the dinner fork to the left of the dinner plate.
Place the dinner knife to the immediate right of the dinner plate and the spoon to the right of the dinner knife.
Set the water glass to the right, directly above the dinner knife.
The napkin can be placed neatly on the dinner plate or under the fork.

The informal table setting

Entertaining over the summer months are often more relaxed. Outdoor casual table settings become more frequent, and entertaining is undoubtedly more relaxed with friends outside in the garden or out on the deck. These simple settings are perfect when everyone gets together over an informal meal, without the formality of a lavish dinner setting.

The informal table setting includes two additions – a soup bowl and a salad plate. However, even that might be too many courses for an occasion with less formality. Our advice is – set only what you need. If there is no soup, don't lay out the soup bowl and spoon. If there's no red wine, only layout a water glass and white wine glass.

If you’re in need of some new glasses, we highly recommend checking out Krosno and their modern styled glassware.

Dinner Table Checklist:

Placemat
Cutlery - fork, knife and soup spoon
Dinner plate
Salad plate
Soup bowl
Red wine glass
White wine glass
Water glass
Napkin

Begin by setting the placemat.
Set the dinner plate in the centre of the placemat. If you have salad, set the salad plate on top of the dinner plate. And if you're having soup, place the soup bowl on top of the salad plate.
Place the dinner fork to the left of the dinner plate.
Place the dinner knife to the immediate right of the dinner plate and the soup spoon to the right of the dinner knife.
Set the water glass to the right, directly above the knife.
To the right and approximately one centimetre below the water glass, place the white wine glass. The red wine glass sits to the right and slightly above the white wine glass. The water glass is always kept closest to the diner as people generally drink more water with their meal.
The napkin can be neatly placed on the plates to one side or under the fork.

The formal table setting

Definitely, the most complex of all, the formal table setting is the most challenging, even for the most experienced hosts. The three-course has many possibilities depending upon how proper the meal is and how strict you are with traditions and conventions.

For the sake of this guide, we'll go the full monty and include almost everything you could possibly need in a dinner party layout, which should cover you for 99% of formal occasions.

One thing to note, with the formal table setting, is the use of a charger. Used instead of a placemat, the charger is purely decorative and never actually touches the food. Think of it as a resting place for your bowls and plates. Charger plates remain on the table through all courses and are removed just before dessert is served.

You should also know that soup bowls are traditionally warmed before being brought to the table.

Although the list of items required for a formal table setting is long and somewhat overwhelming, if you take your time and approach each piece of dinnerware in order, it's not as daunting as it appears.

Dinner Table Checklist:

A lovely crisp tablecloth (iron it if you have to)
Charger plate
Cutlery - dinner fork, salad fork, fish fork, dinner knife, fish knife, bread and butter knife, soup spoon, dessert fork and dessert spoon
Dinner plate
Salad plate
Bread and butter plate
Soup bowl (not set on the table)
Red wine glass
White wine glass
Water glass
Napkin
Napkin ring (optional)
Place name card (optional)

Begin by laying out a freshly ironed, crisp tablecloth. One that has fold creases in it from months or years in the linen press won't cut it. Iron it first to have it looking beautiful.
Place a charger plate down comfortably from the edge of the table.
Set the dinner plate in the centre of the charger.
Place the salad fork to the left of the dinner plate. Set the dinner fork to the left of the salad fork. Finally, lay the fish fork to the left of the dinner fork.
Place the dinner knife to the immediate right of the dinner plate and the fish knife to the right of the dinner knife. The soup spoon is then laid to the right of the fish knife. The base of all cutlery handles should line up horizontally with the bottom of the charger. And all cutlery should be spaced approximately one centimetre apart and with all knife blades facing inwards.
The dessert fork is laid horizontally with its tines facing to the right, a couple of centimetres above the charger. The dessert spoon is also laid horizontally but pointing towards the left, just above the dessert fork.
Place the bread and butter plate above and to the left of the charger plate at an approximately 11.00 position. The bread and butter knife lay horizontally across the centre of your plate.
The water glass is set to the right, directly above the dinner knife.
Approximately one to two centimetres below the water glass and to the right of it, place the white wine glass (it all depends on the size of your glasses). Then add the red wine glass to the right, slightly above the white wine glass. The water glass is positioned closest to the diner to ensure your guests drink plenty of water with their meal.
Fold the napkin very neatly or place it through a napkin ring and position the napkin in a vertical position across the dinner plate.
Add a place card above the dessert spoon with the guest's name on both sides to enable the other guests to see who they are talking to.

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