21 Best Basic-But-Cool Ceramic Plates and Tableware — 2018

A reader wanted “nice (preferably American-made), basic-but-cool ceramic plates,” so we found out what ceramic tableware they use at De Maria, Lilia, Eleven Madison Park, and more.
Beau Rush also makes these dinner plates that are dipped in glaze, which means each one will have a slightly different drip pattern over the raw material. A little less basic, but still very cool.
Fans of Dan Barber’s Blue Hill might be unknowingly familiar with ceramist Julie Hadley’s work, which is used at his New York City restaurant. These wobbly, white plates are handmade to order, in her New York City studio.
If you want to go full eggshell speckle, this duo from ceramist Sarah Kersten fits the bill.
If you’re looking for something in a darker color palette, there are these black, matte stoneware plates with free-form edges from CB2.
And this stippled, all-black plate that’s got a similar vibe to the super-raw ones from Beau Rush Ceramics.
If all-black seems too aggressive, try these matte, porcelain plates from Japanese brand Hasami. They have a raw edge that lets the original color of the clay peek through, which adds just a touch more visual contrast.
This simple-looking midnight-blue ceramic plate, made in Italy, is somewhere between the totally black plates, but has a bit more edge than the sky-blue ones.
And though this article is mostly about dinner plates, it would be negligent to leave out the ceramic mugs from Halston, which were name-dropped in the Times article. Made in Ireland, these clay coffee cups are hand-thrown with a decidedly angular handle.
That’s how I found this line of Element dinner plates, in that same pale pink as the mug with a matte finish on the exterior, a glossy finish on the interior, and an organic-feeling rim.
They also come in ivory …
These matte, rimmed plates, also from World Market, are similar in style to the dinner plates from Australia’s Mud, with the raised rim — but you can get six of these for the price of one of those.