Much more than just a place to eat, restaurants have become a gathering place where diners increasingly seek an escape for a multi-sensory dining experience.
In the West, the concept of the modern restaurant originated in France in the 18th century, but one of the earliest examples of true restaurant culture can be identified a full 600 years earlier in China. Since then, the concept of a restaurant has continued to evolve, following trends but always maintaining its original soul, so it is possible to identify a few different types of this activity that is experiencing a revival after a pandemic-induced stall.
Whether you run a restaurant with a family, elegant or trendy ambiance, a pizzeria or a trattoria, there is one thing they all have in common: the importance of tableware for cooking and presenting food on the table, in a wide variety of styles.
MPS porcelain for haute cuisine restaurants
Elegant white tablecloths embellish a chic minimal décor, where luxury is not an option. In a fine dining restaurant, everything must be perfect to give discerning diners a complete experience, for which they are willing to pay a higher price.
There are many factors that contribute to the success of a fine dining restaurant. The food must be of the highest quality, the service impeccable, and the atmosphere elegant. Of course, this involves not only the décor, but every single detail, which includes, all the more so, the tableware used by star chefs to accommodate precise and timely requirements. Porcelain is the most suitable answer to a request for formal elegance. Whether the menu is small or features six courses, MPS porcelain wares are perfect for showcasing excellent execution. Pure white, durability, and ease of cleaning are indispensable. Creativity takes its place among themes and seasonality, following the chef’s inspiration that will amaze each diner on eclectic bases to enhance originality.
A tradition of refinement can be represented by the Barocco line, with shapes and proportions that emphasize the prestige of a timeless material. A reinterpretation of classicism, with items specifically designed and made to accompany the finest foods: exquisite fish, gourmet pies, delicate vichyssoise, sublime risottos and supreme creams sit in oval, round plates, baskets and cups in an alternation of black and white for endless plays of color.
Here is an alternative to classic white that overturns the canons of aesthetics to dictate new, irregular rules of presentation: the Ghisa line. In a triumph of refined opacity, parading in the most elegant black are pyrex dishes, saucepans, round and oval plates, salad bowls and casseroles. Along with soup bowls, cups and trays the show can begin with an ovation of inventiveness from the kitchen, straight to the table. Durability and beauty of MPS quality porcelain blend with the surprise of cast iron for an even more impressive result.
Refined purity with the Barocco line
The most suitable tableware for a casual restaurant
Relaxing is a must. Included in this category of restaurant, also referred to as “casual,” are various styles, such as trattorias or family-friendly settings. The defining characteristics of these are table service and a broad menu offering, from salads to spaghetti and meatballs, but also more specific styles. Informal certainly does not mean unpolished: there is a need to provide the diner with a unique experience, different from fast food and fine dining, in a quiet and comfortable atmosphere, with equally excellent service.
In an environment where exorbitant prices are not proposed, quality, however, should never be overlooked. That’s why investing in porcelain tableware for preparing and serving a variety of foods is an optimal solution: the material’s durability allows for multiple reuses, so that it can efficiently flank the bustle of customers typical of a busy informal restaurant without discontinuity to always provide a high level of service with items that are sturdy but also beautiful to look at. The style of porcelain fits with any type of restaurant: contemporary, classic, innovative and ethnic.
Set informally or in a basic way, on the table of trendy and contemporary establishments of all kinds, there can be no shortage of items from the versatile Hotel line with a minimalist feel that is always appreciated. Oval plates, salad bowls, pyrex dishes, molds and pans complete the list of essentials for your restaurant. The combination of manageability and durability makes them a must-have for any diner.
The unpretentious ambience of a family restaurant, with a touch of tradition donated, for example, by exposed wooden beams, is enhanced by a classic presentation that can create emotion and human warmth. Utopia? No, Stoneware line. A choice of carefully crafted products, while using a slightly different mixture than the finest porcelain, enhances typical and generous dishes, with ancient or revisited flavors to satisfy every palate. Warm colors, from light to dark brown, for serving satisfaction on the table in mouthfuls of authenticity with pans of all shapes, cake pans, casseroles, and small bowls.
Steakhouses and pizzerias find the right tableware with items dedicated to meat and pizza, made of porcelain so they can be used in the oven, microwave and conveniently in the dishwasher. The pizza plate from the Ghisa line, strictly in black, highlights the colors of Italy, while the steak plate, Hotel line, leaves plenty of room for the tastiest sauce. In addition, an alternative to the classic round pizza can be served on the rectangular pizza plate, Complementi line.
Tradition that excites, Stoneware line
Buffets and catering with MPS porcelain wares
Buffet restaurants fall somewhere between quick-service and full-service to provide rich menus to a usually large audience. Most often when people talk about buffets they think of catering for events, such as weddings, baptisms, as well as informal dinners and business lunches. However, the scenarios are not so limited: a buffet can be part of a restaurant’s service for hors d’oeuvres or breakfast, as is the case in hotels, not to mention “all you can eat.” Typically they are united by the fact that customers can serve themselves the desired amount of food, but there are also several variations with table service for part of the menu, such as drinks.
In each case, the foods served range from salads, soups, appetizers, hot dishes, desserts, and fruits. For each type of menu and for all possible themes, it is essential to choose the best tableware to present all the delicacies prepared in the most inviting way. Presentation in this case really makes a difference and must allow the customer a simple and immediate choice. This is why it is useful to take care of every aspect of the service, starting, of course, with the items used.
Decoration and functionality come together in the Finger line, where small black and white porcelain masterpieces do not go unnoticed as bases for delicacies of all kinds, from savory to sweet, from traditional appetizers like shellfish to sauces with spicy ethnic flavors. It alternates the grace of flower, with the capacity of bongo, and lets delicacies sit in flared, armchair cups. Just a taste with spoon or larger portions with drop. Create original ideas with hexagon and hat, also in Ghisa’s matte black version.
Everything needs to be neat and arranged with precise criteria: the Vassoi line helps manage table space and present finger food containers with class. Discover durable and uniquely designed porcelain trays, with or without handles to assess every circumstance. Pieces adaptable to every color, with classic white, as well as the original dark gray and elegant black. They are not only useful for their function, but also complementary elements for an artful introduction.
For a nonconformist buffet, MPS Porcellane also offers innovative items capable of changing the very concept of a buffet: imagine being able to lunch or dine with just the right amount of food while holding it comfortably in your hand. The Handware line is a farewell to the traditional table with plates and cups designed to allow the diner to eat while standing anywhere and with one hand. Plus, the porcelain retains heat, allowing even hot dishes to be served at just the right temperature.
A new concept of practicality with Handware items
Beyond the classic restaurant concept: be inspired by MPS Porcelain
Although it is possible to categorize the most popular restaurant and service types in the Ho.Re.Ca. industry, don’t let a label condition your creativity. Test, experiment and try concepts that go beyond sophistication, or enhance the familiarity of a pizza, or, again, shake the very definition of a buffet from the foundations. Wherever there is an idea, there is MPS Porcelain, ready, for more than 30 years, to meet every need of restaurateurs. Our porcelain kitchen and tableware helps you take your customers’ experience to the next level, guided by basic practical needs, but enhanced by limitless creativity. For every type of restaurant, over 1,000 forms of handcrafted items, with the guarantee of a company that can respond to supply needs quickly and efficiently.
