In addition to the complete sets, this tableware is also available as open stock, meaning you can buy individual pieces if you need extras or replacements.
Material: 18/10 stainless steel
Pieces in each place setting: Dinner knife, dinner fork, salad fork, dinner spoon, teaspoon
Additional pieces available: Yes.
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
The best lightweight silverware set: Henckels Alcea
Part of the Zwilling J.A. Henckels family, Henckels is more of an entry-level brand than Zwilling, and the Henckels Alcea flatware set is a more affordable, lightweight alternative to the Zwilling Vintage line above. This is still a high-quality set with a nice luster thanks to mirror polished 18/10 stainless steel, but it doesn’t have the heft or the timelessness of the Vintage line. If you’re just looking for a lightweight everyday flatware set that will last, though, this is a great option.
Material: 18/10 stainless steel
Pieces in each place setting: Dinner fork, salad fork, dinner knife, dinner spoon, teaspoon.
Additional pieces available: No
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
The best budget flatware set: Oneida Colonial Boston
This is not your grandmother’s silverware, but it just might be your mother’s—or something like it. If this Oneida Colonial Boston flatware looks familiar, that’s probably because it’s an ever-so-slightly modernized version of a pattern that was part of seemingly every table setting in the ’80s and ’90s—all modeled on early American silverware. Oneida’s contemporary version is made from 18/0 stainless steel and has a brushed satin handle, which will show small scratches, but I think that adds to the charm. It’s available as a 20-piece set (service for four) or a 45-piece set, which is service for eight plus a serving spoon, pierced serving spoon, sugar spoon, serving fork, and butter knife.
Material: 18/0 stainless steel
Pieces in each place setting: Dinner knife, dinner fork, salad fork, dinner spoon, teaspoon
Additional pieces available: Yes, and they’re included with the 45-piece set (see above)
Dishwasher-safe: Yes
And if you really, really want a gold flatware set: Cambridge Silversmiths Beacon
If you came here looking for the best gold flatware for everyday use, I have some bad news: It doesn’t really exist. Unless you buy flatware made with actual gold (which does exist), the faux-gilded finish will come off eventually, so tossing it in the dishwasher after your weeknight dinners is going to dull your fancy forks. Even the pricier sets will lose their golden glow with time and use. Polished gold may last longer than brushed gold or a matte champagne, but unless you hand wash and handle it with the utmost care, it’s not a matter of if, but when the golden glow will start to fade. So my advice is to buy a set you like but only spend as much as you think you’ll feel comfortable spending again in several years after the shine is off. And don’t ever, ever put it in the dishwasher because those powerful detergents will only speed up the wear and tear—yes, even if the manufacturer claims the pieces are dishwasher-safe. Better yet, use it only for dinner parties, holidays, and other special occasions (and even then, still hand-wash it exclusively). With those parameters in mind, the Cambridge Silversmiths Beacon flatware is a decent choice with affordable-enough basic flatware sets available in gold, matte black (same deal as a gold finish, sorry), and silver.
Material: 18/0 stainless steel
Pieces in each place setting: Dinner fork, salad fork, knife, dinner spoon, teaspoon
Additional pieces available: No
Dishwasher-safe: “Yes” (but actually no)
Silverware vs. flatware
Though it’s common to use the terms interchangeably, most people I’ve encountered using the term silverware (which actually means forks, knives, and spoons made with silver or silver plating), mean flatware, because most of them didn’t really buy $1,700 silver-plated or sterling silver flatware sets. Everything recommended here (except the gold set) is colloquially silverware, though, in the way that people tend to use that word.
18/0 vs. 18/10 stainless steel
Throughout the reviews above, flatware material is listed as either 18/0 or 18/10 stainless steel. Those numbers refer to the chrome and nickel content in the steel alloy. Most stainless steel has 18% chromium, which hardens the steel and makes it less prone to corrosion (a.k.a. stainless). When 10% of that steel alloy is nickel, the flatware becomes even more resistant to corrosion. It’s shinier, too, though some 18/10 flatware is brushed for a matte or satin finish.