Italian Pasta Served in a Bowl or Plate? Snapshots from Italy!

For an Italian like me, who cooks pasta every day, choosing the right dish for pasta might seem second nature. But I understand that, for many not familiar with Italian customs, this can be a confusing topic, given the variety of pasta shapes and dishes available.

In most casual settings, including many restaurants, pasta is typically served in wide-rimmed soup plates. These plates help keep the pasta and its sauce centered. But for more formal occasions aiming for an elegant presentation, flat plates are the norm, requiring more precise plating.

Now, when it comes to long pasta like spaghetti, do you eat spaghetti in a bowl or plate?

To the left, you'll see long pasta served on a flat plate, which is often considered a more elegant presentation. But as you can see on the right, a deep dish or bowl is also commonly used in restaurants for long pasta. — To the left, you’ll see long pasta served on a flat plate, which is often considered a more elegant presentation. But as you can see on the right, a deep dish or bowl is also commonly used in restaurants for long pasta.

According to Italian etiquette, spaghetti is traditionally served on a plate. But many Italians also enjoy it from a bowl, especially at home, valuing comfort and ease. Both options are widely embraced.

Source: welovepasta.it

Considering the vast array of pasta types and dishware, it’s understandable to feel unsure. But remember, pasta originates from humble beginnings, so dish selection should ideally be straightforward. Generally, there are two primary choices:

The bowl-like plate
The flat plate

The decision largely depends on the setting and desired presentation.

This is another type of dish often used in restaurants. It’s a deep dish but has a rather elegant shape since its wide edges don’t make it look like a bowl at all. However, as you can see, it holds a smaller amount

One exception? Pastas served in broth, like tortellini in broth. Here, a soup plate or bowl is essential. After all, serving broth on a flat plate would be… quite the challenge!

When discussing risotto, etiquette requires a flat plate, and indeed there are advantages to this, as I explained at the link.

Bowl or Plate: How Italians Truly Dish Out Pasta at Home.

As I mentioned above, we Italians at home often prefer to use soup bowls or deep plates to eat pasta, in particular, we use soup bowls with a wide rim, this way the pasta and sauce are well held in the center of the dish.

Pasta is a dish that is eaten only with a fork, without the help of a knife, which is also why it can be eaten easily on a soup plate.

This type of dish is widely used for pasta since you don’t need to know how to plate or arrange the pasta in some special way to make a nice steaming pasta dish.

Another reason for choosing the soup plate is for dose control, in fact in this type of dish the portion of pasta will seem more plentiful, while on a flat plate the same portion will seem less plentiful, resulting in the risk of wanting to fill the plate and eating way too much.

Even if we Italians are serial pasta eaters, we take care not to overdo the carbs! Or maybe not? Here I talked about our medium portions of pasta.

At a dinner or lunch with friends or family in an everyday setting, the table setting often includes a flat plate with a bowl plate resting on top.

This is because the dishes follow the course of the meal, so the pasta, which is always the first course, will be eaten on the bowl plate, and later to eat the second course the flat plate will be used, which is often meat or fish and vegetables, in fact in this type of plate you can cut the food well since it has no edges.

If you serve pasta on a flat plate will look like this. Visually will be more refined and less rural and authentic.

Do Italian restaurants serve pasta in a bowl or plate?

In restaurants, as I told you above, the deep plate or pasta bowl is the one most commonly used for pasta, although some restaurants where superior care is taken with the presentation may also use flat plates.

Why do traditional pasta bowls have wide rims?

In Italy, pasta bowls often feature wide rims, serving a dual purpose. Aesthetically, the rim beautifully frames the pasta, while functionally, it allows for easy handling when grabbing the dish by its edge.

Are pasta bowls necessary?

If you, like me, eat pasta at least once or twice a week, then yes, pasta bowls will be necessary. These plates are just the right size for your daily portion of pasta, and thanks to the wide edges you can handle them easily.

What is a pasta plate called?

The plate specifically for pasta is called a deep plate or also a pasta bowl. In Italy, we call it “piatto fondo” which is the exact translation of deep plate.

What is a good plate for serving pasta?

In Italy, we use deep plates a lot for eating pasta, although some restaurants prefer to plate pasta on flat plates. In my opinion, the deep bowl remains the best choice for functional and aesthetic reasons.