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A Livingetc report describes a shift among some London restaurants toward patterned, colorful and tactile plates instead of plain white porcelain. Chefs José Pizarro and Filippo La Gattuta say their choices depend on the food, the atmosphere and the memories they want a meal to evoke; neither describes patterned crockery as a rule for every dish.
Some London restaurants are moving beyond plain white porcelain, using patterned, colorful and tactile plates to complement dishes and shape the atmosphere of a meal, according to a Livingetc report. Chefs José Pizarro and Filippo La Gattuta said the choice should serve the food and the experience rather than follow a blanket rule against decorated crockery.
White plates remain a familiar restaurant choice, prized in the Livingetc report for their neutral appearance, durability and resistance to stains. Their plain surface can keep attention on the ingredients. But the report describes a growing appetite in parts of London’s restaurant scene for ceramics with color, texture and ornament.
Pizarro said he chooses plates dish by dish. In an email to Livingetc, the Spanish chef and restaurateur said white porcelain can work when a dish’s ingredients and colors provide enough visual interest, while ceramic or terracotta can alter how a meal feels. His stated test is where a recipe will look most appealing.
Big Mamma’s restaurants use ceramics made and painted by artisans in southern Italy, according to the report. La Gattuta, the group’s UK executive chef, said the tableware connects the food to the warmth of family meals in Italy. The report also points to Carbone London, whose floral ceramic plates complement its retro-inspired dining room and more-is-more approach. These examples show different reasons for choosing patterned plates: food, memory and setting.
How Crockery Shapes the Meal
The plate is part of the restaurant’s presentation, not just a surface for serving food. A patterned ceramic can reinforce a restaurant’s identity or evoke a particular place and tradition; a white plate can provide contrast that helps ingredients stand out. The examples in the report suggest that restaurants are treating tableware as one more way to guide how diners experience a dish.
That choice also involves a trade-off: decoration may add warmth and character, but it can compete visually with the food. Pizarro and La Gattuta’s comments address that concern by putting the dish first. Their approach is not that every plate should be ornate, but that the crockery should suit the recipe and the feeling the restaurant wants to create.
For diners, the shift is visible but not a rejection of tradition. White porcelain remains useful and widely established, while the restaurants discussed by Livingetc show how other materials and patterns can serve a specific purpose. The report does not establish how widespread the change is across London dining, or whether it represents a measurable industry-wide trend.
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From White Porcelain to Italian Ceramics
Plain white tableware has a long history in fine dining, the Livingetc report says, associating it with European aristocratic traditions and with the practical needs of restaurants. Its neutral backdrop is often used to keep attention on the color and texture of food. The report presents this as a continuing preference, not a practice that has disappeared.
The restaurants featured use patterned plates for distinct reasons. Carbone London’s floral ceramics suit its theatrical room and retro Italian-American style, while Big Mamma’s handmade crockery is presented as a link to Italian artisanship and family dining. Pizarro, drawing on his upbringing in Spain, described terracotta as familiar, practical and shaped by use. These are attributed perspectives from chefs and restaurants, rather than evidence that all London chefs are changing their tableware.
“It always starts with the food.”
— José Pizarro, Spanish chef and restaurateur, speaking to Livingetc by email
How Broad Is the Shift?
The report does not quantify how many London restaurants have adopted patterned crockery or show whether the practice is growing across the city as a whole. Its examples are selected restaurants, and chefs’ explanations reflect their own tastes and working choices.
It is also unclear whether the shift will last or influence restaurants outside the settings described. The source does not provide diner research comparing responses to patterned and white plates, nor operational details such as cost, replacement rates or whether decorated ceramics are as practical for every service. The headline’s question about chefs being “scared” is not supported as a general claim: the chefs quoted instead discuss choosing plates to suit food and atmosphere.
Restaurants Keep Choosing by Dish
The source points to ongoing restaurant use rather than a formal industry change. Pizarro and La Gattuta describe continuing to match crockery to dishes, ingredients and the experience they want diners to have. The clearest next indication of how this trend develops will be the tableware choices restaurants make as menus and dining rooms change.
Livingetc said Big Mamma’s Edmondo was scheduled to open the month after its report, but the source material does not confirm whether that opening took place or describe the restaurant’s eventual tableware. No broader industry data or follow-up findings are provided, so the scale and durability of the reported shift remain open.
Key Questions
Are London chefs abandoning white plates?
No. The Livingetc report describes some restaurants using patterned ceramics, while Pizarro says white plates can be the right choice when a dish’s ingredients and colors stand out on their own.
Why are some restaurants choosing patterned plates?
The reasons vary. The chefs quoted link tableware to a dish’s appearance, restaurant atmosphere, cultural tradition and memories of family meals.
Do patterned plates make food look better?
That depends on the dish and the plate. Pizarro told Livingetc that the choice should be made recipe by recipe. The report does not cite comparative research measuring how diners respond to different crockery.
Are chefs generally afraid that decorated plates distract from food?
The report does not establish that chefs share this concern. It notes that patterned plates can risk competing with a meal, but the chefs quoted say they select tableware to complement the food rather than follow a strict ban on motifs.
Source: livingetc.com
