Famiware Ocean Square 12 Pieces Dinnerware Set + 6 Pieces Oval Dipping Bowl

A four-place set is the smallest that still feels like a proper table. The Ocean square 12-piece gives you dinner plates, salad plates, and bowls for four, with six oval dipping bowls added on. The next size up serves six but leaves the dipping bowls out. This set trades the extra place for the small bowls that turn a meal into a table rather than plates set down.

The dipping bowls are the reason to choose this set. They fit one on each plate for sauce, or fill a few with salt, oil, and pepper for the table. But six bowls also mean six more things to wash and store. They stack two high at best, and the oval shape is less forgiving than a round bowl when you are fitting them into a cabinet.