Introducing "Blates": The Bowl-Plate Combo That Is Taking Over TikTok

It’s a bowl, it’s a plate, it’s a blate—a perfect combination with more uses than we can count. If you don't own any blates, your dinnerware collection is not complete.

Recently, we're seeing an influx of "bowls that sort of look like plates that are sort of like bowls" on our FYPs. It seems decor enthusiasts on TikTok are obsessed with the low bowls, and now, so are we. 

Not only are pasta bowls (or dinner bowls, or blates, or whatever you want to call them) pretty, since the raised edges can reveal a pattern or pop of color, but they’re practical, too. Blates simply make sense, since they offer a wide, flat bottom and raised edges to capture liquids, which makes carrying them between the kitchen and your dining area all the easier. Plus, how else would you plate your beloved bouillabaisse recipe? 

Marie Joh, head of merchandising at The Six Bells, is a fan of bowl plates for both their versatility and functionality.

“Beyond pasta, plates with raised edges are great for risotto, kitchari, grits, and pretty much anything that can be described as creamy, soupy, or porridge-y,” she says. “A pasta bowl comes with the ideal built-in bumpers.”

Another benefit to blates: they’re easy to store and can serve double duty as serving dishes. If you’re short on open shelving or kitchen cabinet space, low bowls can save you serious space, too. Instead of owning a stack of bowls and another of plates, you could downsize to one set of blates.

“Owning a full set of bowls and plates takes up crucial cabinet space,” Haley Seidel, The Citizenry’s vice president of design and development, says. “A bowl-plate is perfect for small space living because you only need one set for all your serving needs."

How many bowl plates should you own? That depends on how many guests you generally host. Seidel recommends starting with four if you generally cook for one or two. Bump that number up to eight if you typically host four or six people. 

“Maybe I’m biased, but you can’t have too many,” Joh says. 

We agree. To get your blates collection started, scroll on to see a few of our favorite designs.