Get the basics. These consist of the main dinner plate and the drinking glass. Set the dinner plate in front of the chair (center it) and place the drinking glass on the right side of the plate accordingly. Alternatively, place the napkin either on the table to the left of the forks.
How to place Glasses and Cups
- For a dinner party, there are usually three drinking glasses,
- The one closest to the main plate is the white wine glass,
- The middle glass is the red wine glass, and the one farthest away is the water glass.[1]
- A coffee cup and saucer sits to the right of the red wine glass position.[2]
Add to the dinner plate a napkin placed in the center. Alternatively, place the napkin either on the table to the left of the forks,[3] or on a side plate (see below); some people roll up the napkin and place it into a wine glass. Add a small bread plate with a knife placed inside of it horizontally to the upper left corner of the dinner plate (American setting). Or, use it as a “side plate” and have it placed to the side (English setting), with the butter knife still upon it.
