Q&A for How to Set Silverware

You can get a string and tie the silverware together with a nice bow, or you could roll the silverware in a paper napkin.

Fork to the left of the plate, napkin to the left of the fork (or it may be placed on the plate). Knife to the right of the plate with the blade facing the plate, then the spoon to the right of the knife.

To the top right or top left of the plate.

No individual butter knife would be needed. If butter is served, then a single butter knife would be on the butter plate, and individuals would use it to put a pat of butter on their dinner plate. They then would use their dinner knife to spread butter on their roll/bread.

The teaspoon is placed at the right side of the plate because most people are right-handed, so they will stir in cream/sugar with their right hands.

It's more of a hygiene issue; if the table is at all dirty, flip them up. If it's clean, I'd place them down; it looks more formal.

There are a couple options, depending on the amount of space on the table. All beverages in American service should be to the right of the guest. Coffee is a beverage, so it goes to the right and ideally between the place settings of the diners, about an inch from the edge of the table with the handle pointing slightly to the right. This position makes it easy for the server to pour the hot beverage without the fear of burning the guest. The other option is above the dessert silverware. This option works well when there is not room to place it between place settings.

Place the steak knife to the right of the plate. If there is more than one course to the meal, place the utensils outside to inside, based upon order of food served.

A dessert spoon should be placed on the innermost area of the other spoons.

You would have one fork on the left and one knife on the right. If a knife is not needed you could place just a fork, but it is more formal to have both.

I'm not aware of any situation in which silverware should be placed on a napkin on top of a plate, except possibly eating outside on a table that you do not know is clean. That being said, the knife should always go to the right side and the fork to the left.

The napkin is best placed on top of the silverware. When underneath the silverware, the guest must move the fork(s) to get access to the napkin. This could cause the forks to drop to the floor.

American style service has the Salad Fork placed to the outside of the Entree Fork. The silverware should be placed in the order that the guest will use them, working from the outside in. Often European Service serves the salad AFTER the entree. In this case, the salad fork would be closest to the plate, but this is very rare in American Dining.

Yes, it is. Glass tabletops can be beautiful and the silver can always set directly on the table no matter what the table is made of.

They do actually, in Latin America the fork and the knife are usually on the right part, and the spoon and napkin on the left

Your place knife (others might call it a dinner knife). This is the knife that usually comes with a 5-piece setting.

It depends how you’re using the butter knife. Informally, some use it to cut soft foods, in which case it would go to the right of the plate with the blade facing in. Given that the knife is being used for its intended purpose, place it on the butter plate. The fork always goes on the left of the plate. Traditionally, a knife is always served with a fork so the consumer may cut their food. This may not be necessary with small, bite sized food that doesn’t roll. Use your best judgement to determine what is necessary, or look up a guide on how to eat the particular food.

For one wine glass per person, put it above and to the right of the water glass, which should be at about the 1 o'clock position in relation to the dinner plate. For two glasses per person, put the red wine glass to the right of and slightly above the water glass, and the white wine glass to the right of and slightly below the water glass.

Yes, put the napkin in the ring and set it to the left of the silverware on the left of the plate. Or, lay it on top of the plate.

Traditionally, all place settings are made for the convenience of right-handed diners. However, if you know you have a left-handed diner who will be sitting in a particular spot, it's fine to reverse the location of the silverware and table items at that place to better suit them.

The steak knife replaces the dinner knife. Put it to the right of the dinner plate, blade facing toward the plate.