Honorable mentions

The Towle Alexander flatware set has both a satin and mirror finish, so it looks a lot like our main pick. However, it’s lighter and thinner than the Cambridge Silversmith set we recommend, and the undersides of the handles are concave, so they’re not as comfortable to hold. Some of our testers didn’t love the curve of the knife blade on this set either. That said, at about $12 per place setting, it’s a great alternative if you like the look of our main pick but don’t want to spend $30 per setting.

We like the Cambridge Silversmiths Province Mirror Flatware, which has a silhouette similar to that of the Crate and Barrel Caesna Flatware we recommend. It’s an elegant pattern with long fork tines, but several of our testers deemed the soup spoon too big. Its most glaring drawback is the knife, which has “Robert Welch” printed on the side of the blade that faces up on a set table. A few testers found that branding placement to be a dealbreaker, especially since this flatware costs $40 per setting.

Many of our testers liked the Crate and Barrel Iona Flatware, another style by Robert Welch Designs, for its rounded handles and sleek design. That said, its deep soup spoon is akin to a wonton soup spoon, which was polarizing for our testers. Staffers with larger hands weren’t fans of this set because they found the handles too skinny.

The rest

The WMF Signum and the WMF Miami were popular sets in our lineup, but the majority of our staffers thought the salad-fork tines were too short and resembled a spork. The Lenox Stratton set also had short, stubby fork tines that we found unappealing.

Several of our testers liked the rounded handles of the Artaste Rain II flatware, but some found the curve of the knife to be awkward to hold.

Some of our testers said the knife handle on the Wedgwood Cushion flatware was too old-fashioned. The knife handle is also very heavy compared with those of the other pieces in the set.

We used to recommend the IKEA Förnuf set as a budget option, but we don’t anymore. It looks and feels cheap, and IKEA was unable to disclose what type of steel is used in this particular set. We think the Gourmet Settings Windermere collection is a more elegant alternative that’s comparably priced.

We also used to recommend Muji Cutlery pieces as a budget choice, but to be on the safe side, we decided not to include any steel labeled 18/8 for our 2018 update. We still like the design of this pattern, but it no longer meets the strict parameters we set for this guide. Our new budget pick, the Windermere collection, is made of 18/10 stainless steel and is more widely available.

The Pottery Barn Classic Flatware was very heavy. The hollow-handle knife felt as if it were in the wrong set because it was so light. We also found the fork tines stubby.

Our testers universally disliked the Crate and Barrel Scoop, Lenox Cantera, and Lenox Chesterbrook flatware sets because the knife handles curve sideways to the left in the hand, making them uncomfortable to hold, especially for lefties.

The Oneida Aero, Villeroy & Boch Celeste, and Liberty Tabletop Modern America collections had thick necks that made the flatware feel clunky and utilitarian. The Modern America knife blade also developed rust spots after we ran it through the dishwasher.

Our testers found the J.A. Henckels International Silvano set particularly unbalanced. The forks and spoons are thin and lightweight, while the knife is handle heavy.

We really liked the size, shape, and weight of the Mepra Lucca flatware, but the pewter finish was polarizing for our testers. The fork tines are also slightly blunt on this set compared with those of our picks.

The Reed & Barton Grand Hotel II and Liberty Tabletop Satin Pearl sets have a beaded design around the perimeter of the handles that most testers didn’t like. The Grand Hotel II flatware also felt notably heavy.

The Liberty Tabletop Classic Rim and Annapolis flatware sets were too basic for many of our testers, who said these collections reminded them of diner flatware. We also thought the large serrations on the knives were not refined enough for more formal occasions.

The Cambridge Emerge soup spoon is so large, we mistook it for a serving spoon. We also noticed that the inner sides of the fork tines were rough and unpolished.

The Reed & Barton Cole flatware set is great for anyone who prefers lighter flatware, but many of our staffers weren’t fans of the ridge where the knife blade meets the handle. Most of our testers also preferred rounded tips on the handles to the square tips on this set.

We liked the hollow-handle knife in the Towle Boston Antique flatware set, but we weren’t fans of the seam on the underside of the handles.

Although the Liberty Tabletop Candra flatware was beloved by some of our testers, the vast majority thought the shape of this collection was too old-fashioned.

Our testers found the bulbous handle tips on the Gibson Home Classic Manchester set dated and unappealing. This set bent easily too, and the inner sides of the fork tines were rough and unpolished.

The Dansk Sixten design had sharp angles on the handle that dug into our hands. We prefer rounded handles that are more comfortable to hold.

We used to recommend the gold version of the Almoco Flatware, but we’ve excluded colored utensils from our 2018 update. We opted not to test the stainless steel version of the same set because the fork tines are very short.

The Gorham Studio, Villeroy & Boch Chancellor, Snowe, and Robert Welch Designs Westbury flatware sets developed rust spots after we ran them through the dishwasher. The WMF Manaos set also developed rust spots on the knife blades, which are made of 13/0 stainless steel. That said, we still stand behind the Manaos serving spoon we recommend in our guide to the best Thanksgiving tools and tableware and our guide to brunch essentials. We’ve been long-term testing the serving spoon for years and haven’t experienced any issues with rust so far.