Fiesta Four-Piece Place Setting Review

We purchased the Fiesta Four-Piece Place Setting so our reviewer could put it to the test. Keep reading for our full product review.

Before the Fiesta Four-Piece Place Settings arrived, I did my research. It’s interesting that the dinnerware is known for its fabulous colors, but the company got its start making pure-white ceramics. I put the set to the test with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. I tested it on the table, in the oven and microwave, and in the dishwasher. Does everyone need a little Fiesta? Read on to find out.

Appearance: Classic and colorful

The look of Fiesta dinnerware hasn’t changed for decades, making it the ideal dinnerware for growing families: It’s easy to add more place settings. However, if you love a color, it’s wise not to delay the purchase too long, because the company retires colors regularly, replacing them with new ones. There are 18 colors available at the time of this writing, and it’s fun to mix and match colors if it’s too hard to choose just one.

Each piece has the Fiesta name stamped on the bottom, so you can be sure you’re getting the real product. If you need serving pieces, Fiesta makes those as well, so it’s easy to add a butter dish, pie plate, or pitcher to match the dinnerware.

The dinner plates in the set are 10.5 inches in diameter, with a wide, sloped rim that gives about 7.5 inches of flat space in the center. Folks who want a petite meal can use that center area for portion control, but there’s plenty of space for big appetites to fill the plate to the rim. I had plenty of room for my dinner, along with a side salad piled high on one side; the rim kept it from falling off.

With a diameter of 7.25 inches, the smaller plate is quite versatile, depending on what’s being served and how you like to eat. While I often used it for lunch, it can be used as a salad or bread plate for a more formal dinner, and it’s just as good for appetizers or dessert.

The bowl is wide, flat, and a bit shallow, which can lend itself to interesting plating, with a tall pile of food in the center and a shallow moat of soup or sauce around the outside. Besides using it for soup, I also liked it for salad and for cereal.

The mug is smaller than most casual coffee mugs, and the handle has a single round finger hole. While it’s a sturdy design, those who prefer a large handle might need to adjust to it. I liked the mug for hot chocolate since the thickness of the ceramic helped keep the drink warm as I sipped. It is a reasonable serving size (10.25 ounces), but it might be too small for those who want a giant mug of morning coffee. One downside of the mugs is that they don’t nest at all, so stacking them would be precarious.

Durability: Sturdy and time-tested

With a five-year warranty against chips, you have to know that this dinnerware is made to last. Of course, like any pottery, it can break if it’s dropped or misused, but it’s not the type of pottery that will chip every time it’s bumped. The longevity is proven by the number of vintage Fiesta items for sale.

Not only is this dinnerware safe for the table, dishwasher, and microwave, but it’s also safe for oven use up to 350 degrees. While I don’t have a lot of use for dinnerware in the oven, it could be handy for gently reheating foods that wouldn’t fare well in the microwave or for baking small portions in the mug or bowl. It should not, however, be used under the broiler or over a flame. The dinnerware is also freezer-safe. I don’t put dinnerware in the freezer often, but it’s nice to know that it’s possible should that need arise, perhaps for pre-plating frozen desserts.

When I used these pieces in the microwave, they got warm from the food they were holding, but the pottery didn’t get hot on its own. I was able to hold the handle on the mug with no worries, and the edges of the plates stayed comfortable to hold as I retrieved my reheated lunch.

While the dishwasher gets rid of food residue easily, light-colored Fiesta dishes can show gray marks from metal flatware. If this happens, Fiesta recommends using Wright’s Copper Cleaner (view at Amazon). Coffee mugs that get stained by coffee or tea can be renewed by filling them with warm water combined with a drop of any household cleaner with bleach. A short soak and gentle rubbing with a dishcloth should remove the stain.

Shipping: Carefully packed

It’s obvious that Fiesta ships a lot of dinnerware. Each four-piece place setting was in its own small box, neatly packed with sufficient cushioning materials to keep each piece safe. Because those boxes were then packed in another box with more packaging, all of the pieces arrived safely. Unless a box was dropped from a significant height or a truck ran over it, it’s hard to imagine anything would get broken.

Price: Moderate

While the MSRP of a Fiesta Four-Piece Place Setting is around $59, you can often find it for less than $40. There is certainly cheaper dinnerware, particularly when bought as sets with multiple place settings, but there are also many that are much more expensive. Considering the durability of the dishes and the longevity of the product line—which means the pieces are easily replaceable—the price for Fiesta is quite reasonable.

Fiesta Four-Piece Place Setting vs. Open Kitchen by Williams Sonoma Square 16-Piece Dinnerware Set

While I love the colorful and classic Fiesta dinnerware, it may be just a little too comfortable for some homes. That’s where the Open Kitchen by Williams Sonoma Square 16-Piece Dinnerware Set (view at Williams Sonoma), which I also tested, comes in. It’s more urban and hip and would work in a minimalist dining room. The square shape makes it interesting, while the white color won’t clash with any other décor. 

On the other hand, the Fiesta dinnerware is just plain fun, and colors can be chosen to match the décor or add a splash (or several splashes) of color. It’s cozy and comfortable, in a design that’s been around for generations and is sure to last for more. Which to choose? I like both for different reasons.