The Best Serving Trays: Wood, Lacquer, Brass, Marble

A tray is the most useful thing in the house that nobody thinks to buy. Six of them, each for a different job, from breakfast in bed to the drinks at six.

By the Bonwits editorsUpdated September 27, 20266 picks

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Our top picks

6 picks, each linked to the exact listing

1
Best overallNambe Portables Wood Tray 18"
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2
For breakfast in bed, about $39Winsome Wood Sedona Bed Tray, Antique Walnut
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3
The lacquer pairMud Pie Round Wood Lacquer Trays, Set of 2
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4
The marble oneCreative Co-Op Minimalist Round Carved Marble Tray, White, 12"
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5
For the bar cartKate and Laurel Myo Metal Rectangle Tray, 17 x 13, Brass
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6
If money is no objectMepra Palace Rectangular Tray, 50 x 34 cm, Silver
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The serving tray for drinks, breakfast and the bar

Most households own one tray, usually a gift, usually too small, and usually living behind the bread bin. Then the evening comes when six glasses need to cross a room, or someone is in bed with a cold, and the tray turns out to be the only object that will do.

The jobs are different enough that one tray rarely covers them all. Breakfast in bed wants legs and a lip. Drinks want handles you can hold with both hands and a surface that does not mind a wet glass. The bar wants something that looks good standing still, since a bar tray spends most of its life on a cart or a sideboard holding bottles.

The six below split along those lines and along material: wood, lacquer, marble, brass-finish metal and Italian stainless steel. Each is sold on Amazon by Amazon.com or by the maker's own US arm.

How we chose

Handles you can hold. Cut-out or fixed handles wide enough for two hands and a full load. A tray without them is a platter.
A lip or edge. A raised rim stops a glass from sliding off when you turn a corner. Flat boards were left out.
Real materials. We say what each tray is made of, including where a brass look is a finish over iron.
Size for the job. Big enough for four glasses or a breakfast plate and a cup, not so big it cannot pass through a doorway.

We read makers’ specifications, warranties, care instructions and the sources listed at the end. We do not accept paid placements. How we choose

The 6 picks, in detail

Best overallNo. 1

Nambe Portables Wood Tray 18"

Our take. A long, gently curved acacia tray with two cut-out handles, the one you will reach for every time drinks leave the kitchen.

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Keeps for: Many years with hand washing and an occasional oiling
Length: 18 in
Material: Acacia wood
Handles: Two, cut into the wood
Designer: Robin Levien for Nambe
Pairs with: Nambe Portables Alloy Tray, which nests on top

Nambe, the New Mexico serveware house, has worked with outside designers for more than 60 years. The Portables tray was drawn by the designer Robin Levien, and it shows in the details: an 18 inch acacia board with a subtle curve and two handles cut straight into the wood, so there is no hardware to loosen.

The length is the useful part. Eighteen inches carries four to six glasses in a row, or a bottle and a bowl of olives, and still fits through a door. Acacia has a tight, dark grain that hides small marks and does not mind a wet glass if it is wiped afterward.

Skip it if you want a tray with a high rim for carrying full coffee cups up the stairs. The edge is shallow, which suits a sideboard or coffee table better than a staircase. It also nests under Nambe's matching Portables alloy tray, if you want the pair.

The catch. Wood and dishwashers do not mix; this is a hand-wash tray and will split if soaked.

For breakfast in bed, about $39No. 2

Winsome Wood Sedona Bed Tray, Antique Walnut

Our take. An oversized wooden bed tray with folding legs, big enough for a proper breakfast rather than a cup and a croissant.

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Keeps for: Years, if kept dry and wiped rather than washed
Size: 24 x 14.3 x 10.98 in (W x D x H)
Legs: Fold flat for use as a serving tray
Handles: Carved into the ends
Finish: Antique walnut
Care: Wipe with a damp cloth

Most bed trays are sized for a laptop. The Sedona is 24 inches wide and a little over 14 inches deep, which leaves room for a plate, a cup and saucer, a small jug and the newspaper. The legs stand it about 11 inches high, clear of most knees under a duvet.

Fold the legs flat and it becomes a large serving tray with carved handles, which is how it will spend most of the year. The antique walnut finish is dark enough to hide the odd ring from a cup.

It is a wooden tray with a finish, not a washable one. Wipe it with a damp cloth and dry it. Skip it if the tray has to go in the dishwasher, or if the bed is a low platform where 11 inches of leg will not clear your lap.

The catch. At 24 inches wide it is too large to store in a kitchen cabinet; plan on a shelf or under the bed.

The lacquer pairNo. 3

Mud Pie Round Wood Lacquer Trays, Set of 2

Our take. Two round lacquered mango wood trays that nest, so you get a large one for drinks and a smaller one for breakfast for one price.

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Keeps for: Years, if kept out of standing water
Pieces: 2, nesting
Large: 17 in diameter, 3 in tall
Small: 15 in diameter, 3 in tall
Wood: Mango, high-gloss lacquer
Care: Hand wash or wipe; do not soak

Lacquer is the traditional finish for a drinks tray because it takes a wet glass without marking and wipes clean in a second. This pair from Mud Pie is mango wood under a high-gloss lacquer coat, with a raised side about 3 inches tall that keeps glasses from sliding off.

The large tray is 17 inches across, room for four glasses and a bottle. The small one is 15 inches across, the size for a single breakfast plate and cup, or for the bathroom counter. Nested, they take the cupboard space of one.

Treat the lacquer kindly: hand wash or wipe with a damp cloth, never soak, and keep hot dishes off it. Skip them if you prefer plain wood that can be sanded and oiled back to new, or if you want a tray with handles.

The catch. A chipped lacquer edge cannot be repaired at home, and round trays carry fewer glasses than a rectangle of the same width.

The marble oneNo. 4

Creative Co-Op Minimalist Round Carved Marble Tray, White, 12"

Our take. A 12 inch round of carved white marble with a raised edge, for the bar top where bottles and glasses stand rather than travel.

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Keeps for: Decades, barring a drop onto tile
Size: 12 in diameter x 2 in high
Material: 100% marble, carved
Food safe: Yes (maker's statement)
Care: Hand wash only

This is not a tray for carrying. It is carved from a single piece of marble with a raised rim, and a 12 inch disc of stone is heavy enough that you set it down and leave it there. That is its job: a cool, clean surface under the bottles on a bar cart, the decanter and glasses on a sideboard, or the carafe and glass on a nightstand.

Marble stays cool and looks better with every bottle ring you wipe off it. Each piece varies in veining, so the one that arrives will not match the photograph exactly. The 2 inch height gives it a proper lip.

Marble is porous and etches under acid, so lemon, wine and vinegar left to sit will leave a dull mark. Wipe spills promptly and hand wash only. Skip it if you want one tray that also carries drinks to the terrace.

The catch. Etches if citrus or wine sits on it, and it is too heavy to carry loaded.

For the bar cartNo. 5

Kate and Laurel Myo Metal Rectangle Tray, 17 x 13, Brass

Our take. A slim-rimmed metal tray in a brass finish with upright handles, sized for the bottles, jigger and glasses on a bar cart.

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Keeps for: Years; the finish is the part that wears
Size: 17 x 13 in
Material: Iron, brass finish
Handles: Two, fixed
Base: Protective pads attached
Assembly: None

A bar tray has two jobs: hold the bottles in one place so the cart or sideboard looks deliberate, and lift off with everything on it when the drinks move to the other room. The Myo does both. It is 17 by 13 inches with a low rim and two handles that stand up from the ends, easy to grip even with a full load.

It is iron with a brass finish, not solid brass. That keeps the price under $100 and means it will not tarnish the way raw brass does, but it also means a deep scratch shows the metal below rather than more brass. Protective pads on the base keep it from marking a wooden cart.

Stand glasses and bottles on coasters or a cloth if they will be wet, since the finish is the part that wears. Skip it if you want real brass that develops a patina; that costs several times more.

The catch. A brass finish over iron, so scratches and long contact with water are the risks.

If money is no objectNo. 6

Mepra Palace Rectangular Tray, 50 x 34 cm, Silver

Our take. A large Italian stainless tray that looks like silver and goes in the dishwasher, which silver never will.

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Made in: Italy
Keeps for: Decades; covered by the maker's lifetime warranty against rust and tarnish
Size: 50 x 34 cm, about 19.7 x 13.4 in
Material: Stainless steel
Collection: Palace
Care: Dishwasher safe
Warranty: Lifetime against rust, discoloration and peeling (maker's terms)

Mepra makes its stainless steel tableware in its own factories at Lumezzane, near Brescia, and sells to restaurants as well as homes. The Palace tray is a large rectangle, 50 by 34 centimeters, or about 19.7 by 13.4 inches, in a polished steel that reads as silver from across a room.

This is the tray for a hotel-style breakfast carried to the bedroom, or for a round of drinks for eight. The size takes a full coffee service. Because it is stainless, it goes straight in the dishwasher, and Mepra backs its pieces against rust, discoloration and peeling for life.

Polished steel shows fingerprints and water spots, so it wants a dry cloth after washing if it is going back on display. Skip it if a tray in your house is mostly decor; a wooden one is warmer to look at.

The catch. Polished steel shows every fingerprint, and a tray this size wants its own shelf.

Compare the picks

Pick	Best for	Made in	Keeps for	Buy
Nambe Portables Wood Tray 18"	Best overall	Not stated	Many years with hand washing and an occasional oiling	Check priceAmazon
Winsome Wood Sedona Bed Tray, Antique Walnut	For breakfast in bed, about $39	Not stated	Years, if kept dry and wiped rather than washed	Check priceAmazon
Mud Pie Round Wood Lacquer Trays, Set of 2	The lacquer pair	Not stated	Years, if kept out of standing water	Check priceAmazon
Creative Co-Op Minimalist Round Carved Marble Tray, White, 12"	The marble one	Not stated	Decades, barring a drop onto tile	Check priceAmazon
Kate and Laurel Myo Metal Rectangle Tray, 17 x 13, Brass	For the bar cart	Not stated	Years; the finish is the part that wears	Check priceAmazon
Mepra Palace Rectangular Tray, 50 x 34 cm, Silver	If money is no object	Italy	Decades; covered by the maker's lifetime warranty against rust and tarnish	Check priceAmazon

Carrying a loaded tray

Put the heaviest things in the middle and the tallest at the back, nearest you. Hold the tray with both hands at the handles and watch the floor, not the glasses. A damp cloth or thin napkin under glasses stops them sliding on lacquer and steel.

Care by material

Wood and lacquer: wipe or hand wash, dry at once, never soak. Oil unfinished wood when it looks dry. Marble: wipe up wine and citrus quickly, since acid etches it. Brass-finish metal: keep it dry and use coasters. Stainless steel: dishwasher, then a dry cloth if you want it spotless.

Which one first

If you own no tray, start with the Nambe acacia tray for drinks. Add the bed tray if breakfast in bed is a real habit, and a bar tray only once there is a bar cart or sideboard for it to stand on.

Frequently asked questions

What size serving tray is most useful?

About 18 by 12 inches carries four to six glasses and fits through a standard door. Smaller trays suit a single breakfast; larger ones are for a full coffee or drinks service.

What is the best material for a drinks tray?

Lacquer and stainless steel take wet glasses best. Wood is warmer but needs wiping. Marble is beautiful but heavy, so keep it for a bar top.

Can a wooden serving tray go in the dishwasher?

No. Heat and long soaking split wood and lift finishes. Wipe or hand wash, then dry it straight away.

Is a brass tray real brass?

Often not at this price. The Kate and Laurel Myo, for example, is iron with a brass finish. Solid brass costs more and tarnishes unless it is lacquered.

What do you put on a bar cart tray?

Two or three bottles you actually pour, a jigger, a bar spoon and a few glasses. The tray keeps them together and lifts off when the drinks move.