Choosing Service Trays

What Type Of Service Tray Should I Use?

If you need to carry main courses, glasses of wine or cocktails in a busy bar or restaurant, then non-slip trays will be the best choice for you. However, if you’re serving hot drinks or breakfasts, then tea and butler trays will make the better purchase. Alternatively, for venues where diners have to use trays, our fast food, canteen and compartment food trays will be the best fit.

Each type of tray offers its own unique features and advantages, which is why it’s important to identify where you are going to be using your trays, what you are going to be using them for, and who is going to be using them.

So, what types of service trays are available? And which is the best type for your business?

Non-Slip Trays

A non-slip tray has a highly effective anti-skid surface that stops your glassware and crockery from sliding and falling onto the floor. The rubber used to make a non-slip surface is naturally water-resistant and offers high levels of friction and traction. This is what stops your wet and slippery tableware from moving around on the tray - reducing the risk of costly and dangerous breakages during service.

Many of our anti-slip trays feature raised sides which also prevent drops and spills. Available in large sizes, our non-slip trays also allow your staff to carry, serve and clear more food and drink than with hands, drastically speeding up your service.

Best suited for: Restaurants, bars, pubs and lounges where ensuring staff can carry vast quantities of food or drink quickly and safely is a necessity.

TIP: Using non-slip trays removes the need for anti-skid tray mats, saving you money on replacement mats while also reducing the amount of waste you produce when finished with them.

Fast Food and Canteen Trays

Fast food and canteen trays are best suited for use in high-volume, self-service dining areas where guests collect food from servery areas and carry their meals to the table.

Offering great strength, these trays will resist flexing when loading with heavy items, making it easy for your customers to safely carry their meals. Many of these trays also have textured surfaces for slip resistance, raised sides to stop food and drink sliding off and large handles for a secure grip. These features all help to reduce the risk of spills when your customers are carrying their meals - keeping your diners happy and your floors tidy.

These fast food and canteen trays are available in classic primary colourways, rustic wood finishes and more contemporary designs – such as granite - meaning no matter what your décor, there's a style to suit.

Best suited for: High-volume fast food restaurants, cafeterias, canteens, school dining halls, buffet bars, cafés and any other casual dining venue where trays are faced with demanding use.

Tea and Butler Trays

Tea and butler trays offer the ultimate in stylish presentation, making them ideal for breakfast service, room service or tea and coffee service in prestigious hotels and tea rooms. Made from high quality metal, wood, laminate and wood veneer, these tea trays and butler trays offer a sleek and traditional look. This timeless style will perfectly complement the appearance of your commercial teapots, milk jugs and breakfast service items when serving food and drink to your guests.

Many of these trays also feature large handles, making them easy to carry. This will help your staff to safely transport food and drink around your premises – particularly when traversing stairs in any busy hotel, B&B or guest house.

Best suited for: Hotels, tearooms, coffee shops, cafés, bed & breakfasts and guest rooms where stylish presentation of hot beverages and breakfasts is of the upmost importance.

Compartment Food Trays

Compartment food trays (also known as school dinner trays) make it easy for your staff to accurately portion out vegetables, proteins and dairy products - vital in instilling healthy eating habits in school children and care home residents.

The compartments also allow you to serve both hot and cold portions of food on the same tray. This means your diners only have to make one trip to the servery area to collect their meals, cutting down on queues to keep your service running smoothly.

Built from robust polycarbonate, these trays are durable and resistant to shattering or breaking if dropped – particularly important when serving food to potentially vulnerable persons. The large handles also help children with small hands to carry their meals.

Best suited for: School dining halls, care homes, nursing homes, hospitals and other institutional environments where safety and portion control are essential to food service.

TIP: Instead of using disposable polystyrene food trays, washing and reusing these food compartment trays will reduce the amount of waste you send to landfill and decrease your business’s environmental impact.

Alternatively, check out our selection of eco-friendly food containers, perfect for improving the green footprint of your operation.

What Is The Best Type Of Tray Material?

Materials are another vital factor when choosing serving trays for your business. Important not only for its functionality, the material of a serving tray has a significant influence on its appearance and price.

Ultimately, the material of a serving tray should mirror the practical demands and the décor of the establishment it is being used in.

The main materials used to make our serving trays are:

• Plastic
• Fibreglass
• Wood
• Wood Veneer
• Laminate
• Metal

Plastic Service Trays

Whether it’s polystyrene, polypropylene, polycarbonate or ABS, plastic serving trays offer superb functionality and reliability. Remarkably robust, plastic serving trays can withstand the demands of daily use without breaking, cracking or shattering. This makes them perfect for busy fast food restaurants and high-volume canteens.

These plastic service trays are available in a range of primary colourways, from red and white to black and green - perfect for blending in with the bright interiors of fast food restaurants. We also offer plastic serving trays in more contemporary finishes such as pearl grey and speckled smoke – ideal for adding a modern touch to your décor.

Fibreglass Service Trays

Despite a slightly higher price, the benefits of fibreglass serving trays over plastic alternatives truly justify the increase in cost. Fibreglass offers superior strength to plastic, meaning these trays can hold more tableware without flexing, bending or breaking. Fibreglass is also lighter than plastic, allowing your waiting staff to comfortably carry more food and drink for a faster service.

These fibreglass serving trays are available in sleek black colourways, as well as modern light granite finishes for those wanting a more contemporary look.

Wooden Service Trays

Naturally elegant and strong, wooden serving trays are the perfect addition to any tea room, coffee shop, hotel or café.

Our acacia wood and bamboo serving trays offer a luxurious and timeless look, making them the perfect backdrop for serving traditional breakfasts or teas and coffees. The natural material also means each tray boasts a slightly unique richness of colour and diverse grain – giving every piece its own character and charm.

TIP: Many of our wooden serving trays have been varnished for spill-resistance and easy maintenance

Wood Veneer and Laminate Service Trays

What is the difference between wood veneer and laminate?

Simply put, the difference between wood veneer and laminate is that laminate is a purely artificial product, whereas wood veneer is made using real hardwood. A wood veneer serving tray is made from a thin layer of real hardwood bonded or glued to a less expensive material, such as plywood. On the other hand, a laminate service tray is usually made of plastic and produced with a print of a wood finish.

Because a natural material is used in the construction, wood veneer trays boast a richer and more varied look than laminate trays. They also cost significantly less than solid wood trays. However, a laminate tray's artificial build gives it greater durability, heat, scratch and stain resistance than veneer trays. This makes them better suited to high-volume dining environments where they will have to endure more demanding use.

Both wood veneer trays and laminate serving trays offer a more organic and rustic look than standard plastic trays - perfect for cafés, coffee shops and cafeterias wanting to add warmth to their décor. We also offer laminate service trays in contemporary granite finishes.

Metal Service Trays

Combining practicality, durability and style, metal service trays are perfect for serving everything from perfectly cooked steaks and glasses of wine in a restaurant to teas and coffees in a hotel.

From aluminium to stainless steel serving trays, our metal trays are lightweight yet immensely strong, preventing them from bending when carrying heavy loads. Metal serving trays also offer a sleek look that will add flair and finesse to the presentation of your food and drink.

Looking after your serving trays

While all of our service trays are designed to last an age, it’s important that you take care when cleaning to ensure you get the longest possible product life out of them.

How to clean plastic, laminate and fibreglass serving trays

While some of our plastic, laminate and fibreglass trays are dishwasher safe, the high heat of a commercial dishwasher can cause those not suitable to warp or bend. However, these trays are all designed to be quickly wiped clean, allowing for a rapid turnaround during hectic services.

We recommend that you clean these serving trays with warm soapy water and a soft cloth, non-scratch scourer or bristle brush. If you choose to use a cleaning solution when removing stains, ensure it is not an abrasive. Always make sure the trays are dry before stacking.

How to clean non-slip trays

To ensure the anti-skid surface of your non-slip trays lasts as long as possible, we suggest that you clean them by hand – using warm soapy water and soft cloths, non-scratch scourers or bristle brushes. Again, if you choose to use cleaning solutions, ensure they are not abrasive. Dry these trays prior to stacking to stop moisture from pooling.

How to clean wood veneer and wooden serving trays

When cleaning your wooden and wood veneer serving trays, it is vital that you never submerge them in water or clean them in a dishwasher. Prolonged exposure to water can cause a wooden tray’s fibres to expand and crack – leading to warping and distorting.

We recommend you clean the tray by hand with hot soapy water, taking care to not use brushes and scourers that are too abrasive. Once cleaned, pat down with blue roll and leave to air dry.

How to clean stainless steel and aluminium serving trays

Many stainless steel and aluminium serving trays are suitable for commercial dishwashers, but for those that are not, a quick soapy wash is all that is required to get them dazzlingly clean and ready for the next service. Again, we recommend using a soft cloth, non-scratch scourer or bristle brush, while also avoiding any abrasive cleaning products. Ensure the trays are dry before stacking.

TIP: Metal trays can be buffed with a metal cleaner for those wanting to add extra flair to their presentation.