🍽️ Fork and Knife with Plate

🍽️

🍽️ Meaning and Usage

This emoji is one of the most universal and understandable food-related symbols. Its meaning is straightforward yet encompasses a broad context.

🍽️ Direct meaning:

Meal: Refers to the actual act of eating, such as a meal, dinner, lunch or breakfast.

Example: "It's time for dinner! 🍽️"; "Let's meet for lunch? 🍽️"

Ready-to-eat meal/serving: Symbolizes a served table, a restaurant dish, or an elegant presentation.

Example: "The chef prepared a special dish for us 🍽️."

Restaurants and cafes: Indicates catering establishments.

Example: "This new place has great food 🍽️."

🍽️ Symbolic and extended meaning:

Readiness to eat: Can convey a feeling of hunger or anticipation of a meal.

Example: "I'm hungry as a wolf 🍽️."

Abundance and a complete meal: Unlike a sandwich 🥪 or a taco 🌮, this emoji often represents a complete, balanced meal.

Formality: Due to the presence of a knife and fork, it may suggest a more formal setting than, for example, a hamburger 🍔 (fast food).

How it appeared

The 🍽️ emoji was part of the initial set in the Unicode 6.0 standard (2010). It was originally called "Fork and Knife With Plate ." It's important to note that its design differs from the 🍴 (Fork and Knife) emoji , which lacks a plate. The presence of a plate makes the 🍽️ symbol more specific and complete.

Interesting facts

Cultural Code: This emoji is often associated with European or Western table settings, where a knife and fork are the primary cutlery.
Difference from 🍴: The 🍴 (fork and knife) emoji can refer to a lighter snack, takeout, or simply the concept of "food" in a more general sense. 🍽️, on the other hand, implies a full meal at a set table.
Display Issue: On some early platforms, this emoji could be displayed without the plate, but the plate image is now the standard.

Combining 🍽️ with other emojis

The combinations are logical and reinforce the theme of food and hospitality:

🍽️ + 🍷 + 🕯️ = Romantic dinner or fine dining.

Example: "Perfect evening: candlelit dinner 🍽️🕯️"

🍽️ + 👨‍🍳 + 🏆 = Haute cuisine, chef's skill.

Example: "Thanks to the chef for this masterpiece! 👨‍🍳🍽️"

🍽️ + 🎉 + 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 = A family celebration, feast, or formal dinner (for example, Thanksgiving).

Example: "The whole family is gathered around a big table 🍽️👨‍👩‍👧‍👦"

🍽️ + 😋 / 🤤 = Expressing anticipation or enjoyment of food.

Example: "I can't wait to try this 🤤🍽️"

🍽️ + 🕗 = Specific dinner time.

Example: "Dinner at 8:00 PM 🍽️🕗"

🍽️ for SEO website promotion

Emoji 🍽️ is a great choice for websites and social media related to:

Restaurants and Gastronomy: From cafes to fine dining. Ideal for menus, promotions, and announcements.
Culinary blogs and recipes: To indicate the finished dish, serving, and final cooking result.
Food delivery services: Especially those that deliver prepared meals, not just fast food.
Catering and event planning: For banquets, buffets and festive dinners.
Hotels and hospitality: To highlight meals (breakfast, half board) in the room description.
Culinary schools and master classes: As a symbol of a ready-made dish that they will teach you how to cook.