The best dining tables for endless entertaining

Dining tables come in a myriad of shapes and sizes. You’ve got the formal mahogany expansive tables that look straight out of a dinner scene in Succession, the industrial-style sleek metal tables that could fit in at your local coffee shop, and the more rustic farmhouse tables that can bring seaside holiday home vibes to your small city flat. For a piece of furniture ostensibly so simple, and that really just has one practical function, it really is a tricky one to get right.

The key with dining tables is to know what kind of space you’re going for before you start looking. Do you want your home to feel like a country retreat? Are you planning something more simple and stripped back? Do you have the budget for a more luxurious marble-topped statement maker? Make this decision first and then we’ve got you covered below with the best dining tables for every vibe. We’ve hunted high and low at our favourite furniture stores across the country, and taking into account style, quality and aesthetics, these are our top winners.

We've broken down our top picks for the best dining room tables into sections below if you're looking for a quickfire list of our favourite dining tables. For more details, our guide to how to buy a dining table

• The best wooden dining table: Heal’s Oslo, £2,089 £1,669 at heals.com
• The best extendable dining table: Cox & Cox Chevron dining table, from £1,195 at coxandcox.co.uk
• The best budget-friendly dining table: Dunelm Bryant dining table, £215 at dunelm.com
• The best industrial dining table: Heal’s Madrid, £2,039 £1,629 at heals.com
• The best multi-function dining table: Cornilleau Play-Style Origin table, £1,850 at amazon.co.uk
• The best farmhouse dining table: Dusk Alice dining table, £399 £209 at dusk.com

At GQ we try to test all the products we recommend within our best lists, though it's not always possible to fit larger items like dining tables into our small homes. When our editors, testers and reviewers aren't able to test products themselves, we consider a number of factors about products before we recommend them. We have taken into account materials used, guarantee periods, warranties and style, as well as customer reviews to ensure the dining tables we have recommended are some of the best in the market. We've also tried to ensure our picks represent the entire market to suit a variety of tastes and budgets.

Our guide has also been edited by Daphne Bugler, GQ's Senior Commerce Writer who has four years of experience writing about everything Interiors and regularly visits showrooms and brands and chats to the best experts in the field to make sure we only give the best recommendations.

• Seats: Up to 6
• Material: Solid Oak, Oak Veneer
• Dimensions: H 75cm x W 200cm x D 90cm
• Weight: 44.2kg

This gorgeous, organically curved dark oak dining table is as beautiful as it is unusual. With rounded ends and curved slatted leg pieces, it's as much a piece of art as it is a functional piece of furniture. Designed with easy circulation in mind (aka, no sharp corners that jut out into the room so that people can pass by easily), it's a very well-considered piece that will shine in any dining room it finds itself in. £799. At johnlewis.com

• Seats: Not stated
• Material: Solid Oak Pillar base with Carrara marble
• Dimensions: H76 x W200 x D120cm
• Weight: 179kg

Soho Home is one of the best around for statement pieces, and few things scream statement more than a marble dining table. Based on the more elegant, marble vibes of Soho House Rome (where else would you look to for dramatic furniture inspiration?), the Murcell pairs grey veined marble with a solid oak pillar-style table base. By contrasting the white marble with the wood, it feels more relaxed and home-like than the kind of piece you might find in a hotel or restaurant, but still impeccably chic.

Elevate it further with more contemporary pieces placed around it, or use colourful rugs and more texture to help it blend more seamlessly into your space. Whatever you do, it’s certain to be the centrepiece you’re after. From £3,396. At sohohome.com

• Seats: Up to 10
• Material: Solid Oak, Oak Veneer
• Dimensions: H 76cm x W 160-280cm x D 90/100cm
• Weight: Not specified

Being able to make a piece of furniture your own cannot be undervalued as a feature, and Heal’s Oslo Dining Table gives you the option to do that, and then some. From your choice of six finishes (including oak and walnut), seven lengths, two table widths, three edge profiles and two fillers, it's hard to think of any design setting that you won’t be able to make this table suit. The table itself is understated and simple, with a relaxed feel that best fits into contemporary and farmhouse kitchens thanks to its subtle elegance. Less is often more when you buy larger pieces of furniture, especially when it means you get a timeless style that's made to last. £2,089 £1,669. At heals.com

• Seats: Up to 8
• Material: Oak Veneer, Pine Wood
• Dimensions: H 75cm x W 160cm x D 80cm
• Weight: 50kg

As much as a bold statement piece can bring your dining room to life, there’s also a time and a place where you just need something more subtle. Impressive and beautiful sure, but without overwhelming the space. This dining table from Anthropologie is exactly that bold, yet still with room for all of your table dressings, your dining chairs, and whatever other decor you might want to place around it to shine.

Hand-crafted and made from oakwood, the Nemus combines the more casual and relaxed colour of the wood with the recycled brass legs, adding a bolder accent and tying the piece together to still look elevated, despite its more subtle characteristics. It comfortably seats four to eight people, depending on which size you go for (there are both small and large sizes now available on-site), and it’s really designed to last a lifetime. From £2,498. At anthropologie.com

• Seats: Up to 8
• Material: Oak Veneer, Pine Wood
• Dimensions: H 75cm x W 160cm x D 80cm
• Weight: 50kg

Dusk’s foray into dining furniture has been an exciting one, given that it’s already one of our go-to brands for affordable, yet well-made bedroom pieces. The Alice dining table is on the more charming and vintage-inspired side of what is a very contemporary collection, contrasting an oak-effect table surface with chic white legs for a dining table that looks both modern and farmhouse style at the same time. Pair it with Dusk’s white chairs or one of the dining table benches for a relaxed dining experience. Oh, and did we mention it’s less than £400 and there's also an extendable model? £399 £209. At dusk.com

• Seats: Up to 8
• Material: Solid Mahogany, White Oak Veneer top
• Dimensions: H 76cm x W 152-203cm x D 99cm
• Weight: 67kg

This West Elm table is all about simplicity, keeping things nice and stripped back to help compliment the rest of your home’s design. With no leaf, you’ll comfortably be able to sit six people, but add in the extendable segment and you can gather eight around it easily, giving you the option to host when you want to, but without taking up too much space the rest of the time. We’d say it’s also a great shade of wood for most design styles, whether you want to tie it together with a more modern look, or contrast with a more retro or vintage-styled aesthetic. £1,299. At westelm.co.uk

• Seats: Up to 8
• Materials: Solid Oak
• Dimensions: H 75cm x W 180cm x D 90cm
• Weight: 200kg

Dusk never lets us down, offering up some excellent options for the home, whether mattresses, furniture or bedding. The Heidi oval dining table will complement pretty much any interior - modern or traditional - with a solid oak construction, tapered legs and gorgeous curved lines making up the oval top. It's not extendable but it offers space for between six and eight, making it great for entertaining, family dinners or indulgent meals for two. £569 £439. At dusk.com

• Seats: Up to 8
• Material: Solid Oak, Oak Veneer
• Dimensions: H 76cm x W 200-252cm x D 90cm
• Weight: Not specified

Mix together blonde oak and a chevron tabletop design with tapered legs and an extendable butterfly mechanism and you have yourself one majestic scandi-inspired dining table. The light oak colour is ideal for a more neutral, minimalist space and leaves you open to turning it into more of a statement piece with the right table setting and centrepiece. You can also get this one in a non-extendable model. From £1,195. At coxandcox.co.uk

• Seats: Not stated
• Material: Natural mango wood and brass-plated legs
• Dimensions: W200 x D100 x H76cm
• Weight: Not specified

Currently available for pre-order, but with delivery before Christmas (from the 13th December onwards), Atkin and Thyme’s Reeves table is one of the most well-balanced pieces we’ve come across this year. The material of the tabletop looks luxurious and elegant with a geometric mango wood design and brass-plated legs that feel opulent and appropriately art-deco, but when paired with the trestle-style legs and the casual look of benches, it somehow makes it still feel like it belongs in a family home. It’s elevated yet relaxed.

Pair it with benches, upholstered chairs or even more basic dining chairs to either keep it more formal or tone it down even more, but at least you can rest assured you’ve catered for every occasion here going forward. We’re low-key obsessed. £899. At atkinandthyme.co.uk

• Seats: Up to 8
• Material: Solid Oak, Oak Veneer
• Dimensions: H 76cm x W 200-252cm x D 90cm
• Weight: Not specified

If you’re working with a small kitchen or dining space, don’t be sold on the idea that your room doesn’t have as much potential. All you need is the right table. Enter Heal’s and its Totem Pedestal Dining Table. Small in size but with plenty of weight in design, the Totem is a unique take on a classic pedestal style, pairing smoked glass with a bronze inlay and wooden base for a modern design with chic undertones. At just over a grand, we’d say this is a good price for such an investment piece as well. £1400. At heals.com

• Seats: Up to 6
• Materials: Solid Oak
• Dimensions: H 77cm x W 250cm x D 107cm (small; medium and large also available)
• Weight: Not stated

Oka has a reputation for producing some of the most graceful and sumptuously understated furniture on the market today, and the Allegro is no exception. With a classically inspired aesthetic, set on two hexagonal bases which flare upwards and outwards like a gramophone (hence the name), the oak table seats four to six people in appropriately harmonious grandeur. £4,895. At oka.com

• Seats: Up to 6
• Material: Solid Eucalyptus Wood, Acorn Wood Veneer
• Dimensions: H 77cm x W 107-152cm x D 107cm
• Weight: Not specified

For that nonchalant kitchen table aesthetic, West Elm is a great choice, especially given the brand's great range of mid-century furniture. The wood colour comes in slightly darker than your traditional kitchen table pines, tapping into that moderately retro feel and also adding slightly more elegance to a casual room. And if you're short on space, you can also make use of the drop-in leaf to extend the table for dinner parties and gatherings, without having to have such a large piece in your kitchen day in and day out. £949. At westelm.co.uk

• Seats: Up to 6
• Materials: Solid Wood, Sintered Stone
• Dimensions: H 75cm x W 75cm x D 140cm
• Weight: Not stated

With three white pillars holding it up, Homary’s Oval Stone Dining table is giving us a bit of an Oval Office vibe; what might happen if you merged an ultra-luxe office with a dining room. The column supports create an opulent and luxe feel: indulgent in sheer size but kept fresh and modern by that stone top. Seating up to six, the white design means it's an easy choice to decorate ahead of family gatherings or dinner parties with friends, giving you endless opportunity for table designs, dressings and settings that can bring it to life without clashes. And the delivery process at Homary is seamless as well, giving you the option to pay a bit extra to have it delivered to the room of your choosing. Let’s bid adieu to days spent manoeuvring large furniture through narrow hallways: it’s all out of your hands now! £1,000. At homary.com

• Seats: Up to 6
• Material: Solid Oak
• Dimensions: H 75.5cm x W 120cm x D 120cm
• Weight: Not specified

If you’re going for a farmhouse-style design in your kitchen, this Rowan & Wren table makes for a dreamy piece for breakfasts or dinners. Inspired by English antiques, it has that rustic, antiquey feel to it that makes it looks like you’ve really put the effort into sourcing a vintage piece, despite the fact it’s actually brand spanking new. It’ll seat six people around it and looks particularly good if placed near some natural light by the window. £1,198. At rowanandwren.co.uk

• Seats: Up to 8
• Materials: Acacia wood
• Dimensions: H 77cm x W 235cm x D 85cm
• Weight: 74kg

Swoon notes that the Emiko table is “inspired by elevating everyday rituals”; while we are occasionally sceptical of this sort of thing, we think we see it, in this case. There’s something practical about the table, as much as there is a serious stylishness. Simple slatted legs in dark brown acacia support a broad tabletop as suited to everyday living as it is those big occasions, Sunday lunches and candlelit dinners. £829. At swooneditions.com

• Seats: Up to 6
• Material: Reclaimed Wood
• Dimensions: H 77.5cm x W 140-180cm x D 90/100cm
• Weight: Not specified

Reclaimed wood can add a really nice feel to a piece, giving it plenty of character and making it feel like, for want of a better expression, part of the furniture of your home. The wooden top has its natural knots and grain, which we think just adds to the piece, while the base incorporates splayed legs that complement the darker wooden top in a matt black-coloured finish. And the real cherry on top? The table is extendable thanks to a handy table leaf which can be stored inside. Add in some matching benches, and you'll have nailed the wooden dining table style. £495. At barkerandstonehouse.co.uk

• Seats: Up to 10
• Material: Ceramic Top, Aluminium Legs
• Dimensions: H 76cm x W 130-230cm/160-260cm x D 90cm
• Weight: Not specified

Made from fine Italian ceramics and glass, this highly resistant dining table shrugs off scratches with ease, while offering the additional benefits of being liquid and heat resistant. Despite its hardy DNA, it's a beautiful piece, with its porcelain stoneware aesthetic lending itself nicely to industrial-focused interiors. If that wasn't enough, it's extendable too, letting you sit up to six people when closed and 10 when open, thanks to a cleverly hidden butterfly extension. Available in black or white ceramic, it'll make for a worthy centrepiece of your carefully curated dining room. £2,849 £2,279. At heals.com

• Seats: Up to 10
• Material: Oak or Walnut, Powder Coated Metal Legs
• Dimensions: H 76cm x W 160-280cm x D 90/100cm
• Weight: Not specified

Contemporary and chic, Heal’s Madrid is the ideal centrepiece for a contemporary or industrial kitchen, keeping things interesting with splayed metal legs that have varying widths. Adding depth and dimension it draws in your eyes, with the legs being the real stand-out feature here. We’re also loving the fact you can customise the design to your space, whether by choosing the finish or size, something which has been instrumental in why Heal’s is now one of our favourite furniture stores. Each piece is unique, with its own natural grain pattern, and given your home is too, it seems like the perfect fit. From £2,039 £1,629. At heals.com

• Seats: Up to 4
• Material: Mango Wood Effect, Metal Frame and Legs
• Dimensions: H 76.5cm x W 150cm x D 80cm
• Weight: 23.1kg

Industrial-style furniture has really had a hold on us this year, and while it tends to be associated more with office furniture, you needn’t just consider these pieces for your workspace. In classic metal-legs-meet-wooden-tabletop design, Dunelm’s Bryant brings the urban, city-living vibes of the aesthetic to the kitchen. Affordable, at under £250, and well-made, this is a dining table for those who want some subtle style points, but don’t want to splash out on a real statement maker. £215. At dunelm.com

• Seats: Up to 4
• Material: Oak, Oak Veneer, MDF
• Dimensions: H 75cm x W 120cm x D 120cm
• Weight: 31kg

If you pictured a kitchen table when you started reading this section, this one from John Lewis is probably exactly what you had in mind. The most typical style of kitchen table, it’s got a nice round design with that bright pine colour that feels light and fresh for your morning breakfast stop. The warmer, lighter wood feels more rustic and relaxed and fits into a more countryside-inspired kitchen than a more formal one. Sometimes all you want is just a classic style done really well. £799. At johnlewis.com

There's no one definitive style of dining table that's best. It all depends on your own personal tastes, how big your eating space is, the number of people you need to fit around the table, and whether or not you need it to be extendable for when extra guests appear.

Farmhouse styles can look great for a more subtle, yet still sophisticated look, while in a more minimalist kitchen or dining room you may want something with a sleek contemporary feel. To help, we’ve broken down a few of the design styles to keep an eye out for, and our favourite pieces from each.

If you're shopping for a dining table for a family, think about maximising space and also buying something durable. Extendable tables can be great if you anticipate having extra family over on occasion, while rectangular dining tables are also good options for fitting lots of people around. Do think about how easy they'll be to maintain as well, especially if you have children and plan to be wiping it down quite regularly.

If you want a particularly durable dining table, look for one made from solid wood like oak or maple, both of which are known for being hard-wearing. Ceramic dining tables can also be pretty good, resistant to scratches and heat and normally pretty heavy, meaning they'll be stable.

If you're working with a small space, we'd normally opt for a round dining table in order to give you more room to move around. We'd also recommend going for an extendable table, giving you more room when you need it but ensuring your table is compact and small the majority of the time.

It can be worth looking at dining tables in person in order to get a feel for the weight and heft of them – as the item of furniture that is often the largest in the room, getting them wrong can throw the whole room out of sync – but if that’s not possible, then consider their weight, size and material. Think about how often you’ll be hosting, and for whom. If the answer is “often, and for many people” then a larger or at least an extendable table is best if you need a 10 seater on a regular basis for example.

And, of course, measure any doorways, lifts or windows that you need to get through in order to ensure the table can actually fit into your house or flat. Dining chairs are pretty useless without a table to match after all, and there’s little more frustrating than spending £4,000 on a table only for it to sit on the pavement outside your house while you decide whether it’s worth chopping it in half to get it up the stairs. As funny as the Friends ‘Pivot’ scene is with Ross and the sofa, it’s not what you want to be doing yourself with your guests.