Our Place arrived in 2019 with a simple visual thesis: cookware should be beautiful enough to display. The Always Pan — a 10-inch ceramic nonstick pan claiming to do the job of eight separate kitchen pieces — became one of the most-photographed kitchen objects of the decade.
But Instagram-worthy and kitchen-worthy aren’t always the same thing. After testing the pan alongside the Perfect Pot and evaluating the newer Titanium Always Pan Pro, here’s the honest verdict.
Quick Highlights
- ✅ Genuinely beautiful — colorways and design that look intentional on any stovetop
- ✅ PFAS-free, PTFE-free ceramic nonstick — non-toxic credentials are real
- ✅ Versatile — the Always Pan legitimately replaces a frying pan, sauté pan, steamer, and more
- ✅ Built-in pour spout, steamer basket, and spatula rest — thoughtful practical details
- ✅ Reduces kitchen clutter for small kitchens and minimalist cooks
- ✅ The Titanium Always Pan Pro is a genuine technical upgrade — coating-free nonstick
- ❌ Ceramic coating has the same degradation timeline as all ceramic nonstick — not forever
- ❌ Not suitable for high-heat searing — ceramic coating limitation applies here too
- ❌ Hand wash recommended — dishwasher shortens nonstick lifespan
- ❌ Some buyers report difficulty cleaning the lid around the handle area
- ❌ Spray oils degrade the coating — a common mistake
Best for: Small kitchen households, minimalist cooks, anyone who wants beautiful functional cookware that does most everyday cooking tasks well without a cabinet full of specialty pans.
About Our Place
Our Place was founded in 2019 by Shiza Shahid, a Pakistani-American entrepreneur and co-founder of the Malala Fund. The brand was built around a vision of cookware that makes cooking feel communal and joyful rather than purely functional — and the design reflects that intention clearly.
The brand uses recycled aluminum construction and ceramic nonstick coating in the Always Pan 2.0 and Perfect Pot. They’ve since expanded with a cast iron line, stainless steel options, and most recently the Titanium Always Pan Pro — a coating-free titanium pan that represents a fundamentally different approach to nonstick.
Our Place Review: Full Breakdown
The Always Pan 2.0 — Versatility in Practice
The claim of replacing eight kitchen pieces sounds like marketing. In practice it’s closer to true than most equivalent claims: the Always Pan 2.0 functions as a frying pan, sauté pan, steamer (with the included basket), skillet, saucier, and spatula holder (the built-in rest is genuinely useful).
One Taste of Home reviewer who’s been using the pan for over a year describes the nonstick qualities rivaling GreenPan, making it ideal for fuss-free cleanup. The sugared grilled cheese sandwich test from LivingCozy — a nightmare for most nonstick pans because caramelized sugar bonds aggressively to coatings — came out without sticking at all.
The practical kitchen reality for small households: the Always Pan genuinely consolidates what would otherwise be three or four separate pans for everyday cooking. For apartments, first kitchens, and minimalist approaches to kitchen setup, the space reduction is real and meaningful.
The ceramic coating follows the same rules as every ceramic nonstick pan: medium heat maximum, no metal utensils, no spray oils (they create a sticky residue that degrades the coating), hand wash only. These aren’t optional guidelines — they’re the conditions under which the coating performs as described. Skip them and the experience degrades faster than the price justifies.
The Perfect Pot — The Companion Piece
The Perfect Pot is Our Place’s Dutch oven / stockpot / pasta pot — again with versatility as the organizing principle. It handles soups, pasta, braising, and one-pot dinners in a single ceramic-coated pot.
The nesting design between the Always Pan and Perfect Pot means both store compactly — one of the brand’s most practical organizational advantages for small kitchens.
The Titanium Always Pan Pro — The Real Upgrade
The Titanium Always Pan Pro is genuinely different from the standard Always Pan and deserves separate evaluation. It’s a coating-free titanium pan — the nonstick effect comes from the material properties of titanium rather than an applied ceramic layer.
Prudent Reviews has been testing the Titanium Always Pan Pro since it launched and describes being surprised by the results. It’s less fussy than stainless steel and releases food better than well-seasoned cast iron in their testing. The claim is a coating-free pan you never have to replace — because there’s no coating to degrade.
The honest assessment: at $165, it’s significantly more expensive than the standard Always Pan. The trade-off is potentially indefinite lifespan where the standard Always Pan has a finite ceramic coating life. For buyers who’ve gone through the coating degradation cycle on ceramic nonstick pans and don’t want to repeat it — the Titanium is the more rational long-term investment.
Best Our Place Products Worth Buying
Best for: Small kitchen households, minimalist cooks, first kitchens, and anyone who wants to consolidate multiple pans into one beautiful piece.
Top Features:
- Built-in pour spout, steamer basket, and spatula rest — practical details that most single-pan solutions skip
- Available in 16 colors including seasonal exclusives — genuinely beautiful kitchen presence
- PFAS-free, PTFE-free ceramic nonstick — non-toxic credentials without sacrificing daily cooking performance
One Honest Drawback: Same ceramic nonstick lifespan limitations as all ceramic pans — medium heat, no metal utensils, no spray oils, hand wash only.
Verdict: On sale at $89–$115, one of the best-value ceramic nonstick pans available. At full $145 retail, compare with GreenPan Valencia Pro before buying.
Best for: Buyers who want coating-free nonstick that doesn’t degrade over time — the best answer to the “I’m tired of replacing nonstick pans” problem.
Top Features:
- Coating-free titanium surface — nonstick effect without an applied layer that degrades
- Lighter than cast iron, less fussy than stainless steel — the practical middle ground
- Prudent Reviews testing describes food release better than well-seasoned cast iron
One Honest Drawback: Requires a different cooking technique than ceramic nonstick — more similar to stainless steel in terms of preheat and oil requirements.
Verdict: The most technically interesting Our Place product. Worth the premium over the standard Always Pan for buyers who’ve been frustrated by ceramic coating lifespans.
Best for: The pairing piece to the Always Pan — handles soups, pasta, braising, and large-batch cooking that the Always Pan’s 10-inch footprint doesn’t accommodate.
Top Features:
- Nests with the Always Pan for compact storage — the organizational solution for small kitchens
- Same ceramic non-toxic coating and color options as the Always Pan — visual coherence across the set
- Steamer insert and strainer lid included — the same functional completeness philosophy as the pan
One Honest Drawback: At $165 the Perfect Pot is expensive relative to comparable Dutch oven options from Lodge or other brands. The premium is primarily the design and brand.
Verdict: Buy it as part of an Always Pan purchase for the complete Our Place kitchen experience. Less compelling as a standalone purchase at full price.
Best for: Our Place buyers who want a high-heat option alongside the ceramic Always Pan for searing and high-temperature cooking.
Top Features:
- Pre-seasoned cast iron provides the high-heat searing capability that the ceramic Always Pan explicitly can’t offer
- Available in Our Place’s signature colorways with enamel exterior — the same visual aesthetic carried into a fundamentally different cooking material
- Pairs naturally with the Always Pan — the ceramic for delicate cooking, the cast iron for high-heat
One Honest Drawback: Cast iron at $130 is significantly more expensive than Lodge cast iron at $30–$50 for comparable performance. The premium is entirely aesthetic.
Verdict: Buy Lodge if cast iron performance is the priority. Buy Our Place cast iron if visual kitchen coherence across your cookware matters significantly.
What Customers Actually Think
The Our Place review landscape across Organic Authority, KitchenDeets, and consumer accounts is positive on the core Always Pan performance and the visual design satisfaction.
One verified customer described loving the pans with nothing sticking and knowing she’s using nonstick without harmful chemicals. Another described them as worth the price for even cooking and efficiency. The gift-giving feedback specifically is strong — multiple buyers describe them as excellent gifts that recipients actively use.
The category of complaints is narrow and consistent: buyers who used the pan at high heat or with spray oils and experienced early coating degradation. These aren’t product failures — they’re the predictable result of using ceramic nonstick outside its intended parameters.
Real accounts paraphrased:
- “I love these pans. Nothing sticks and I know I’m using nonstick without harmful chemicals. Breeze to clean.”
- “The Always Pan is so slippery my sugared grilled cheese almost slid out when I flipped it. Nothing stuck at all.”
- “These are worth the price. They cook evenly and efficiently. Came with spatulas and storage — my mom loves them.”
- “Beautiful pans. The colors bring joy to cooking. Start with the Always Pan 2.0 and see how it works for your cooking style.”
- “Nonstick started declining at about eight months. I’ll admit I used spray oil sometimes. Lesson learned.”
Is Our Place Worth It?
For the specific value proposition — beautiful, PFAS-free, versatile, clutter-reducing cookware — yes.
For buyers who want maximum cooking performance regardless of aesthetics: GreenPan Valencia Pro for ceramic nonstick, All-Clad D3 for stainless, Lodge for cast iron.
For buyers for whom the kitchen aesthetic matters alongside the cooking: Our Place is the most considered answer in its category.
Our Place vs Caraway
Our Place Always Pan | Caraway Fry Pan | |
Coating | Ceramic PFAS-free | Ceramic PFAS-free |
Third-party testing | Not publicly available | ✅ Light Labs verified |
Color range | ✅ 16 colors | 8+ colors |
Built-in storage system | Spatula rest only | ✅ Magnetic rack and lid holder |
Versatility | ✅ 10-in-1 functions | Single-function pan |
Solo pan price | ~$145 | ~$115 |
Best for | Small kitchens, versatility | Non-toxic focus, organization |
Final Verdict
Our Place makes cookware that makes cooking feel more intentional and more beautiful. The Always Pan 2.0 genuinely consolidates multiple pans for small kitchen households. The Titanium Always Pan Pro genuinely addresses the ceramic coating degradation problem. The Perfect Pot completes the picture for one-pot cooking.
Buy the Always Pan on sale. Consider the Titanium Pro if you’re done cycling through ceramic nonstick coatings. And care for them the way ceramic nonstick requires — because the coating will reward that care and reveal the limits of any neglect.
Overall Rating: 8.0 / 10
Category | Score |
Design & Aesthetics | 9.5 / 10 |
Nonstick Performance | 8.5 / 10 |
Versatility | 9 / 10 |
Non-Toxic Credentials | 8 / 10 |
Durability (with care) | 7.5 / 10 |
Value for Money | 7.5 / 10 |
Overall | 8.0 / 10 |
