Our Place Always Pan 2.0 Review: Pretty, Capable, and Finally Useful
The original Always Pan was a marketing triumph more than a cookware one — beautiful in photos, mediocre in practice, with a ceramic nonstick that wore through in months. The Always Pan 2.0 is the version that should have shipped first. It keeps the Instagram-friendly look, drops the gimmicky wood-handled spatula trick, and replaces the slick-but-fragile coating with something that actually survives a year. At $150 it is still a premium ask for an 10.5-inch ceramic skillet, but it is no longer just a pretty pan.
What you're actually buying
A 10.5-inch ceramic-coated aluminum skillet with sloped sides, a stainless rim, a modular vented lid, a stainless steel steamer basket, and a beechwood spatula. The pan is rated for induction (a 2.0-era upgrade — the original was not induction-compatible), oven safe to 450°F, and the coating is made without PFAS, PTFE, PFOA, lead, or cadmium. Color options run from the signature "Spice" terracotta to char, steam, lavender, sage, and a handful of seasonal limited drops. Our Place markets it as a 10-in-1: skillet, sauté pan, saucepan, steamer, frying pan, spatula rest, food strainer, slotted spoon, non-stick pan, and serving vessel. In practice, three of those (skillet, sauté, steamer) carry the load.
Performance and real-world use
The headline change is the coating. Our Place upgraded to a more durable ceramic compound, and the difference is immediately obvious — eggs slide cleanly for months instead of weeks, and acidic foods (tomato sauce, lemon, wine reductions) don't visibly etch the surface the way the 1.0 did. It still is not as forever-slick as a PTFE-based premium nonstick, and ceramic in general loses some performance over 12–18 months of daily use, but you no longer feel like you're babying a museum piece.
Heating is even and quick — aluminum core, not stainless-clad — so the pan is ready for eggs in under a minute on medium. The sloped sides make for easy plating and let you swirl sauces or do a real frittata-flip. The new handle has more thumb-grip and finally feels secure when full; the original's handle balance was widely complained about. The steamer basket is more useful than expected, especially for dumplings or fish over rice, because it nests neatly under the vented lid.
What still feels like marketing: the "spatula rest" notch in the handle (it works, but who needs it), and the claim that this one pan replaces eight. It does not replace a Dutch oven, a stockpot, a wok, or a cast iron skillet — but if your kitchen runs on a single everyday frypan plus one big pot, it can absolutely be that everyday pan.
- Real, measurable upgrade to the ceramic coating — the most common 1.0 complaint is largely fixed
- Induction-compatible now, which makes it viable in modern apartments
- Truly nontoxic by current standards (no PFAS, PFOA, PTFE, lead, cadmium)
- Stylish enough to leave on the stovetop, which matters if your kitchen is also your dining area
- Modular lid plus steamer basket gives the pan genuine multitasking range
- Lighter than equivalent cast iron or stainless multi-clad — easy on the wrist for long sautés
- Ceramic coatings, even the better ones, degrade faster than premium PTFE — plan for a 1–3 year lifespan with daily use
- Not safe for metal utensils despite the sturdier coating; you'll still want wood or silicone
- Oven limit is 450°F — fine for finishing, but you can't broil hard in it
- The 10.5-inch size and shallow walls cap real capacity at about 2 quarts; not a stand-in for a sauté pan with straight sides
- Pricey for what it is — comparable performance is available for less if you don't care about the design language
- Color may fade slightly with frequent dishwasher cycles (Our Place recommends hand washing)
Renters, small-kitchen cooks, and anyone who genuinely wants one good everyday pan that also looks the part on a counter. It is a strong wedding-registry pick for couples who don't want to invest in a full clad set yet. People moving off of Teflon-style nonstick for health reasons get an easy, modern, non-PFAS option that doesn't require learning carbon steel.
Heavy-duty home cooks who already own a tri-ply skillet, a cast iron pan, and a Dutch oven — the Always Pan won't dethrone any of them. Anyone who routinely cranks heat above 450°F for restaurant-style sears should stick with stainless or cast iron. And if you cook more than three or four meals a day on a single pan, ceramic of any brand will wear faster than you'd like.
