The banquet, held in the evening, consisted of three courses: first the gustatio, an assortment of appetizers accompanied by sauces and wine sweetened with honey. Next came the prima mensa, with various dishes of meat and fish. After the tableware had been changed according to Greek custom, the dinner continued with the secunda mensa, made up of fruit, sweets and sometimes sausage or cheeses. The whole could conclude with a round of toasts announced by the comissator, elected by the guests.

Participating in the banquet, held in the triclinium, were three to nine diners, who occupied three couches arranged in the form of a horseshoe: the summus, the medius and the imus. The highest-ranking guest was given the place at the lower end of the medius, called the locus praetorius, while the host occupied the first place on the imus. The arrangement of the tables depended on that of the couches; if they were pushed together, the table was in the middle; if separated, there was a larger central table and two smaller ones beside the couches.