The elites of the XIXth Century practised two types of sociability : men and women frequented the salons , or social assemblies presided over by women ; men gathered to meet in circles or clubs, restaurants and cafés. What are called dîners, dinners, were a variant of circles. They were regular gatherings between men taking the form of meals, usually in a restaurant, sometimes at the home of a member of the group. For two of these dinners, the Bixio, founded in 1856, and the Magny, in 1862, we have accounts by participants, Jules Claretie for the first, the Goncourt brothers for the other. How were these dinners founded ? How did they function ? Who were the convives, what was the atmosphere, the content of the conversations ? We will see that the Magny and the Bixio gatherings met two distinct aims. The first was intended as a small restricted coterie, the second a meeting point for the elites.