The Sims 4 Eating & Drinking is BROKEN

Question

Okay, Maxis. I need to sit down (if I can actually find a chair) and talk about the absolute state of eating and drinking in The Sims 4. I love this game, but the culinary logic has become a chaotic nightmare. Here is my exhaustive, extremely detailed list of problems and reasonable solutions. I’ve broken it down by category. Please, for the love of the Watcher, take notes.

1. The "Where to Eat" Disaster (Pathfinding & Seating)

The Lone Eater’s Odyssey: When my Sim is home alone, why do they ignore the perfectly good kitchen table and chairs? Instead, they will:
- Walk outside in the rain to sit on a park bench three blocks away.
- Stand directly next to the fridge like a feral gremlin.
- Sit on the living room couch despite the coffee table being covered in dirty plates.
The Social Magnet Bug: If there is another Sim in the house—even in a completely different room—my Sim will abandon the kitchen table mid-walk, turn around, and stand right next to the other Sim to eat. They’ll hover over a sleeping toddler just to chew a bagel.
Musical Chairs Madness: Sims refuse to commit to a seat. They will sit down, stand up, walk around the table, sit in the original chair again, then switch with someone else. Just SIT.

2. UI & Missing Information (Calories & Packs)

Calorie Blindness: The food UI needs a massive upgrade. Every dish should have a clear visual indicator: High Calorie (Red), Medium (Yellow), Low (Green). This should retroactively update for every single pack (Dine Out, Home Chef Hustle, etc.). I shouldn't need a spreadsheet to know if that grilled cheese will make my Sim gain weight versus the garden salad.
Pack Labeling: Recipes in the fridge/grill menu need a tiny icon showing which pack they come from. Also, unlockable recipes (like from the Cooking skill career or researching on the computer) should be grayed out with a lock icon and a tooltip saying "Unlock by reaching Level 7 Gourmet Cooking" or whatever.

3. Economy & Pricing Normalization

Food Price Inflation: The economy for dishes is broken. A high-end dish like Lobster Thermidor should cost significantly more to make (ingredients via grocery delivery) and sell for a huge profit in a restaurant or via the selling table. A garden salad should be cheap. Right now, the price gaps are nonsensical. Normalize the food chain.

4. Weird Ingredients & Special Moodlets (Cow Plant, UFO, Trash)

The "Weird Fruit" Overhaul: Eating a Cow Plant Berry, UFO Fruit, or Trash Fruit (or any dish containing them) should trigger UNIQUE, chaotic moodlets, not just "Fine."
- Trash Fruit: +4 Uncomfortable "Garbage Guts" and a Stink Effect (other Sims react negatively for 2 hours).
- UFO Fruit: +3 Playful "Alien Appendage" + random teleportation.
- Cow Plant Berry: +5 Dazed "Moo-d Swing" + occasional involuntary mooing interaction.
These dishes should stand out in the UI with a strange border.

5. Group Dining & Social Eating (Stalls, Bars, Pitchers)

Market Stall Groups: You cannot currently order "for group" at a food stall. Add an interaction: "Order Group Meal" that puts a large tray in the Sim's inventory.
Bar Drink Trays: If I have 4 Sims at a packed bar, they scatter after ordering. Add "Order Drink Platter" or "Order Pitcher of [Cocktail]" so they can grab a round and all sit down together.
Cooler Snacks: Allow "Get Group Snacks" from coolers (like the picnic cooler from Seasons).
No Automatic Plates: When a Sim finishes a group meal, they should NOT auto-take a plate. They should stand there politely until the player directs them. This ruins dinner parties when the chef eats the masterpiece before guests arrive.

6. Parties & Caterers (Weddings, Birthdays)

Caterer AI is Broken: Caterers get distracted (playing chess, grilling hot dogs at a formal wedding). They need a priority task list: Cook relevant food only.
- Base Game Wedding: Must make a tiered wedding cake (not a white cake).
- Birthday: Must make a birthday cake with candles.
Order Cakes Remotely: We should be able to order a Base Game Wedding Cake or Birthday Cake via Phone > Order Gift or Computer > Purchase. I shouldn't have to bake at my own wedding.
Request/Stop Catering: Add a pie menu option: "Ask for Specific Dish" (opens recipe list) and "Stop Cooking" (caterer cleans up and socializes).

7. Annoying Appliance Obsessions

The Candy/Waffle/Pizza Addiction: Sims are obsessed with the candy machine, waffle maker, and pizza oven. A Sim with the Hates Cooking trait should REFUSE to use these. They should get a Tense moodlet if forced.
Auto Coffee at Venues: At a player-run small business cafe, my barista Sim shouldn't autonomously make themselves 8 espresso shots. Disable autonomous "Make Coffee" on public venue appliances.

8. Inventory, Gifting & Serving Overhaul

Give Food to Anyone: The "Give Food" interaction exists for toddlers and Bizarre Fruit. Extend it to ALL SIMS. On a date, if my date is hungry, I should be able to click a garden salad in my inventory and hit "Give to..." They eat it immediately.
Inventory-to-Table Serving: I am sick of dragging 5 plates from inventory to a table. Add an interaction: Click on a dining table → "Serve Meal from Inventory" → My Sim automatically pulls out all food/drinks and arranges them.
Ground Picnics: Let Sims sit on the floor/grass and eat a plate. The animation exists for toddlers. Add "Eat on Ground" for adults.

9. Restaurant & Dine Out Fixes

The Standing Curse: At restaurants, Sims (played or NPC) constantly stand up, hug someone, then sit down. They should be locked to their seat until the plate is empty.
Visible Interactions: Dine Out's "Ask About Dish" etc., should have floating text or icons so I know it's happening.

10. Microwaves, Ovens, & Counter Logic

Resume Microwaving: If you cancel mid-microwave, the food disappears. Allow "Resume Cooking."
No Babysitting: Sims shouldn't have to stand in front of the microwave/oven. They should walk away and come back when the food is done/dinging.
Nearest Counter Please: A Sim should prep on the closest available counter, not walk past 3 kitchen counters to use the one in the bathroom.

11. Buffets, Retreats, & Get Togethers

NPCs Serve Buffets: On Get Together retreats/rentals, NPCs should automatically restock and serve from buffet tables.
Free Restocking for Paid Retreats: If you pay for a vacation rental, restocking a buffet table should cost $0.
Drink Trays: NPCs (bartenders, waiters) should interact with drink trays you place. And let me clean up entire drink trays at once, not each individual cup.

12. The Gross Hygiene Bugs

Dirty Plate Physics: STOP putting dirty plates on half-walls, the back of toilets, or floating mid-air on shelves. Only tables and counters.
Clean Up Commitments: When I click "Clean Up," the Sim should not drop the plate on a nearby table 3 steps in. Finish the job unless I cancel it.

13. Social Multitasking & Chatting

No Hugging at the Table: Sims should be able to chat at a table without getting up to "Introduce" or "Hug Child." Those interactions should be doable seated.
Eat + Drink Together: Fix the lag where drinking a bar drink and eating a plate results in one item stuck in their hand for 3 Sim hours.

14. Weight, Calories, & Realistic Hunger

Leftover Salad Weight Gain: Eating a leftover garden salad should NOT make a Sim gain weight. Zero calorie dish = zero weight change.
Meal-Time Hunger: Sims should get hungry at actual meal times (7-9 AM breakfast, 12-2 PM lunch, 6-8 PM dinner). A full plate of food should last them appropriately. I'm tired of them eating five plates of leftover spaghetti in one afternoon.

15. Likes, Dislikes & Favorites (Final Wishlist)

Random Favorite Food: Every Sim should roll a hidden or visible Favorite Food (like the Favorite Drink in Get Together). They can "Make Favorite Food" for a special moodlet.
Food Likes/Dislikes: Add to CAS. Dislikes Fruitcake = Uncomfortable. Likes Spicy Food = Happy.
Off Limits System: Let me mark certain foods/drinks as "Off Limits" for autonomous Sims. No, you may not drink the fizzy juice I'm saving. (And yes, fix that Sims never drink fizzy juice but inhale candy).
Base Game Drink Tray: Add a simple, base-game "Table Drink Tray" that can be stocked with any non-mixology drink (water, milk, juice, fizzy juice). And a Fruit Bowl/Basket object so Sims grab an apple without me placing loose produce on the table.

16. Recipe Discovery & Notebook System

Notebook Entries for Discovered Recipes: When a Sim learns a recipe from a book, cooking channel, or another Sim, it should automatically log into a personal “Recipe Notebook” (accessible via the Sim’s inventory or a new UI tab). Right now, discovered recipes just… vanish from memory if you don’t use them.
Better Family Recipe UI: The family recipe system is a mess. There should be a dedicated Family Cookbook panel showing:
- Which recipe was passed down.
- Who originally created it.
- Which Sims in the household actually know it.
Boost Indicator: When you use a “boosted” recipe (e.g., from an inspired moodlet or a special ingredient), the refrigerator/grill menu should show a glowing fork icon or a green up-arrow next to the dish name. I want to see that my Sim is about to cook a Superb meal before clicking.
Uniform Family Recipe System: Currently, family recipes feel like individual Sim recipes. Grandma unlocks a secret pancake recipe? That should instantly be available to all Sims in the same household (maybe with a family heirloom cookbook object). I shouldn’t have to re-learn it on the teenage son.

17. Get To Work Retail & Baked Goods

Eat Baked Goods in Retail Stores: Remember that trailer for Get To Work where Sims bought and ate pastries inside a bakery? That almost never works smoothly in-game. Sims should be able to buy a single muffin/croissant from a retail display and eat it on the spot (or sit at a retail-owned chair). Right now, they shove it in their inventory and leave.

18. Bar UI & Group Bar Food

New UI for Bar Foods: Bars still use the ancient pie menu for ordering hot dogs, pretzels, and chips. Replace it with the new UI. Let me see all bar food options in a clean grid. The same should go for grills.
Order Bar Food for a Date or Group: If I’m on a date at a bar, I should be able to order “Order Pretzel for Date” or “Order Bar Snack Platter for Group” so we can share nachos without each Sim individually walking to the bar.

19. Fire & Cooking Surface Logic

Stop Putting Surfaces on Fires: Sims currently love to take a cutting board or a pot and place it directly over a flaming stovetop without actually cooking anything. This is a fire waiting to happen. If there’s an active fire on the stove, the interaction “Put Away Ingredients” or “Set Down Dish” should be blocked. Sims should run, not organize.

20. Toasts & Social Drinking

Smoother Toasts: The “Make a Toast” interaction is legendary for its lag. Sims raise their glass, freeze, the other Sim stares into the void, and then 30 Sim-minutes later they clink. Please:
- Shorten the animation.
- Make it interruptible without breaking.
- Let it work while seated at a table with drinks already in hand (instead of standing up, walking around, then toasting).

BONUS (since I’m already furious):

NPCs on Getaways still ignore buffet tables. I wrote this in the original post but it needs repeating. I paid for a vacation rental. Please restock the **bleep** pancakes.
Drink trays still require individual cleanup. Please let me click the tray → “Clean Entire Tray.”
Half-walls and toilet backs are not tables. Stop it. Wash the plate right away or place it on a table.

TL;DR: My Sims are culinary chaos demons who eat salad standing next to a toilet, caterers are useless, and I can't even order a pitcher for my group. Please fix pathfinding, calories, group serving, and for the love of God, stop the musical chairs.

canelacaliente · Answer

List of my reported bugs for Dine Out. All but 1 of them were marked "Waiting Additional Reports." This is why I don't provide detailed reports that are tested in multiple save with videos anymore.[DO] NPC Parents Greet Children and Stand Up from Table | EA Forums - 13284809[DU] [DO] Sims leave restaurant table to do university homework elsewhere[DO] [RL] Skill Levels &amp; Prices Don't Match for the New Foods[DO] Sims Constantly Get Up from Table to View Decorations[DO] [DHD] Customers Will Get Up from their Seat to Judge Decor[DO] Customers Leave Their Table to Clean Dishes[DO] Customers Will Talk Instead of Being Seated[DO] If a Bar is in a Restaurant Customers Will Take their Plates to the Bar[DO] Customers Will Leave Their Table to Go for a Jog if Energized[DO] Customers Leave Table to Dig in Trash Can[DO] Dishes not being cleaned/disposed of | EA Forums - 12314870[DO] Giving Recommendations to Customers Prevents Waiter Interactions[DO] [GF] Celebrities Distract NPC Customers[DO] [S] NPC Customers Will Engage in Holiday Activities Instead of Eating[DO] [ECO] NPC Customers Engage in N.A.P. Autonomously Instead of Eating

simversebykay · Answer

Amazing, totally agree. Add to that the fact you can't queue a sim to eat something and then go for a jog because your sim won't eat and go for a jog with a food plate in their hands instead... lol.

ta1111 · Answer

Thank you for compiling this comprehensive list about food!&nbsp; It accurately describes what players deal with in real game play.&nbsp; And, you link the bug reports!!&nbsp; Great job.&nbsp; This is what I would expect an internal game test report to look like by the EA Team.&nbsp; EA recently asked on Discord for Dining Out suggestions.&nbsp; This covers it for me.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;

gatochweg · Answer

I would like to add the idea of appointing a specific table as dining table where the entire household sits down when called to eat, whether they are hungry or not.

crocobaura · Answer

canelacaliente wrote:Eat Baked Goods in Retail Stores:&nbsp;Remember that trailer for Get To Work where Sims bought and ate pastries inside a bakery? That almost never works smoothly in-game. Sims should be able to&nbsp;buy a single muffin/croissant from a retail display and eat it on the spot&nbsp;(or sit at a retail-owned chair). Right now, they shove it in their inventory and leave.They eat them, but you shouldn't set them for sale. They will put in inventory the food set for sale (which is usually a group meal) and will eat the free food. I do this in my pastry shops and ice cream shops and hungry sims will help themselves to the free foods.&nbsp;

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