Mixologist behind bar, but not tending it, unavailable for orders

I play on PS5 and encountered this last night at a restaurant with a bar area. No option to order drinks. Went into build mode, deleted the bar, replaced it with the exact same bar. In live mode, still couldn’t order drinks, but did receive an orange notification saying the ticket kiosk was inaccessible and to close the small business and move or place a kiosk. This was a GTW restaurant and not a small business that has worked just fine for over a year. I did add a kiosk just to see if that changed anything, and aside from not receiving the kiosk inaccessible notification, the bartender still stopped working at the first trick performed.

Checked other community lots with bars. Bar, Nightclub, Lounge, Wedding Venue all had the same problem, though none of them gave me a kiosk inaccessible notification like the restaurant. Once the bartender does a trick, the ability to order drinks or food disappears. Replacing the bar or moving the bar does not fix it, and for me, resetting the sim didn’t work either. Furthermore, ordering food or drink upon first arriving at a lot (when the option is still there) works intermittently. Sometimes get the drink, never get the food  I did notice that unplayed npc sims at nightclubs were ordering and getting drinks even when I could not, but I didn’t see this happen at any other bar type venue.

What I didn’t test was how bars and bartenders behave in an actual small business, because I don’t have one set up that way. Is anyone having this problem on a small business lot or at a home business? Because of that notification I got at the restaurant, I’m wondering if the bar objects are somehow just expecting to be placed in a small business instead of also on bar type community lots.

For what is worth, it’s not the BH expansion pack that seems to be the issue, but the update that went online just before its release. In the patch notes it had something about the Thriftea shop, so I guess the fix for that issue butterfly effected into other Service Sims, like mixologists.

I'm having similar issues & I'm playing on PC.

I have the same issue. I can't order food at the Cottage Living bar, because the bartender does everything but tend the bar. Most often she practices tricks, but occasionally she just goes to sit with the other sims and talks to them instead of working.

I didn't have this issue before installing Businesses & Hobbies.

This is a "Me too". (Now understanding this is previously reported, I am copying over to this thread per crinrict's instruction.)

Traveled to the lounge in Nordhaven, NPC bartender is at the bar but only practicing bar tricks. There is no option to order food or drink; nor can I hire a new bartender (because one has been already assigned). I tried resetting the bartender without success. Replacing the bar (with a different style) worked.

No mods. 

I'd not noticed the issue started today with the new pack installation.

I'm having these issues with bartenders in my game as well, exactly as others have described.  If the bartender is talking with NPC's or preparing other orders, the 'wait for drink' action will not appear and the bartender only actually delivers the drink about half the time.  If the bartender is having a conversation with an NPC the options to order don't appear until the conversation is over.  

HALirious9k  I’d say in this instance it’s different from making the drink - because it can continue for sim hours without any drinks being served, and involves building bottle towers and breathing fire rather than putting anything into a glass, and the “wait for drink” action doesn’t appear in my sim’s queue until much later, if ever. But yes, sometimes I do at least have the option to order while other times I don’t. It’s just in my experience that when I don’t, they oddly seem to finish up their tricks & chatting sooner, and when the order option finally does appear, they then serve it normally. But just like trying to decide if it’s actually more of an issue on my PS4 than on my laptop, the differences could be meaningful or could just be random variation. It does seem very similar to me.

I’d say the trick animations after your Sims orders a drink are a way of the game “showing” how the drink is made? (It would also depend on the Mixology skill of the service Sim in question.)

Drinks that are not cocktails (thus require no preparation), like nectars and beers, tend to be easier to order, but I’d say you’re onto something: after ordering a drink there’s a significant delay sometimes, specially if townies have been ordering too or if the mixologist is engaged in conversation with a large group. 

My report, though, is more focused on the fact that it’s impossible to even order drinks — the mixologist is actively engaged with the bar (hence the trick animations), but clicking the bar doesn’t show any Order Drink/Food… options. As if there’s no one tending. 

I've not needed to reset the bartender yet, but they do tend to get stuck more often than not. After testing for a while, it's possibly more common on PS4 than Mac, and/or at lounges than bars, but it could also just be at random. But I'd say I'm seeing it more than half the time? When my sim first arrives, sometimes they can immediately order a drink and other times not. When they can, usually the bartender doesn't deliver it right away, instead doing tricks at the bar and talking to townies for a while - ranging from maybe 20 sim minutes to three sim hours. Usually the tricks involve stacking bottles, but one bartender was repeatedly breathing fire! Then they finally serve up the drink as if nothing happened, whether your sim is still there or not. One time I had ordered three drinks over the course of their doing tricks, with no initial acknowledgement, but when they finally finished their tricks they served all three right in a row.

When they can't order a drink right away, that usually tends to be when I'll get my drink faster - because after just one or two tricks, they'll stop and stand still, and the order action will become available and then they'll fulfill it more or less immediately. 

I have no packs on PS4, just base game. On Mac the only expansions I don't have are For Rent, High School, Eco Lifestyle, and Seasons (and Lovestruck is disabled). I have half the game packs.