What is The Sims 4 Dine Out?
Dine Out is a game pack about restaurants. It came out on June 7, 2016. Your Sims can eat out with friends, and they can own and run a restaurant. The pack also adds experimental food that Sims can learn to cook.
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release date | June 7, 2016, on PC and Mac. January 8, 2018, on consoles. |
| Pack type | Game pack, the third game pack for The Sims 4 |
| Price | $19.99 on Steam. The EA page shows no price until you add the pack to the cart. |
| World | No new world. You put restaurants on lots in the worlds you have. |
| Main features | Restaurants to visit, restaurants to own, and experimental food |
| Other features | A Jazz radio station and a food photo collection |
| Items | 137 Build Mode items and 28 Create-a-Sim items |
| Needs | The Sims 4 base game and all game updates |
We took the date, the item counts, and the needs from the EA page. We opened it on October 27, 2026. The price is from Steam on the same day. The console date and the other facts are from The Sims Wiki.
Is Dine Out still a game pack?
Yes. On October 27, 2026, the EA store still lists Dine Out under Game Packs. EA calls game packs “medium packs that add new, themed experiences.” The same list has 12 packs, from Outdoor Retreat to Werewolves.
Dine Out, Spa Day, and Outdoor Retreat are the last three packs in that list. They have no separate label. We found no EA notice that moves them to a new category. Steam calls Dine Out downloadable content. To see how game packs compare to bigger packs, read our list of all Sims 4 expansion packs.
How do you eat at a restaurant in Dine Out?
Take your Sims to a restaurant lot, then talk to the host. Dine Out does not add restaurants to your worlds. Place a restaurant from the Gallery or your library, or build one on an empty lot. The pack comes with pre-made restaurants such as Hogan’s Burger Bar, Villa Bovine, and Chez Llama.
- Go to the host station and ask for a table.
- Wait for the host to take your Sims to a table.
- Call the waiter and order one dish and one drink.
- Order more dishes if you want. Each one adds to the bill.
- Pay the bill when your Sims finish.
The menu has four parts: drinks, appetizers, main course, and dessert. A group, such as a date or friends on an outing, can sit at one table. This makes a restaurant a good place for a first date. Our guide to romance settings in The Sims 4 shows other ways to control dating.
How do you open a restaurant in Sims 4 Dine Out?
Buy a restaurant in the Owned Businesses panel, hire three staff, then click Open. The EA tips page and Sims Community give these steps:
- Open the Owned Businesses panel at the bottom right. Select “Buy a Restaurant.”
- Choose a lot. Use a pre-made restaurant, or build one on an empty lot.
- Move money from the household funds to the restaurant funds. The restaurant pays its costs from these.
- Check the needed objects. You need a sink, a toilet, a chef station, a waiter station, and a host station.
- Add at least four dining spots. Each spot is a table with at least one chair.
- Set the menu, the staff uniforms, and the dress code for customers.
- Hire a host, a waiter, and a chef in Manage Employees.
- Click Open in the panel.
The three staff must be different Sims. Your own Sim cannot fill these jobs. Your Sim manages the staff and talks to the customers. If you want a Sim with a normal job instead, read how to get a job in The Sims 4.
How do you run a five-star restaurant?
Make customers happy with good food, fast service, and a nice room. Every customer arrives with three stars over the head. The stars go up or down during the visit. The restaurant rating is from 1 to 5 stars.
| Area | What to do |
|---|---|
| Staff skills | Hosts need Charisma and Comedy. Waiters need Charisma and Fitness. Chefs need Cooking and Mixology. |
| Menu | Pick dishes at or below the chef’s skill. A hard dish from a weak chef has low quality. |
| Prices | Set the markup from 100% to 300%. The default is 125%. A high markup on bad food angers customers. |
| Service | Use Welcome, Check on Table, and Prioritize Food. Give free drinks or dessert to tables that are unhappy. |
| Ambience | Add plants, paintings, and good floors. Keep the room clean. |
| Training | Pay §150, §600, or §1,500 after a shift to raise staff skills. |
| Advertising | Buy a package from §120 to §1,200 each day for more customers. |
More stars bring more customers. The Sims Wiki says 5 customers come at 1 star and 20 at 5 stars. Watch for the restaurant critic, who has a white ribbon under the stars. A critic’s review changes the rating more than a normal review.
Keep staff in a good mood. Praise them, pay them fairly, and promote them. Staff get tired after 8 to 10 hours, so close the restaurant before then.
What are the best restaurant perks?
Patient Patrons and the extra staff perks help the most at the start. Happy customers give perk points. Spend the points in the Owned Businesses panel.
| Perk | Cost in points | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Curious Customers | 250 | Customers ask you to recommend a dish. |
| Additional Waiter #1 | 350 | Lets you hire a second waiter. |
| Ingredient Quality Options | 500 | Lets you choose the quality of the ingredients. |
| Patient Patrons | 600 | Customers wait longer before they get angry. |
| Additional Chef | 750 | Lets you hire a second chef. Add a second chef station. |
| Additional Waiter #2 | 900 | Lets you hire a third waiter. |
| Tidy Tippers | 2,000 | Customers tip more. You can buy it more than once. |
| Well Managed | 4,500 | Fewer bad events happen when your Sim is away. |
The costs are from The Sims Wiki. With all perks, a restaurant can have 1 host, 3 waiters, and 2 chefs.
What new food and skills does Dine Out add?
Dine Out adds experimental food, but The Sims Wiki lists no new skill. Experimental dishes are unusual and new. Your Sims learn the recipes when they eat these dishes at restaurants. Then they can cook them with the right Cooking skill.
Sims can take photos of experimental dishes for a new collection. Chez Llama and Shimuzu are the two pre-made restaurants that serve experimental food. The Cooking and Mixology skills matter most in this pack. Our guide to every Sims 4 skill shows how to raise them. To skip the work, use skill cheats.
Is Dine Out worth it, or should you buy Get to Work?
Buy Dine Out if you want restaurants and dates. Buy Get to Work if you want a shop and active careers. Get to Work is an expansion pack. Dine Out is a smaller game pack.
| Fact | Dine Out | Get to Work |
|---|---|---|
| Pack type | Game pack | Expansion pack |
| Steam price on October 27, 2026 | $19.99 | $39.99 |
| Business you own | A restaurant | A retail shop, such as a bakery |
| Your Sim works in the business | No. Hired staff do the jobs. | Yes. Your household can work in the shop. |
Many players do not like the pack. On October 27, 2026, the Steam reviews were “Mostly Negative,” with 34% of 146 reviews positive. TheGamer lists slow service and burnt food as common problems for owners.
Our pack picker helps you choose. Before you buy, read what the free Sims 4 base game includes.
What mistakes do new restaurant owners make?
- They put hard dishes on the menu. Start with easy dishes until the chef gets better.
- They give one waiter too many tables. TheGamer says one waiter can serve about four tables.
- They use booths. TheGamer says booths cause more problems than tables.
- They play loud music. Sims dance instead of eat, so pick a calm radio station.
- They keep staff on too long. Close before the staff get tired.
- They stay home too early. A new restaurant loses money without the owner on the lot.
Close the right way. Click the host station and stop new customers. Let the last tables finish, then close. If money runs out, our list of Sims 4 money cheats can refill the funds.
Where does LifeSim fit?
LifeSim is a free life sim in your browser and on iPhone, set in a real city on a map of Earth. It has no restaurant to own and no packs to buy. It fits if you like the dates and the talk at a Dine Out table. The people in LifeSim talk back in their own words and remember you. Read games like The Sims or what LifeSim is.
Questions
When did Dine Out come out?
On PC and Mac on June 7, 2016. On consoles, The Sims Wiki gives January 8, 2018.
How much is Dine Out?
Steam listed it at $19.99 on October 27, 2026. The EA page shows no price. Prices change during sales.
Can your Sim cook at their own restaurant?
No. The host, the waiter, and the chef must be hired staff. Your Sim manages them and the customers.
Can you run the restaurant from home?
Yes, if the staff have high skills. Visit often to check on the critics. The Well Managed perk helps when you are away.
Why does food take so long in Dine Out?
The chef is often too slow for the number of tables. Buy the Additional Chef perk and add a second chef station. You can also set the chef to cook quickly, but the food quality goes down.
Do I need Dine Out to own a business?
No. Get to Work adds retail shops. Cats & Dogs adds vet clinics, and Businesses & Hobbies adds small businesses. Read how to make money in The Sims 4 for other ways to earn.
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Sources
- EA: The Sims 4 Dine Out
- EA: The Sims 4 Game Packs
- Steam: The Sims 4 Dine Out
- Steam: The Sims 4 Get To Work
- The Sims Wiki: The Sims 4: Dine Out
- The Sims Wiki: Restaurant
- The Sims Wiki: Customer satisfaction
- The Sims Wiki: Business perk
- The Sims Wiki: Employee
- EA: The Sims 4 Dine Out tips
- Sims Community: The Sims 4 Dine Out, running a restaurant
- TheGamer: The Sims 4 Dine Out guide
- Wikipedia: The Sims 4 game packs