diff --git a/lib/screens/menu_browse_screen.dart b/lib/screens/menu_browse_screen.dart
index a4397b0..45182ed 100644
--- a/lib/screens/menu_browse_screen.dart
+++ b/lib/screens/menu_browse_screen.dart
@@ -1165,6 +1165,7 @@ class _MenuBrowseScreenState extends State<MenuBrowseScreen> {
       final realChildItemId = _decodeVirtualId(child.itemId);
 
       if (isSelected) {
+        // This item is directly selected - add it
         final cart = await Api.setLineItem(
           orderId: orderId,
           parentOrderLineItemId: parentOrderLineItemId,
@@ -1186,21 +1187,13 @@ class _MenuBrowseScreenState extends State<MenuBrowseScreen> {
           );
         }
       } else if (hasSelectedDescendants) {
-        final cart = await Api.setLineItem(
-          orderId: orderId,
-          parentOrderLineItemId: parentOrderLineItemId,
-          itemId: child.itemId,
-          isSelected: true,
-        );
-
-        final childLineItem = cart.lineItems.lastWhere(
-          (li) => li.itemId == realChildItemId && li.parentOrderLineItemId == parentOrderLineItemId && !li.isDeleted,
-          orElse: () => throw StateError('Failed to add item'),
-        );
-
+        // This item is NOT selected, but has selected descendants
+        // DON'T add this intermediate group - just recurse to add the actual selections
+        // The selections will be added directly under the current parent
+        // This matches how attachDefaultChildren works on the server
         await _addModifiersRecursively(
           orderId,
-          childLineItem.orderLineItemId,
+          parentOrderLineItemId,  // Keep the same parent - don't create intermediate node
           child.itemId,
           selectedItemIds,
         );