Learn Hardcore Croatian: Restoran pazi na kvalitetu hrane, tako da smanjuje količinu soli u jelima. - The restaurant takes care of the quality of the food, so it reduces the amount of salt in the dishes.

Grammatically, paziti na + accusative expresses careful attention to something rather than emotional concern (for that, brinuti se za is more common).

Why is it kvalitetu and not kvaliteta?

Kvaliteta is a feminine noun. In the sentence it is the direct object of pazi na, so it must be in the accusative singular.

Nominative (dictionary form): kvaliteta
Accusative singular (what the restaurant is paying attention to): kvalitetu

Pattern: many feminine nouns ending in -a form the accusative singular with -u:

hrana → hranu
kava → kavu
kvaliteta → kvalitetu

Why is it kvalitetu hrane and not something like kvalitetu hrana?

The phrase kvalitetu hrane is “the quality of the food”.

Croatian typically uses the genitive case to express “of X”:

kvaliteta hrane – the quality of the food
okus jela – the taste of the dish
boja vina – the colour of the wine

So:

hrana (food) – nominative singular
hrane – genitive singular = of the food

Because hrana depends on kvaliteta as “quality of what?”, it must be in the genitive: kvalitetu hrane.

What exactly does tako da mean here, and how does it differ from other ways to say “so / so that”?

In this sentence, tako da introduces a result:

…pazi na kvalitetu hrane, tako da smanjuje količinu soli…
→ …it pays attention to the quality of the food, so it reduces the amount of salt…

So here tako da ≈ so / therefore, with a slightly explanatory tone: “and as a result”.

Compare with some similar connectors:

zato / zato pa (in speech): more like “therefore / that’s why”.
kako bi
- verb (subjunctive-like): “so that / in order to” (purpose, not result).
  - Smanjuje sol kako bi poboljšao kvalitetu. – It reduces salt in order to improve the quality.

In your sentence, tako da is best taken as “so / and as a result”, not a purpose clause.

What is the form smanjuje, and how is it different from smanjiti or smanjivati?

Smanjuje is the 3rd person singular present tense of the imperfective verb smanjivati (to reduce, to be reducing, to reduce regularly).

Verb pair:

smanjiti – perfective (to reduce once, to complete the action)
smanjivati – imperfective (to reduce habitually or as an ongoing process)

Conjugation (present of smanjivati):

ja smanjujem
ti smanjuješ
on/ona/ono smanjuje
mi smanjujemo
vi smanjujete
oni/one/ona smanjuju

In the sentence:

Restoran … smanjuje količinu soli…
→ describes a habitual / regular practice of the restaurant.

Why is it količinu soli and not količina soli?

Količina means amount / quantity and is a feminine noun.

In the sentence, količinu is the direct object of smanjuje (what does it reduce?), so it must be in the accusative singular:

Nominative: količina (amount)
Accusative: količinu (reduces the amount)

Sol (salt) is in the genitive singular after količina:

količina soli – the amount of salt

So together:

smanjuje količinu soli
= reduces the amount of salt
→ količinu (accusative, object), soli (genitive, “of salt”).

Why is soli used here, and what form is it?

Sol (salt) is a feminine noun with this common pattern:

Nominative singular: sol (salt)
Genitive singular: soli (of salt)

In količina soli (“amount of salt”), soli must be in the genitive singular, because količina governs the genitive (“amount of what?”):

količina soli – amount of salt
količina šećera – amount of sugar
količina vode – amount of water

Why is it u jelima and not u jela or u jelo?

Jelo is a neuter noun meaning dish / meal.

Forms:

Nominative singular: jelo
Locative plural: jelima

The preposition u can take:

Accusative – when there is movement into something:
- Stavlja sol u jelo. – He puts salt into the dish.
Locative – when something is in / inside something (no movement):
- U jelima je manje soli. – There is less salt in the dishes.

In your sentence, the salt is located in the dishes, not moving into them, so u + locative plural is used:

u jelima – in (the) dishes.

What does jelo exactly mean, and how is it different from hrana?

Hrana = food in general, an uncountable concept:
- Kvaliteta hrane – the quality of the food (overall).
Jelo (plural jela) = a dish / meal, a specific prepared item on a menu or on a plate:
- Topla jela – hot dishes.
- Tradicionalna jela – traditional dishes.

So:

kvaliteta hrane – overall food quality
količina soli u jelima – amount of salt in the individual dishes

Can the word order be changed? For example, could I say Restoran smanjuje količinu soli u jelima kako bi pazio na kvalitetu hrane?

Yes, Croatian word order is fairly flexible, and your suggested sentence is grammatically correct, but it slightly changes the nuance.

Original:

Restoran pazi na kvalitetu hrane, tako da smanjuje količinu soli u jelima.
– First says the principle (it cares about quality), then gives a resulting action (so it reduces salt).

Your version:

Restoran smanjuje količinu soli u jelima kako bi pazio na kvalitetu hrane.
– Emphasises the action (reduces salt) and expresses it as being done in order to care about quality (kako bi = “so that / in order to”).

Both are natural. Speakers often move parts for emphasis, but the original [principle] + tako da + [result] structure is very typical.

How do you know whether restoran here means “a restaurant” or “the restaurant”? There is no article.

Croatian has no articles like a / an / the, so restoran by itself can mean:

a restaurant (non-specific)
the restaurant (specific, known from context)

The exact English translation depends on context, which Croatian usually shows through:

Prior mention in discourse
Possessives or demonstratives:
- taj restoran – that restaurant
- naš restoran – our restaurant
Situational context (if you’re clearly talking about one known restaurant, you’d say the restaurant in English, but still restoran in Croatian).

Why is the present tense used (pazi, smanjuje) to talk about what the restaurant does in general?

Croatian often uses the present tense to express habitual or general truths, just like English does:

Restoran pazi na kvalitetu hrane.
– The restaurant pays attention to food quality (as a general policy).
Restoran smanjuje količinu soli u jelima.
– The restaurant reduces the amount of salt in dishes (regular practice).

This is the same as English “The restaurant reduces…”, not specifically happening at this exact moment, but as a standing rule or repeated action.

Could pazi na kvalitetu hrane also be said in another way, like with brinuti se?

Yes, there are alternative ways to express the idea, with small differences in nuance:

Restoran brine o kvaliteti hrane.
Restoran brine se za kvalitetu hrane.

Both mean roughly “The restaurant takes care of / is concerned about the quality of the food.”

Nuances:

paziti na kvalitetu – to pay close attention to / watch the quality (a bit more about careful monitoring).
brinuti (se) o / za kvalitetu – to worry about / take care of the quality (emotional concern + responsibility).

All are natural; your original pazi na kvalitetu hrane is very idiomatic and clear.