Learn Hardcore Greek: Ο μάγειρας στο εστιατόριο κάνει πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό. - The cook at the restaurant makes very tasty food.

μάγειρας (máyiras)
- Literally “cook.”
- Neutral word for someone who cooks as a job.
- Can sound a bit more traditional or everyday.
σεφ (sef)
- Borrowed from French/English chef.
- Often suggests a professional chef, especially one with higher status or creative responsibility.
- Used a lot in modern contexts (restaurants, TV cooking shows, etc.).

In this sentence, Ο μάγειρας στο εστιατόριο… = “The cook at the restaurant…”
You could also hear Ο σεφ στο εστιατόριο…, especially if you want to sound more like “the head chef.”

What exactly is στο in στο εστιατόριο? Is it one word or two?

στο is a contraction of two words:

σε (se) – a preposition meaning “in / at / to”
το (to) – the neuter singular article “the”

So:

σε + το εστιατόριο → στο εστιατόριο

Literally: “in the restaurant / at the restaurant.”

Other common contractions:

σε + τη(ν) → στη / στην (feminine)
e.g. στη δουλειά – at work
σε + τους → στους (masculine plural)
e.g. στους φίλους μου – to my friends

You use στο when the following noun is:

neuter
singular
and you mean “in/at/to the …”

What does εστιατόριο mean exactly, and is it different from ταβέρνα?

εστιατόριο (estiatório) means “restaurant.”

It is a more general/neutral word for any kind of restaurant.
It sounds a bit more formal or standard.

ταβέρνα (tavérna) is:

traditionally a Greek-style tavern, usually more casual,
often associated with traditional food, wine, and a relaxed atmosphere.

So:

στο εστιατόριο – at the restaurant (any type)
στην ταβέρνα – at the taverna (more traditional/Greek-feeling place)

Why does the sentence use κάνει? Doesn’t κάνω mean “to do”? How does it come to mean “makes/cooks”?

Yes, κάνω basically means “to do / to make.”

In everyday Greek, κάνω is often used with φαγητό or φαΐ to mean “to make food / to cook.”

κάνω φαγητό – I make food, I cook
κάνει πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό – he/she makes very tasty food

Other verbs you could also use:

μαγειρεύω – to cook (more literally about the cooking process)
- Ο μάγειρας στο εστιατόριο μαγειρεύει πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό.
φτιάχνω – to make, to prepare
- Ο μάγειρας στο εστιατόριο φτιάχνει πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό.

κάνει here is:

3rd person singular, present tense of κάνω
matches the subject Ο μάγειρας (“he”)

What exactly does πολύ mean here, and why is it πολύ and not πολλά or πολλή?

In this sentence, πολύ means “very.”

πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό = “very tasty food”

πολύ has two main uses:

As an adverb = “very,” “a lot”
- It stays invariable (does not change form).
- It modifies an adjective or a verb:
  - πολύ νόστιμο – very tasty
  - τρέχω πολύ – I run a lot
As an adjective = “many / much”
Then it changes form to agree with the noun:
- πολλοί άνθρωποι – many people (masc. plural)
- πολλές μέρες – many days (fem. plural)
- πολλά παιδιά – many children / a lot of kids (neuter plural)

In πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό, πολύ is an adverb modifying νόστιμο, so it stays πολύ, not πολλά or πολλή.

Why is it νόστιμο φαγητό and not νόστιμος φαγητό? What is νόστιμο agreeing with?

Greek adjectives must agree with the noun they describe in:

gender
number
case

The noun φαγητό (“food”) is:

gender: neuter
number: singular
case: accusative (direct object of κάνει)

The adjective νόστιμος (“tasty”) has three basic forms in the nominative:

νόστιμος – masculine
νόστιμη – feminine
νόστιμο – neuter

Since φαγητό is neuter, the adjective must also be neuter:

νόστιμο φαγητό – tasty food

So νόστιμο is neuter singular, agreeing with φαγητό.

Why is there no article before φαγητό? Could we also say το φαγητό? What’s the difference?

In the sentence:

…κάνει πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό.

there is no article before φαγητό.
That usually suggests “food in general / food as an unspecified amount.”

So the meaning is:

“He makes (very) tasty food” – not referring to one specific dish, but to his cooking in general.

If you say:

…κάνει πολύ νόστιμο το φαγητό.

this sounds more like:

“He makes the food very tasty,”
referring to some more specific food or meal that both speakers have in mind.

In many contexts, omitting the article with φαγητό makes it sound more general / indefinite:

Μου αρέσει το φαγητό. – I like the food (in general, or a particular cuisine/meal).
Μου αρέσει να τρώω φαγητό. – I like eating food (general).

Is the word order fixed? Can I say Ο μάγειρας κάνει στο εστιατόριο πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό or Στο εστιατόριο ο μάγειρας κάνει πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό?

Greek word order is flexible, especially compared to English. All of these are grammatically possible, with slightly different emphasis:

Ο μάγειρας στο εστιατόριο κάνει πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό.
Neutral: “The cook at the restaurant makes very tasty food.”
The phrase στο εστιατόριο closely describes ο μάγειρας.
Ο μάγειρας κάνει στο εστιατόριο πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό.
Still correct. Emphasis slightly more on where he cooks (at the restaurant).
Στο εστιατόριο ο μάγειρας κάνει πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό.
Starts with Στο εστιατόριο, so it foregrounds the location:
“At the restaurant, the cook makes very tasty food.”

Greek uses endings (articles, adjective forms) to show grammatical roles, so word order can change for emphasis more than for grammar.

What tense and person is κάνει, and how do you conjugate κάνω in the present tense?

κάνει is:

3rd person singular
present tense
of the verb κάνω (“to do / to make”).

Present tense of κάνω (active voice):

(εγώ) κάνω – I do / make
(εσύ) κάνεις – you (sg.) do / make
(αυτός/αυτή/αυτό) κάνει – he / she / it does / makes
(εμείς) κάνουμε – we do / make
(εσείς) κάνετε – you (pl./formal) do / make
(αυτοί/αυτές/αυτά) κάνουν(ε) – they do / make

In the sentence, Ο μάγειρας… κάνει… = “The cook makes …”

Which words are in which case in this sentence (nominative, accusative, etc.)?

The sentence is:

Ο μάγειρας στο εστιατόριο κάνει πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό.

Cases:

Ο μάγειρας – nominative (subject)
- ο: nominative masculine singular article
- μάγειρας: nominative masculine singular noun
στο εστιατόριο – accusative after the preposition σε
- underlying: σε + το εστιατόριο
- το εστιατόριο: accusative neuter singular (object of the preposition σε)
πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό – accusative (direct object of κάνει)
- φαγητό: accusative neuter singular noun
- νόστιμο: accusative neuter singular adjective agreeing with φαγητό
- πολύ: adverb (does not show case)

The verb κάνει connects Ο μάγειρας (subject in nominative) with πολύ νόστιμο φαγητό (object in accusative).

How do you pronounce the more difficult words here, and where is the stress in each one?

Stressed syllables are in bold and shown with the Greek accent:

Ο μάγειρας – o MÁ-yei-ras
Greek: μά is stressed: μά-γει-ρας
εστιατόριο – es-ti-a-TÓ-ri-o
Greek: εστιαΤΌριο (stress on τό)
νόστιμο – NÓ-sti-mo
Greek: ΝΌστιμο
φαγητό – fa-yi-TÓ
Greek: φαγηΤΌ

Remember:

Modern Greek has one stress per word (unless it’s an enclitic group).
The accent mark shows exactly which vowel is stressed.