Στο εστιατόριο προτιμώ ψητό χοιρινό με πατάτες.

Στο is a contraction of σε + το.

• σε = in / at / to
• το = the (neuter singular)

So:

• σε το εστιατόριο → στο εστιατόριο

This contraction is completely normal in modern Greek. In this sentence, στο εστιατόριο means at the restaurant or in the restaurant, depending on context.

After σε (and therefore after στο), Greek normally uses the accusative case.

So εστιατόριο here is in the accusative singular. But εστιατόριο is a neuter noun, and many neuter nouns have the same form in the nominative and accusative singular.

So:

• nominative: το εστιατόριο
• accusative: το εστιατόριο

The form looks the same, even though the case is different.

Προτιμώ is a verb meaning I prefer.

It is:

• 1st person singular
• present tense

Greek often leaves out the subject pronoun, so προτιμώ by itself already means I prefer. You do not need εγώ unless you want emphasis.

So:

• προτιμώ = I prefer
• εγώ προτιμώ = I prefer / I’m the one who prefers, with extra emphasis

Greek is a pro-drop language, which means subject pronouns are often omitted because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Here, προτιμώ clearly means I prefer, so εγώ is unnecessary.

Compare:

• Προτιμώ ψητό χοιρινό. = I prefer roast/grilled pork.
• Εγώ προτιμώ ψητό χοιρινό. = I prefer roast/grilled pork (with emphasis on I)

Greek often leaves out the article when talking about something in a general or indefinite way, especially with food.

So:

• προτιμώ ψητό χοιρινό = I prefer roast/grilled pork
• προτιμώ το ψητό χοιρινό would sound more like I prefer the roast pork, meaning a specific dish or a known item

In this sentence, the speaker means the food generally, not one specific plate of pork.

This is a very common kind of Greek food expression.

• ψητό comes from ψητός, meaning roasted / grilled
• χοιρινό literally means pork; historically it is related to an adjective meaning pork / pork-based, but in everyday Greek it is very often used like a noun

Together, ψητό χοιρινό means roast pork or grilled pork, depending on context.

A helpful way to think about it is:

• ψητό describes how it is cooked
• χοιρινό tells you what meat it is

Both are in the neuter singular here.

Names of meats in Greek are very often used in the neuter singular.

Examples:

• κοτόπουλο = chicken
• μοσχάρι = beef/veal
• χοιρινό = pork

So χοιρινό in food contexts is normally neuter. In this sentence it is the direct object of προτιμώ, so it is in the accusative singular, but for neuter nouns/adjective-like forms the nominative and accusative are often identical.

It is in the accusative singular, because it is the direct object of προτιμώ.

The speaker is saying what they prefer:

• προτιμώ ψητό χοιρινό

For neuter singular words like these, the accusative often looks the same as the nominative, so the form does not visibly change.

Με πατάτες means with potatoes.

• με = with
• πατάτες = potatoes

This usually means the pork is served together with potatoes, like a side dish.

Πατάτες is the plural accusative form, and after με Greek uses the accusative.

Singular and plural:

• η πατάτα = the potato
• τις πατάτες = the potatoes

Here the meaning is plural, so Greek uses πατάτες.

In modern Greek, yes: με is followed by the accusative.

So you get forms like:

• με φίλο = with a friend
• με την οικογένεια = with the family
• με πατάτες = with potatoes

That is why πατάτες appears in the accusative plural here.

Yes, very often it works like a topic-setting phrase: As for at the restaurant... or When I’m at the restaurant...

So the sentence can feel like:

• At the restaurant, I prefer roast/grilled pork with potatoes.

The phrase στο εστιατόριο sets the context first, and then the speaker says what they prefer in that context.

Yes. Greek word order is more flexible than English, although not completely free.

This sentence is natural as:

• Στο εστιατόριο προτιμώ ψητό χοιρινό με πατάτες.

But you could also say:

• Προτιμώ ψητό χοιρινό με πατάτες στο εστιατόριο.

That version may sound slightly different in focus. The original puts στο εστιατόριο first, which emphasizes the setting: at the restaurant.

Greek often moves things around for emphasis, topic, or style.

Usually it expresses a general preference:

• At the restaurant, I prefer roast/grilled pork with potatoes.

Because προτιμώ is in the present tense, it can describe a regular preference, a standing opinion, or sometimes a choice in the current situation. Context tells you which one is meant.

Without extra context, most learners should understand it as a general preference.

A rough pronunciation guide is:

sto es-tya-TO-rio pro-ti-MO psi-TO hi-ri-NO me pa-TA-tes

A few notes:

• στ in στο sounds like st
• τια in εστιατόριο sounds roughly like tya
• χ in χοιρινό is not like English h exactly; it is a harsher sound, like German ch in Bach or Scottish loch
• The written accent shows the stressed syllable:
  • εστιατόριο
  • προτιμώ
  • ψητό
  • χοιρινό
  • πατάτες

That is simply where the stress falls in this form of the verb.

Greek stress is important and can move when words change form. So learners should memorize the stressed form together with the word:

• προτιμώ = I prefer

The accent mark tells you where to stress the word, and Greek spelling is very helpful about this.

It can cover both ideas depending on context.

In everyday Greek food language, ψητό often refers to something cooked by roasting, grilling, or baking in a way that English might translate differently depending on the dish.

So ψητό χοιρινό could be translated as:

• roast pork
• grilled pork

The exact English choice depends on how the dish is prepared and on the translation context.

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

• με πατάτες = with potatoes in a general sense
• με τις πατάτες = with the potatoes, meaning specific potatoes already known from context

In your sentence, με πατάτες is the natural choice because it refers to potatoes as part of the dish, not to some specific potatoes already mentioned.

It can mean either in the restaurant or at the restaurant.

Greek σε / στο covers several meanings that English splits into different prepositions, such as:

• in
• at
• sometimes to

So here στο εστιατόριο is best understood as at the restaurant in normal English, though literally the Greek structure can also correspond to in the restaurant depending on context.