No restaurante, eu pedi sopa de cebola.

No is a contraction of em + o:

• em = in / at
• o = the (masculine singular article)

So no restaurante literally means in the restaurant or at the restaurant.

In natural English, at the restaurant is often the best translation, but Portuguese commonly uses em where English might use either in or at.

In Portuguese, nouns like restaurante usually take an article when you mean a specific place or a place understood from context.

So:

• no restaurante = at the restaurant / in the restaurant
• em um restaurante = in a restaurant / at a restaurant (non-specific)

Saying em restaurante by itself is generally not natural in standard Portuguese.

The comma separates the introductory location phrase from the main clause.

• No restaurante, eu pedi sopa de cebola.

This is similar to English sentences like:

• At the restaurant, I ordered onion soup.

The comma is natural because No restaurante has been moved to the front for context or emphasis. In short everyday writing, some people may omit the comma in very short phrases, but using it here is perfectly normal and clear.

Yes. Portuguese often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

• pedi already means I asked for / I ordered

So you could also say:

• No restaurante, pedi sopa de cebola.

That is completely natural.

Including eu can add clarity, contrast, or emphasis. For example, it might help if the speaker wants to stress I rather than someone else.

Pedi is the preterite form of pedir.

Here it expresses a completed action in the past:

• eu pedi = I ordered / I asked for

This tense is used for something that happened and is viewed as finished.

Compare:

• eu peço = I ask / I order (present)
• eu pedia = I was asking / I used to ask / I would ask (imperfect, depending on context)
• eu pedi = I asked / I ordered (preterite)

Yes. Pedir is a very common verb that literally means to ask for, and in restaurant contexts it naturally means to order.

Examples:

• Pedi um café. = I ordered a coffee.
• Ela pediu a conta. = She asked for the bill.
• Ele pediu ajuda. = He asked for help.

So pedir is broader than English order. It can mean ask for, request, or order, depending on context.

After pedir, Portuguese often uses the noun without an article when talking about food, drink, or menu items in a general way.

So:

• pedi sopa de cebola
• pedi café
• pedi salada

This is very natural.

You may also hear an article in some contexts:

• pedi a sopa de cebola

That can sound more specific, as if referring to a particular soup on the menu or a known item. But without the article is very common and idiomatic.

Yes. Literally, de cebola means of onion, but in natural English we say onion soup.

Portuguese often uses de to show material, ingredient, flavor, or type:

• sopa de cebola = onion soup
• suco de laranja = orange juice
• bolo de chocolate = chocolate cake

So this is a very common structure.

In Portuguese, when de + noun describes the type or main ingredient of a dish, the noun is often singular.

So:

• sopa de cebola = onion soup
• suco de maçã = apple juice
• molho de tomate = tomato sauce

This is just the normal way to name many foods. Even if the dish uses multiple onions, the ingredient name often stays singular because it labels the type of dish, not the exact number of onions used.

Yes. That is also correct.

The difference is mostly about focus:

• No restaurante, eu pedi sopa de cebola.
  This starts by setting the scene: at the restaurant.
• Eu pedi sopa de cebola no restaurante.
  This starts with the main action: I ordered onion soup.

Both are grammatical. Portuguese is fairly flexible with this kind of word order.

You would usually say:

• Num restaurante, eu pedi sopa de cebola.

Num is the contraction of em + um:

• num restaurante = in a restaurant / at a restaurant

So:

• no restaurante = at the restaurant (specific)
• num restaurante = at a restaurant (non-specific)

In Brazilian Portuguese, pedi is pronounced roughly like peh-JEE or peh-DJEE, depending on accent.

A few helpful points:

• The stress is on the last syllable: pe-DI
• The final di in many Brazilian accents sounds like jee or djee
• So it may sound closer to peh-DJEE than a hard English dee

This pronunciation is especially common in many parts of Brazil.

In Brazilian Portuguese, cebola is pronounced roughly seh-BOH-lah.

Important detail:

• c before e sounds like s

So cebola begins with an s sound, not a k sound.

The stress is on the middle syllable:

• ce-BO-la

Yes. Portuguese em often covers both meanings.

So no restaurante can mean:

• physically in the restaurant
• more generally at the restaurant

English chooses between in and at more often, but Portuguese usually just uses em and lets the context do the work.