Hoje vamos almoçar no refeitório da escola.

This is a very common Portuguese pattern: ir + infinitive.

• vamos = we go / we are going
• almoçar = to have lunch

So vamos almoçar means we are going to have lunch.

In everyday speech, this can simply refer to a planned action in the near future. In this sentence, with hoje already giving the time, it naturally means something like Today we’re having lunch / we’re going to have lunch.

It does not mean we go lunch in English. The second verb stays in the infinitive.

Because Portuguese often drops subject pronouns when the verb already makes the subject clear.

• vamos clearly shows we
• so nós vamos almoçar is possible, but vamos almoçar is more natural unless you want emphasis

Compare:

• Vamos almoçar no refeitório da escola. = normal
• Nós vamos almoçar no refeitório da escola. = more emphatic, like we are the ones who are having lunch there

This omission of the subject pronoun is much more common in Portuguese than in English.

Not exactly.

• almoçar = to have lunch
• comer = to eat

So almoçar is specifically about the meal lunch, while comer is more general.

Examples:

• Vou almoçar. = I’m going to have lunch.
• Vou comer. = I’m going to eat.

In this sentence, almoçar is used because the speaker is talking specifically about lunch.

The ç is called c cedilha.

In Portuguese, it shows that the c is pronounced like s before a, o, or u.

So:

• ca would normally sound like ka
• ça sounds like sa

That is why almoçar is pronounced with an s sound in the last part.

Without the cedilla, almocar would suggest a different pronunciation and would be incorrect.

No is a contraction of:

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

So:

• em + o = no

In this sentence:

• no refeitório = in the cafeteria / at the dining hall

This kind of contraction is extremely common in Portuguese.

Other examples:

• na = em + a
• nos = em + os
• nas = em + as

Da is a contraction of:

• de = of / from
• a = the (feminine singular)

So:

• de + a = da

O refeitório da escola means the school cafeteria or more literally the cafeteria of the school.

Portuguese uses these de + article combinations very often in places where English would simply use a noun before another noun.

Compare:

• o livro do professor = the teacher’s book / the book of the teacher
• o refeitório da escola = the school cafeteria

Because Portuguese normally does not build noun combinations in the same way English does.

English often uses:

• school cafeteria
• coffee cup
• car door

Portuguese usually prefers:

• refeitório da escola
• chávena de café
• porta do carro

So for an English speaker, da escola may feel longer than necessary, but it is the normal Portuguese structure.

In European Portuguese, refeitório usually means a canteen, dining hall, or cafeteria, especially in a school, workplace, or institution.

So o refeitório da escola is the place in the school where people eat meals.

Depending on context, English might translate it as:

• school cafeteria
• school canteen
• school dining hall

All are possible, but cafeteria or canteen are often the most natural translations.

Hoje means today, and putting it at the beginning is very natural because it sets the time frame right away.

• Hoje vamos almoçar no refeitório da escola. = very natural
• Vamos almoçar hoje no refeitório da escola. = also correct

The difference is mainly one of focus:

• Hoje first gives emphasis to today
• hoje later sounds a little more neutral in some contexts

Portuguese allows this kind of flexibility more easily than English.

A very literal breakdown would be:

• Hoje = today
• vamos = we go / we are going
• almoçar = to have lunch
• no = in the / at the
• refeitório = cafeteria / dining hall
• da escola = of the school

So a word-for-word version would be something like:

Today we are-going to-have-lunch in-the cafeteria of-the school.

That is useful for understanding the structure, but the natural English translation is more likely:

• Today we’re having lunch in the school cafeteria.
• Today we’re going to have lunch in the school cafeteria.

The accent in refeitório shows the stressed syllable.

It is stressed on:

• tó

So it sounds roughly like:

• re-fei-TÓ-ri-o

The accent mark is important because it tells you where the word stress falls. Without it, you would not stress the word correctly.

This is a very common role of accent marks in Portuguese: they often show which syllable is stressed.

Yes, this is perfectly natural in European Portuguese.

It sounds like a normal everyday sentence meaning that today, we’re going to have lunch in the school cafeteria.

A speaker might also say:

• Hoje almoçamos no refeitório da escola.
• Vamos almoçar hoje ao refeitório da escola. in some contexts, though this is less directly equivalent

But the original sentence is clear, grammatical, and natural.