Learn Hardcore Russian: Этот ресторан отличается разнообразным меню.

этот is the demonstrative pronoun that must agree in gender, number and case with the noun it modifies. Here ресторан is masculine singular in the nominative case, so we use этот. тот would also work to mean “that,” but этот means “this” or “this particular,” which is more common when pointing out something close or just introduced. это is a neuter singular demonstrative and can’t modify masculine nouns directly.

Why is ресторан in the nominative case?

In this sentence ресторан is the subject: it is the thing that “differs” or “stands out.” The subject of a Russian sentence normally appears in the nominative case, so ресторан stays as it is.

How does the verb отличаться work? Does it need a preposition?

отличаться is a reflexive verb meaning “to differ” or “to be distinguished by.” It does not take a separate preposition; instead, it directly governs the instrumental case. The pattern is отличаться чем? “to stand out by what?” or “to differ in what?”

Why is разнообразным in the instrumental case, and how does it relate to меню?

Because отличаться requires the instrumental to indicate the feature by which something differs. разнообразным is the instrumental singular form of the adjective разнообразный (diverse, varied), agreeing with the noun меню, which here answers the question чем? (“by what?”).

But меню seems undeclinable. How does that affect the adjective?

Exactly: меню is a borrowed indeclinable noun (from French), so it looks the same in all cases. The adjective, however, still declines normally to match in case, number and so on. Thus we have разнообразным меню in the instrumental.

Could we say Этот ресторан отличается разнообразием меню instead? Would that change anything?

Yes, you can use the noun разнообразие (“variety”) instead of the adjective. Then the sentence becomes Этот ресторан отличается разнообразием меню. It’s more formal or abstract, emphasizing the concept of “variety” itself. The meaning is essentially the same, but the style is slightly elevated.

What’s the difference between разнообразный and многообразный?

Both relate to “many” or “varied,” but разнообразный is the go-to word for a wide selection of different items (e.g. a diverse menu). многообразный is more literary and stresses multiplicity in a general or abstract sense (“multifaceted,” “manifold”). In everyday speech about food or objects you’ll almost always use разнообразный.

Can we change the word order to Разнообразным меню отличается этот ресторан? Will that sound natural?

It’s grammatically correct but stylistically marked. Placing разнообразным меню at the front adds emphasis or a poetic feel: “It is by its varied menu that this restaurant stands out.” For neutral, everyday speech, the usual order is Этот ресторан отличается разнообразным меню.