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Если тебе хочется тишины, давай закажем столик у окна в ресторане.

Если тебе хочется тишины, давай закажем столик у окна в ресторане.
If you feel like some quiet, let’s book a table by the window in the restaurant.

Breakdown of Если тебе хочется тишины, давай закажем столик у окна в ресторане.

в
in
если
if
у
by
окно
the window
ресторан
the restaurant
ты
you
хотеться
to feel like
тишина
the silence
давай
let's
заказать столик
to book a table
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Questions & Answers about Если тебе хочется тишины, давай закажем столик у окна в ресторане.

Why does it use Если тебе хочется... and not something like Если ты хочешь...?

Если ты хочешь тишины... is possible, but тебе хочется... is more natural and idiomatic for “you feel like / you’d like (right now)”—a kind of spontaneous desire.
Grammatically, хочется is an impersonal verb form, so you don’t say ты хочется; instead you mark the person with the dative: тебе (to you).

What is хочется exactly (tense/person), and why is there no subject?

Хочется is an impersonal form (3rd person singular) used without a grammatical subject. Russian often expresses feelings/urges this way:

  • Мне хочется спать = I feel like sleeping.
  • Ему хочется тишины = He wants some quiet.
    The “experiencer” is put in the dative (мне, тебе, ему...).
Why is тишины in the genitive case?

After хотеться, the thing desired is commonly in the genitive: хочется чего? тишины.
This genitive often implies an indefinite amount (“some quiet”), similar to partitive meaning:

  • хочется воды = want some water
  • хочется тишины = want some quiet
    You may also see accusative in some contexts, but хочется тишины is the standard, natural phrasing.
Is Если тебе хочется тишины a full conditional (“If you want quiet, then...”), and do we need то?

Yes, it’s a conditional clause: Если..., then a suggestion follows.
то is optional. You can say:

  • Если тебе хочется тишины, давай... (natural)
  • Если тебе хочется тишины, то давай... (also fine, slightly more “structured”)
What does давай mean here? Is it a command?

Here давай works as Let’s... / How about we... introducing a proposal. It’s very common in spoken Russian.
It can sound like an invitation more than a strict command, especially with we-forms: давай закажем... = “let’s book/reserve...”.

Why is it давай закажем (perfective) and not давай заказывать (imperfective)?

Закажем is perfective (from заказать) and focuses on the single completed action: “Let’s place the reservation (and get it done).”
Давай заказывать (imperfective) would emphasize the process (“let’s start ordering / let’s be ordering”), and is less natural for making a simple one-time reservation.

What tense is закажем? Is it present or future?

For perfective verbs, the “present” form actually expresses simple future.
So закажем means we will reserve / we’ll book (future), not “we reserve” (present).

Why is столик used instead of стол?

Столик is a diminutive and is very common in restaurant contexts. It sounds natural and friendly, like “a table” (often implying a table for a small party).
Стол is more neutral and can sound a bit blunt in this context. In reservations, столик is often the default.

What does у окна mean, and why is окна genitive?

У means “by / near / next to.” It governs the genitive: у чего? у окна.
So столик у окна = “a table by the window.”

Why is it в ресторане (prepositional) and not в ресторан?

В ресторане (prepositional) answers where?—location: “in the restaurant.”
В ресторан (accusative) would mean to the restaurant (motion/direction).
Here you’re reserving a table located in a restaurant, so в ресторане is correct.

Could the word order change? For example, давай закажем в ресторане столик у окна?

Yes, word order is flexible, but it changes emphasis.

  • давай закажем столик у окна в ресторане (most natural: “a table by the window in a restaurant”)
  • давай закажем в ресторане столик у окна emphasizes in the restaurant (as the place where the reservation is made/held)
  • давай закажем столик в ресторане у окна is also possible; it can sound a bit heavier but still understandable.
Does в ресторане imply a specific restaurant or just “a restaurant”?

On its own, в ресторане can be either, depending on context. Often it’s understood as “at a restaurant” in general.
If you mean a specific one, you’d typically specify it:

  • в этом ресторане = in this restaurant
  • в ресторане X = at Restaurant X
    Or rely on context (you’ve already been discussing a particular restaurant).