В этом маленьком кафе негде сесть у окна, поэтому мы взяли еду с собой.

Because в here means in / at, and it is followed by the prepositional case when talking about location.

So:

• это → этом
• маленькое → маленьком
• кафе stays кафе

That gives:

• в этом маленьком кафе = in this small café

The noun кафе is neuter, so the demonstrative and adjective also use neuter singular forms in the prepositional case.

Кафе is one of those Russian nouns that are indeclinable, meaning its form does not change across cases.

So you get:

• это кафе
• в кафе
• из кафе
• к кафе

The surrounding words still show the grammar, but кафе itself stays the same.

Негде means there is nowhere or there is no place to do something.

In this sentence:

• негде сесть = there is nowhere to sit

This is a very common Russian pattern:

• негде спать = nowhere to sleep
• негде парковаться = nowhere to park
• негде ждать = nowhere to wait

It is an impersonal construction, so there is no subject like it in English.

Because сесть means to sit down / take a seat, while сидеть means to be sitting.

Here the idea is not there is nowhere to be sitting, but rather:

• there is nowhere to sit down
• there is nowhere to take a seat

So сесть is the natural choice.

This is also an aspect pair:

• садиться = imperfective, to sit down
• сесть = perfective, to sit down successfully / as a completed action

After негде, Russian often uses the infinitive that best matches the action being talked about.

Because у + genitive often means by / near / next to.

So:

• окно = window
• у окна = by the window

This is the standard way to say by the window in Russian.

Compare:

• сидеть у окна = to sit by the window
• столик у окна = a table by the window

The noun окно is in the genitive singular after у, which is why it becomes окна.

Yes, около окна is possible and also means near the window, but у окна is more natural and common in everyday speech for this kind of situation.

So:

• сесть у окна = sit by the window
• сесть около окна = sit near the window

Both are understandable, but у окна is the more idiomatic choice here.

Because this is an impersonal sentence. Russian often leaves out a formal subject in expressions like this.

English says:

• There is nowhere to sit by the window

Russian simply says:

• негде сесть у окна

There is no word corresponding to English there here. That is completely normal in Russian.

Поэтому means therefore, so, or that’s why.

In this sentence:

• ..., поэтому мы взяли еду с собой.
• ..., so we took the food with us.

It connects the first idea and the result:

1. There was nowhere to sit by the window
2. So we took the food with us

It often appears after a comma when joining two parts of a sentence like this.

Because взяли is the perfective past of взять, and it describes a completed action.

Here the meaning is:

• we made the decision
• we took the food
• the action is finished

So взяли fits well.

If you used брали from брать, it would sound more like an ongoing, repeated, or background action, which is not what this sentence is focusing on.

So:

• взяли = took, got, picked up
• брали = were taking / used to take / took repeatedly

Because еда is the direct object of взяли, so it must be in the accusative case.

• nominative: еда = food
• accusative: еду = food, as the thing taken

Since еда is a feminine noun ending in -а, its accusative singular becomes -у.

So:

• еда вкусная = the food is tasty
• мы взяли еду = we took the food

С собой literally means with oneself / with us / with you, depending on the subject.

Here:

• мы взяли еду с собой = we took the food with us

In context, this often means to take away / to go, as opposed to eating there.

Because the subject is мы, с собой is understood as with us.

You can compare:

• Я взял кофе с собой = I took the coffee with me
• Она взяла салат с собой = She took the salad with her

Not exactly, but it is very close in meaning in this context.

Literally, взяли еду с собой means:

• we took the food with us

In a café or restaurant situation, that naturally implies:

• we got it to go
• we took it away instead of eating there

A more specific service phrase is на вынос, which means for takeaway / to go.

For example:

• Можно с собой?
• Можно на вынос?

But in your sentence, взяли еду с собой is a normal, natural way to describe what happened.

Yes, Russian word order is flexible, but the original order is natural.

The sentence:

• В этом маленьком кафе негде сесть у окна, поэтому мы взяли еду с собой.

sounds smooth and neutral.

You might also hear variations like:

• У окна в этом маленьком кафе негде сесть
• В этом маленьком кафе у окна негде сесть

These can shift emphasis slightly, but the basic meaning stays the same.

The original version first sets the scene:

• in this small café

then gives the problem:

• there is nowhere to sit by the window

That is why it sounds very natural.

In the Russian past tense:

• singular forms show gender
• plural forms do not

So:

• я взял = I took, masculine
• я взяла = I took, feminine
• мы взяли = we took

Because the subject is мы, the verb must be plural, so it becomes взяли. In the plural, there is no masculine/feminine distinction.