Изредка мы ужинаем в тихом кафе у метро.

Изредка means occasionally, from time to time, or once in a while. It suggests something happens not very often.

It is similar to иногда (sometimes), but изредка often feels a bit less frequent.

• Изредка = occasionally / once in a while
• Иногда = sometimes

So in this sentence, Изредка мы ужинаем... means something like We occasionally have dinner...

Yes, Russian can often omit subject pronouns when the verb already shows who is doing the action.

Here, ужинаем already means we have dinner / we are having dinner, so мы is not strictly necessary.

Both are possible:

• Изредка мы ужинаем в тихом кафе у метро.
• Изредка ужинаем в тихом кафе у метро.

Including мы can make the subject a little clearer or slightly more emphasized.

Ужинаем is the 1st person plural present tense form of ужинать (to have dinner / to dine).

So:

• ужинать = to have dinner
• ужинаем = we have dinner / we are having dinner

Russian finite sentences usually need a conjugated verb, not the infinitive.

In Russian, the present tense is often used for habitual actions, just like in English:

• We eat there occasionally
• We occasionally have dinner there

So ужинаем can mean:

• we are having dinner (right now, depending on context)
• we have dinner / we tend to have dinner (habitually)

Here, because of изредка, the meaning is clearly habitual: we occasionally have dinner.

Because after в meaning in, Russian normally uses the prepositional case for location.

The noun is кафе (café). In this sentence, it means in a quiet café, so it is location, not movement.

That is why we get:

• в кафе = in the café
• в тихом кафе = in a quiet café

The adjective тихий changes to тихом because it must agree with кафе in:

• gender: neuter
• number: singular
• case: prepositional

So:

• nominative: тихое кафе
• prepositional: в тихом кафе

Кафе is one of those Russian nouns that is usually indeclinable, meaning its form often stays the same in different cases.

So you may see:

• кафе
• в кафе
• из кафе
• у кафе

The noun itself stays кафе, but any adjective modifying it still changes normally:

• тихое кафе
• в тихом кафе
• из тихого кафе

У with the genitive case often means by, near, or next to.

So у метро means:

• near the metro
• by the subway station
• next to the metro

Literally, you can think of it as at the metro or by the metro.

In this sentence, кафе у метро means a café near the metro.

Because the meaning is near the metro, not inside the metro.

Compare:

• у метро = near the metro / by the metro
• в метро = in the metro / inside the subway system

So:

• кафе у метро = a café near the station
• мы в метро = we are in the subway

Yes. Метро is also usually indeclinable in modern Russian.

So its form stays the same:

• метро
• у метро
• в метро
• из метро

Even though the noun does not change, the case is still determined by the preposition:

• у requires the genitive
• в for location requires the prepositional

Learners just do not see the change in the noun’s form because метро stays the same.

Yes. Russian word order is fairly flexible, though different orders can change the focus or emphasis.

Original:

• Изредка мы ужинаем в тихом кафе у метро.

Other possible orders:

• Мы изредка ужинаем в тихом кафе у метро.
• В тихом кафе у метро мы изредка ужинаем.
• У метро мы изредка ужинаем в тихом кафе.

The original sounds natural and neutral. Starting with изредка puts a little emphasis on how often.

Yes. Adverbs like изредка can often move around.

For example:

• Изредка мы ужинаем в тихом кафе у метро.
• Мы изредка ужинаем в тихом кафе у метро.
• Мы ужинаем изредка в тихом кафе у метро.

The first two sound more natural. Putting изредка later is possible, but it may sound less smooth depending on context.

The main stress patterns are:

• изрЕдка
• мы
• ужИнаем
• в тИхом
• кафЕ
• у метрО

So roughly: изрЕдка мы ужИнаем в тИхом кафЕ у метрО

Stress is important in Russian because it is not always predictable.

Russian has no articles like a, an, or the.

So в тихом кафе could mean:

• in a quiet café
• in the quiet café

The exact meaning depends on context. In this sentence, English would most naturally use a:

• in a quiet café near the metro

Ужинать specifically means to have dinner / to eat the evening meal.

It is related to ужин = dinner / supper.

Compare:

• есть = to eat
• обедать = to have lunch
• ужинать = to have dinner

So ужинаем is more specific than just eat.