not many = a few (?)

[Sweetpumpkin]

Hello,

There aren't many good restaurants around my company.

I'm not sure whether this sentence means 'There are a few good restaurants around my company' or 'There are few good restaurants around my company'. I think its meaning is close to the former, but it obviously has a negative nuance, right? So how can I paraphrase the original sentence? Please help me out!

Thank you in advance. :D

[Haihao]

Interesting question! But I feel it is in accordance with the latter. As you pointed out, it has a negative meaning, that is to say, the fact that there are many good restaurants around my company is not true, therefore, there are few good restaurants around my company = only a small number of good restaurants around my company = the fact that a large number of good restaurants around my company is not true = the original sentence.

On the other hand, a few good restaurants suggests 'a number of good restaurants', maybe not so many but the speaker intends to say it with a positive meaning, close to 'quite a number of good restaurants', then close to 'many good restaurants'.

[Molly]