Breakdown of Diz-se que este restaurante é o melhor da cidade.
o restaurante
the restaurant
este
this (este, esta, estes, estas)
a cidade
the city
dizer
to say
Questions & Answers about Diz-se que este restaurante é o melhor da cidade.
Why is it Diz-se and not É dito for "It is said"?
While é dito literally translates to "is said," Portuguese strongly prefers using the impersonal se (as in diz-se) for general, unspecified statements like "people say" or "it is said." It sounds much more natural and is the standard way to express this idea in everyday conversation.
Why does the pronoun come after the verb in Diz-se?
How do we know o melhor means "the best" and not just "better"?
The definite article o (the) is the key here. While melhor on its own usually means "better" (the comparative form), adding o or a right before it turns it into the superlative form, meaning "the best".
Why does the sentence use da cidade instead of na cidade to mean "in town"?