Hmmm. Monday.

Either a bright start on a fresh week or the chance to quietly ponder the mistakes of the previous 48 hours.

Here at the 5pm Dining blog, our cup is neither half full nor half empty on a Monday morning.

We prefer to take the zen approach that Monday morning simply is.

Having said that, we do like to start the week with thoughts of exciting new places that we might visit later in the week.

Top to toe

In Edinburgh’s West End, on Randolph Place to be exact, the veteran Harry’s Bar has had a top to toe revamp from its new owners, The Shilling Group.

The company has good form when it comes to revitalising sites which, how can we put this, may have become a little too traditional.

Places like The Fountain in Fountainbridge and Cross and Corner, formerly Maclachlans, on Canonmills have been turned around once they have come under the wing of The Shilling Group.

At the new Harry’s Bar and Grill, word has it that the name is the only thing that remains from the old Harry’s.

Your scribbler is far too young to have ever set foot in the old Harry’s – or if we did then we don’t remember – so we can’t tell you how much the interior has changed.

However, it now looks very contemporary with stripped stone walls, a copper bar and a sort of slatted screen partition.

Josper grill

As the name suggests, the menu is based around the Josper grill. Lobsters, sea bass, mussels and assorted cuts of locally sourced, grass-fed, dry-aged beef are on offer from the kitchen.

If memory serves, the old Harry’s was very popular with the after work crowd. The cocktail list at the new Harry’s certainly has some interesting choices for those who would like to wash the working week right out of their hair.

The Storm in a Tiki Cup features Gosling’s, Havana 3yo, El Dorado, Wray & Nephew, absinthe, pineapple, lime, ginger and chai tea.