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The weather may have been a little mopey this week but the 5pm Dining blog has been consulting the tea leaves and we reckon that the rest of the summer is going to be scorchio.

In Edinburgh, both Malmaison and Hotel du Vin have been preparing for the sunshine by sprucing up their outdoor areas and devising tempting, summery menus.

Special offer on Mal summer menu

In Leith, Mal have launched an enticing new summer menu and we’re running an appetising offer on it should you wish to give it a whirl.

This is how it works: £39.90 will get two people two courses and a side dish each from the summer menu. The offer also includes a bottle of wine.

All you need to do is click on the Brasserie’s 5pm entry here.

Go to the ‘try another search’ box and enter the date for your booking. The site will then show you what offers are available that day.

The summer menu offer is available every day except Sunday.

We would start with the Iberico ham served with fresh peach, manchego, pesto croute and extra virgin olive oil.

To follow, the poached salmon with heritage seasonal potatoes, watercress salad and a Hollandaise sauce look perfectly summery.

Sunny weather

As well as the popular terrace in front of the Mal restaurant, there are plans afoot to introduce tables and chairs down the side of the Brasserie.

The upshot is that there should be room for around a hundred al fresco diners when the inevitable sunny weather arrives.

Keep an eye on the blog over the next few weeks for some videos we shot with the manager and chef here last week.

Like its sister Hotel du Vin in the Old Town, the Edinburgh Mal has a fascinating history.

Go al fresco at Hotel du Vin

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The Hotel du Vin on Bristo Place has also been getting ready for the summer.

The suntrap courtyard has been decked out with swish new furniture while the kitchen has launched its al fresco menu.

Crab gazpacho

You can see the menu in all its glory here but we liked the look of the crab gazpacho and the Hotel du Vin burger.

The former appealed because we would like to pretend that we are grazing delicately in Andalucia.

The latter tickled our fancy on the grounds that the HdV house burger is a towering whopper of beef, relish, bacon and cheese – despite what we wrote in the last sentence, the 5pm Dining Blog ain’t so dainty.

Their Hendrick’s Summer Punch could make your afternoon slide by very pleasantly.

You can watch General Manager Michael Musgrove explain a little of the history of Edinburgh’s Hotel du Vin below.