The new 72-bedroom hotel is on the north west corner of St
Andrew Square where it meets North St David Street.
The new venture is in Buchan House. Built in 1775, it is a Grade A listed building which, after operating as offices for IBM, had lain empty for a number of years.
Mal is the sister brand to Hotel du Vin. You can book a table at both the Hotel du Vin and the Leith Malmaison via 5pm. You might also want to check out these Big Deals with HDV Edinburgh and the Leith Mal.
All being well, the Chez Mal Brasserie at the new Mal will be bookable via 5pm in the early part of 2020.
The 5pm blog was invited in to try the prix fixe menu at Malmaison City.
It is available Monday to Saturday (finishes at 7pm on Fridays and Saturdays) at £19.95 for two courses and £24.95 for three.
These are the dishes we enjoyed:
Smoked ham hock
Smoked ham hock and dried cranberry roulade, watercress, apple and shallot salad and sweet English mustard dressing. We could also have had celeriac, truffle and apple soup or the winter leaf salad with barrel-aged feta, clementine, fennel and pomegranate.
Asian-style cured salmon
Asian-cured salmon, pickled vegetables, red chilli, spring onion and coriander. The pickled veg had a great crunch and the kitchen wasn't shy with the chilli.
Daube of beef
Daube of beef, roast parsnip purée, glazed shallot and onion ring. This was a tender chunk of beef with a very glossy sauce. Good winter warmer.
Pan-fried sea bass
Pan-fried sea bass, sautéed mushrooms, gnocchi and roast squash sauce. Other options included beet Wellington (!), roast beetroot, mushroom duxelles, vegan pastry and jus or the ballotine of free range turkey with all the trimmings.
Dark chocolate and cherry torte
This is the mighty dark chocolate and cherry torte with crème fraîche.
Cheese board
A selection of artisan cheeses, chutney, celery, quince, crackers and Peter’s Yard crispbreads. Special thumbs up for the Baron Bigod, an unpasteurised brie made in Suffolk.
The rooms look super cool as well.