Food festivals are brilliant places to learn new skills, attempt new dishes or just try a new bottle of wine with your pals in the summer sun (we can wish, right?). Edinburgh Folk & Food Festival returns to George Square (Friday 18–Sunday 27 July) in the now traditional yearly warm-up for outdoor eating à la Fringe. There’s an array of food vendors, workshops, masterclasses and tastings, with plenty to keep the kids occupied, and regular folk performances to please your ears. Foodies Festival is back too, visiting both Edinburgh (Friday 1–Sunday 3 August) and Glasgow (Friday 8–Sunday 10 August) with their blend of MasterChefs, Michelin star-holders, Bake Off winners, bars and bands.

If you’d rather stay inside, why not hit up some new openings? In Edinburgh, The Captain Darling is ready for action in Stockbridge, with an appealingly simple good-pub-grub menu sitting alongside grill specials. Or hedge your bets at W Edinburgh, where the rooftop W Deck is now open all week (you can always head inside when the sun goes down). Over in South Queensferry, The Crab & Lobster Fish Shack hits a lot of bases, with everything fishy on the menu from oysters to suppers.

Glasgow sees Scran going through a reincarnation: they’ve closed at London Road and are moving to Saltmarket to become Scran + Roadie, a New York-style pizza joint. Meanwhile Pasticcio has opened in Byres Road, promising pasta made in-house and that rarest of rare things: a decent feed for under a tenner.