Top things to do in Edinburgh — week of 23 March

Spring sneaks up on Edinburgh and suddenly the calendar has things in it again. This week is honestly one of the best end-of-March weeks I can remember — a proper club night, a meaty exhibition opener, a comedy jam I would not skip, and a Sunday roast that is back on the menu at the right pub.

If you would rather skim the calendar, the Edinburgh this-week page has each of these saved with the door times and prices.

Monday: a slow start at Hula

Hula on the Grassmarket is doing a soft launch on its new evening menu. £18 for two small plates and a glass of something. It is the sort of Monday that makes the rest of the week feel less like punishment.

Tuesday: book launch at Lighthouse

Lighthouse Books on West Nicolson is hosting a launch for a Scottish writer whose first novel got a glowing FT review last month. Free, wine, the room holds about forty people so come early. The Q&A tends to be the best bit.

Wednesday: The Stand improv jam

Eight quid, an hour and fifteen, the early show is the one I would always pick. The host is the same as last month and she has the room dialled in within five minutes. The cast rotates so you never quite know what you are going to get, which is the whole pleasure of an improv jam in the first place.

The Stand does not let you book a single seat in the early show without a two-drink minimum, which is a small con but the drinks are honestly priced.

Thursday: Summerhall, new exhibition opening

Summerhall is opening a new long-form video work in the main gallery on Thursday evening. Free for the opening, free wine, the courtyard bar stays open until eleven. The piece is by an artist who showed at the Venice Biennale two years ago and the early reviews from a London preview last month were strong.

If you want something to read before you go, the artist's interview in a recent issue of Frieze is a good twenty minutes. I will not spoil the work, but the soundtrack is the bit you stay for.

Friday: a quiet Leith pub night

I am leaving Friday off the big list this week. Leith has a couple of pubs — Teuchters Landing, the Roseleaf, the Kings Wark — that are quietly the best Friday in town if you do not want a club night. Roseleaf has a folk session on at 9, no cover.

Saturday: Sneaky Pete's all-nighter

The headline. Sneaky Pete's is a small room and that is the whole appeal. Two residents and a Glasgow booking I have wanted to see for the better part of a year. £10 advance, walk-up is £14 if there are any left. Doors at 11, last entry at 1.

A small thing — the cloakroom is now £2 instead of £1, which has been quietly the case since February. Bring change.

Sunday: long roast at the Sheep Heid

The Sheep Heid Inn down in Duddingston is doing its full Sunday roast menu again, which has been a moving target through the winter. Lamb is the call, the booking opens at 12, and you can walk it off around Arthur's Seat after. A genuinly perfect Sunday.

A reminder that the free Edinburgh meetups list has two midweek lunches that are quietly the best free networking in town.

Wednesday at the Stand and Saturday at Sneaky Pete's are the two I would pin first. Thursday at Summerhall if you can make it. Sunday at the Sheep Heid is non-negotiable if the weather plays. Mental what a difference a week of decent weather makes to this city.