VINAPRISS – a wine bar with its own television studio from which presenters touted cases of Riesling and the like – is no more.

Its place at the stylish Fort Dunlop building on the edge of Erdington is now The Glass Lounge, the studio space converted into a private restaurant behind the main bar.

From memory, the interior hasn’t changed that much – a high, arched ceiling, a few cosy booths, flat-screen TVs down the one wall (though, oddly, not switched on to any channel, shopping or otherwise).

It wasn’t the warmest of places – in fact, we all kept our jackets/coats on until the food arrived – but the atmosphere was friendly and relaxed and busy for a Monday lunchtime. There is a full à la carte menu, but we opted instead for sandwiches and light bites.

The three fishcakes were billed as an appetiser/light bite, but for £4.95 we did expect something a little bigger than the size of a Babybel, each dwarfed by the central tower of salad.

To be fair they were given the ‘thumbs up’ for taste, but only after the four of us with chips nobly each donated a clutch to bulk up the fish dish.

Three of us took advantage of the £5 panini/chips/soft-drink lunch offer, which turned out to be very good value.

The paninis – brie and bacon with onion chutney (‘delicious’) and chicken and mustard (‘filling and tasty’) – all got top marks, as did my tuna mayonnaise, lettuce and cucumber bloomer sandwich, which I supplemented with a portion of chips (at £4.50 all in, again very good value).

For a first visit, it left a good impression with all – and at no point did anyone try to sell us a case of 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, which is always a bonus.

For more information, call 0121 747 4727 or visit www.theglasslounge.com