ONE08 is a Central London 'flop in' place after a long day's slog in the office or heavy West End shopping spree. Lunchers looking for a light meal can't go wrong with the seared tuna niçoise salad.

The Venue
With its neutral, inoffensive interior of wooden floors, beige walls and red lampshades, ONE08 could very easily pass as an upmarket Strada. Its lack of interesting design features stops the restaurant from properly standing apart from other Marylebone continental-style eateries, such as Cafe Caldesi and the highly successful Le Relais De Venise L'Entrecote whose constant, seemingly unending queues can be seen from ONE08's window. But the generic feel of ONE08 is not necessarily a bad thing. Its neutrality conveys a reassuring and all too rare sense of a London restaurant not desperately trying to be something that it's not.

The Atmosphere
Despite its sprauncy location, ONE08 is not a place you're likely to spot celebrities or find yourself being looked up and down. That's what's nice about it. Local office workers not wanting to work harder on their outfits than their power point presentations come here to kick back in comfortable but smart surroundings. There's something intimate and cosy about sliding into the dimly-lit sofa area to catch up with a friend over a meal and a good bottle of wine. Even when the restaurant is full you're in no real danger of being overheard, so is ideal if you want to hold a relatively private conversation.

The Food
Much of ONE08's menu is locally-sourced from award-winning, artisan specialists such as Ginger Pig, La Fromagerie and Biggles Sausages. Even the candles are from The Cotton Company on Marylebone High Street. But not all the meat and fish served is organic, which is surprising considering the smallish portion sizes and prices - around £14 for a main.

The menu has recently changed due to a demand for simpler, less fussy food. One glance at the list certainly looks to satisfy this with dishes such as Caesar salad and hand-battered fish and chips. But simple food isn't always simple to pull off well and ONE08 doesn't always manage it. The small and slightly sandy pan-fried scallops (£10.75) come beautifully decorated on a white oval plate but are not particularly helped by a mango and lime salsa. The result is a clash of colour, taste and texture. If simple food really is what the clientele are after, why not keep it to a squeeze of lemon and a flash of chilli?

Three sensationally juicy jumbo prawns save the under-seasoned, under-dressed cornish crab and lettuce salad starter (£9.95). The lovely, crunchy skin on pan-fried seabass fillet (£17.95) is let down by the flesh which fails to melt in the mouth due to overcooking, while its pleasant tomato and caper sauce is on the sparse side, serving only really to add colour to the plate. A couple of over-cooked broccoli florets constitute the 'seasonal vegetables' the menu promises alongside the seabass, but a side portion of green beans are satisfyingly al dente.

The seared tuna steak niçoise salad (£16.95) is a big hit with regulars and it's very easy to see why. A perfectly-cooked tuna steak sits atop crunchy salad leaves and sautéed new potatoes, which is in itself good enough. But the ensemble is elevated to another level by the inspired addition of a few halved quail's eggs, a handful of fresh - rather than salted - anchovies and a delicious tomato and red onion salsa, giving the dish a hint of sweetness. This is the kind of bespoke dish that stays in the memory and makes you want to try to recreate it at home - or just return for more.

The dessert menu stays faithful to the 'no-fuss' theme, with traditional, well-loved inclusions such as sticky toffee pudding and summer pudding with vanilla ice cream (both £6.25). The Sacher torte, passion fruit coulis and chocolate sauce (£6.25) is a very edible sweet, generously-sized but slightly on the dry side.

The Drinks
While the food menu plays safe, the drinks at ONE08 are a little more daring, making a refreshing change from the mojitos and lychee martinis of the moment. You might like to sip on a Tea Thyme Martini (£9.95) while you wait for a table. It's made with fascinating things like apricot brandy and Earl Grey syrup. They even have a cocktail dedicated to the area - The Marylebone (£13.50), with pomegranate juice and Seville orange marmalade. Fresh mint tea, at the end of the meal, comes served in gleaming glass cups and saucers which may not improve the taste but certainly adds elegance to the occasion.

The Last Word
While the aim for affordable, no-nonsense food is commendable, ONE08 needs to raise its own bar to meet that of its hit seared tuna niçoise salad. This means ensuring that its high-quality, seasonal ingredients are consistently perfectly cooked. In the meantime, its fantastic location and informal atmosphere makes ONE08 a beautifully convenient and comfortable venue to drop into when your sugar levels start to flag.

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