At Pacific’s Edge, Chef Chris Welenc takes the familiar to the level of the view – and beyond.

There is a description in The Great Gatsby where Daisy and Jordan are draped on a couch, listless, but with evidence of flight, buoyed as if on a balloon.

Such is the image that the spinach artichoke ravioli at Pacific’s Edge brings to mind. The languid sauce causes shoulders to slump back into the seat in abstracted repose.

Now, if pillows of pasta as the cause of such imaginative reverie seems improbable, consider that after trying the dish, a dinner guest closed her eyes and whispered, “This would bring ‘yes’ to any proposal.”

Perhaps this is the response one should expect from an entree served at a resort destination. But Chef Chris Welenc sets the tone from the start.

“I’m a big appetizer guy,” he says. “It’s an introduction to the meal.”

The shrimp and crab stack is a delicate assembly in which otherwise inappreciable dabs of flavor are allowed to strut. A meager drop of olive oil casts a grassy, bitter shadow to the musty-sweet calm of shrimp. A light dusting of herbs flit over the palate like sparklers, with crackles of pine, citrus, earth, pepper and more darting and disappearing into crab meat. Yet nothing interrupts the appreciation of fresh seafood.

“What I wanted to get away from was shrimp cocktail,” Welenc observes, adding that it’s common for chefs working with such ingredients to fall back on reliable combinations. “That was my play on it. Everything in one bite.”

When he delivers the expected, however, the chef prods the senses just a bit further. Burrata, pesto, balsamic, heirloom tomatoes and grilled bread – even Welenc gives a “burrata is burrata” shrug. The cheese is creamy, lolling on the palate. A revelry of pepper, freshly cut grass, sweet mint and a sensation drifting between anise and clove drifts casually into a slumber. A gentle nuttiness and faint bitter cries poke at each other, like a pillow fight on your senses, until a refreshing splash of tomato snaps the palate back to awareness.

Yes, the ingredients stand out, but there is something fidgety about the pesto. Welenc shakes his head, comparing it to traditional. Adding arugula is hardly a stretch.

“I toss it in vinaigrette – I like a little sweetness,” he says. “It’s my mom’s recipe, but I blend a little avocado in it.”

As a nod to California, Welenc sneaks avocado into several dishes. Yet the Colorado native – he naturally recommends the rack of lamb, sourced from the state – draws from experience at restaurants from the Bahamas to Teton, Wyoming. He refers to his cooking style as head down and workmanlike. On the plate, however, the expression is of gracefulness and potential, without pushing beyond limits.

For that reason, the catch of the day is Welenc’s favorite menu item. The delivery of a different fish each morning or afternoon allows him to create with familiarity.

“I would order the shrimp and scallops,” he says. “But I take pride in the daily fresh catch.”

Shrimp and scallops is a recent addition to the menu. The shellfish rests on a bed of polenta with cheddar – a twist on shrimp and grits, with a bonus.

“We had a scallop dish that was popular,” the chef relates. “I basically combined them.”

Working with what he has, from local ingredients to existing menu items, may not be remarkable, but it drives Welenc’s decisions. The shrimp and crab stack appetizer began as two distinct concepts and evolved into one.

Another factor also shapes the menu. Pacific’s Edge is an aptly-named restaurant, perched over the coast with an expansive view of the ocean. Basking in the sunset while savoring pan-seared halibut or braised short rib is a big part of the experience, which is all factored into the timing of each dish. Orders can be prepared and plated to the ticking of the deepening orange sky.

But in the setting is Welenc’s motivation. He has crafted a menu that is not challenging. There is chicken breast with mashed potatoes, fettuccini with clams, steaks, crab cakes, a burger and the like – nothing that distracts from the view, at least until the first course arrives at the table.

“To have food that is better than the view, that’s the fun part,” Welenc says. “Simple and elegant.”

And that style is evident from the start.

PACIFIC’S EDGE, Hyatt Carmel Highlands. 120 Highlands Drive, Carmel. (831) 620-1234, hyatt.com.