Craig Strong is the latest chef to downsize from fine dining. Don’t get me wrong. The longtime STUDIO at Montage Laguna Beach chef hardly turned his back on premium ingredients or flair. However, he’s serving more approachable food at Ocean At Main, his first solo restaurant in downtown Laguna Beach.

I enjoyed lunch at Ocean At Main. A sunny patio with a striking mural-lined fountain adjoins Laguna Federal Savings and Loan’s former home. Strong’s tasting menu days may be over, but dishes still showed exacting attention to detail. Dungeness Crab Cavatelli ($16) may be the bargain of the menu. Strong tops toothsome house-made ridged pasta with sweet crab meat tufts. He lends balancing brightness by adding tangy preserved lemon, sweetly acidic sun gold tomatoes, and fines herbs.