Few things are more ubiquitous on upscale restaurant menus than a seared ahi tuna appetizer, prepared pink and rich and usually quite delicious.

It’s familiar, if not exactly exciting. That is, until that tuna gets savaged — meaning prepared by Cliff House Executive Chef Scott Savage, who recently rolled out an amazing new menu headlined by a Sesame and Garlic Peppered Seared Ahi Tuna ($14).

It’s far from boring.

Crowned with a bubbly explosion of wasabi foam, the tuna sits atop a crisply fried rice patty that’s stuffed with spicy cream cheese. It all magically melts in your mouth, as if the ingredients together weighed no more than a puff of delicious air. It’s a molecular-gastronomy-inspired delight, and it’s got lots of company on this a menu chock full of  Savage treats.

I admit it. I’m a fan. In fact, I admitted it in print in our recent Gazette Dining Guide when I labeled the Cliff House as one of my Top 5 favorite restaurants in the Pikes Peak region. There are few better places in the world to be on a warm evening than on the veranda of the Cliff House, watching the sun set over the vivid red soil and trees of the mountains of Manitou.

It’s always been a terrific special-occasion destination, but thanks to this new menu, the restaurant has never been better.

Or more beautiful. The food plating and presentations are downright artful, almost too lovely to eat – though wouldn’t that be a shame. For instance, Savage wraps a skin-on filet of Rocky Mountain Ruby Trout ($23) around a center of blue crab, like a present wrapped in fish placed on bed of peppery sautéed arugula. The flavors make an inspired combination.

Similarly, the Spring Salad ($8) arrives piled into a lovely mountain of greens, and studded with sweet strawberries and slightly bitter rhubarb. It’s ostentatiously spritzed with strawberry liquor tableside before serving. It coats every leaf with the sweet, verdant taste of the fruit. Delicious.

I love this new menu’s delicate play with the classic and the creative. It never steps too far in either direction.

For instance, the restaurant’s noted dedication for game meats remains intact. The Applewood-Smoked Bacon-Wrapped Elk Rib Eye ($32) is heavier on the bacon flavor than on elk. Still, the dish, which is classed up with a heady balsamic soubise, would be a fantastic, rich introduction to the meat for any elk beginner. Fruits De Mer (fruits of the sea, $27) is also a so-called classic, but this version of shrimp, lobster, scallops and pasta is topped with a delicate saffron fumet that makes it memorable.

Grilled Colorado Lamb T-Bone ($28) is classic steakhouse fare, which is paired with trendy sides of quinoa and mustard-braised endive. Also, the traditional steakhouse salad, the wedge ($8), is present and absolutely perfect, with dried shallots and a stunning house vinaigrette.

There may be more molecular-driven foams and a wide range of coulis sauces on the new menu, but this is still your recognizable Cliff House. The underlying personality and quality are still readily apparent.

Plate upon plate, the food proved balanced and refined. Sadly, the service did not always follow suit. At a restaurant this elegant, where no less than three different forks and three different knives grace each place setting, I expect to be offered dessert and to be offered drink menus rather than to have to pointedly ask.

And when the air conditioning kicks on too strongly in the formal dining room, I did not expect the staff to simply place a menu over the vent at my feet. An oddly MacGyver-style quick fix for such an elegant setting — and an ineffective one at that.

Slow past the point of being only leisurely, the quality of service was worthy of noting. However, during my visits, most servers were tailed by trainees as they ramped up for the busy summer tourist season in Manitou.

The wine expert was amazingly knowledgeable and approachable. In fact, he recommended a cherry-redolent 2008 Paraiso Pinot Noir ($56) that suited both the elk and the trout. Quite a feat, that.

It’s not unusual for notable chefs to rest on their laurels occasionally. Chef Savage, however, has always seemed unconventional. His cooking videos, “Savage Kitchen” (tagline: “This Ain’t Your Momma’s Cooking Show”), display a sense of fun and wit, and he actually reveals to the public some of his most renowned recipes, such as the Mushroom en Croute.

Why, I wondered, would he share such dear secrets?

Now, I have my answer. It’s obvious that Chef Savage has more inventive tricks up the sleeves of his white coat than I previously expected, and many of them are on this great new menu. If this level of culinary quality – service foibles aside – continues, it’s a very safe bet that in next year’s Dining Guide, the Cliff House will again be right at the top of my list.