Say “Let’s go out for Australian food,” and people will look as puzzled as if you said you’re a fan of Canadian cuisine.

While Australia’s culinary trademarks remain obscure, at the new Bondi, San Diegans are given a playful selection of meals and some hard-to-find beer and wines from the Land Down Under,

Bondi’s interior is a whopping 9,000-square-foot space, evocative of the Australian outback itself. The vast, $5-million interior feels like you could take a safari in it but unfortunately, there are no sound absorbers to mute the commotion when the kangaroos kick into action in the dining room (yes mate, you’re still in the Gaslamp). The wild-looking décor also lends an authentic touch, many of the accessories – boomerangs and heavy wicker fish traps for instance were imported from Australia —as also were several several staff members. Accomplished chef Christopher Behre hails from Bennelong Restaurant at the Sydney Opera House and Sydney’s W Hotel.

Bondi servers are called “team players,” and work in groups, assisting each other in seemingly random fashion as they take cues from the head server’s iPod — a device that transmits orders instantly to the kitchen. But while, theoretically, that imported lager you ordered can arrive via another team player while your waiter is still chatting with you, the system instead leads to many interruptions at the table.

Less chaotic is the culinary experience at Bondi’s. Appetizers offer novelties, such as Bush Dukkah, an arrangement of small ramekins filled with olive oil, an olive-almond tapenade, and a dry, pulverized mix of nuts and seeds (the dukkah) that complements oil-dipped bread. The chef uses a signature blend of sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and almonds. We relished it. The beef “party pies,” known as “pocket pies” throughout Australia, were also delicious. Their pastry shells were flaky and the ground beef filling was lightly seasoned. We also sampled a crab salad spiked with papaya, mint, candied ginger and lemon myrtle aioli. My companion was fond of it, although I found the salad too sweet and the flavors confusing, spanning, as they did, from Asia to the tropics. I highly recommended the Tempura Tiger Prawns though. Their fluffy meat tasted like lobster tail and was served with pea cress, avocado and smoked tomato mayonnaise.

Australian food is “all about simplicity and integrity – a lot like California cuisine. And we love our seafood,” the chef told us, and when I heard that Bondi imports its beef from Australia, I opted for an eight-ounce Wagyu steak for my entrée. Beefier-tasting than Kobe, the meat was a carnivore’s dream, perfectly marbled and smothered in an outstanding dark onion jam. The menu’s Iowa pork chop also piqued our interest. It’s cooked with a spongy tree bark from the southern continent, which imparts an intense smoky flavor unlike anything we’d ever tasted. Our entrees came accompanied with a roasted red yam, tender asparagus and artichoke mashed potatoes. (Thankfully, the Aussies don’t add the typical garlic mashed potatoes to their main courses.)

Other entrée choices include Rare Blue Fin Tuna, Tasmanian Ocean Trout Filet, Red Curry Chicken and Rib-eye Beef with Garlic-Shiraz reduction.

The beer list features some refreshing brews that have never been distributed in North America. If you’re feeling experimental, they’re available in five-ounce “pony” samples. The Boag’s Draught is creamy with a pleasing subtle bitterness on the finish; Coppers Sparkling Ale is cloudy, yet thinner tasting; and the Gage Road Pure Malt Lager delivered maximum fruit and spice. There’s also a hardcore Australian wine list covering all varietals at reasonable prices. If you’re here primarily for the booze, you might want to consider the Australian cheese selection on the appetizer menu – sweet Gorgonzola, triple cream, and English-style cheddar that originates from King Island off Tasmania.

A couple of desserts incorporate Australian wattle seeds, which add a coffee-chocolate tinge to cream and other confections. They deepened the flavor of our Double Chocolate Ganache Tart, served with a warm poached pear. Equally thrilling was the Macadamia-Apple Pie. Macadamias, by the way, are indigenous to Australia.

Everything we ate at Bondi was fresh and top quality. Unfortunately, however, our overall pleasant experience was diminished by the clamorous atmosphere.