I know nothing about Australian cuisine. What type of food should an Australian restaurant serve?
Well, where to start...
It's a bit difficult to answer this question, it's kind of like asking, what really is 'American' food or 'Canadian' food. Both of these places along with Australia have influences from other cultures so ingrained now that most people don't realise it comes from a different place entirely.
There's a lot of Australasian flavours in Australia. Food is generally fresh, light and flavourful at most places if you go to a restaurant. Depending on where you live, seafood is rather big. Indian, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Italian, Moroccan, Turkish (love Turkish Pide, very popular in Australia), etc. It's all there in Australia.
If we were to look at what the more 'red neckish' Australian eats, then you're looking at sausages, typically (though lots of Aussies like them), steaks (cheap cuts in other words) on the BBQ. Prawns (shrimp) are not in most people's diet. Fish and chips and other seafood is. Roast chicken from a shop (Chicken Shop as it's typically called) is also popular. Salads are big. If you're more in the outback then you're looking more of meat and veg diet as the ocean is a bit out of the way. Fruit is big in Australia as well. There's also deep fried favourties like chips (French fries) and other things. Burgers too! None of which are on the menu at the Outback.
So I'm not entirely sure what the Outback is really selling. It's like an American idea of Australian flavours, I guess, but that's virtually impossible to capture. Looking at the menu (
Outback Steakhouse - assuming that's the same menu) I'm left wondering if the person who set up this restaurant has ever been to Australia or just used Crocodile Dundee as an influence because I can tell you, none of those items on that menu, aside from the basics (prawns, lamb and steak, etc) are common. Probably the biggest miss is a hamburger with 'the lot' or anything with pineapple.
I wouldn't say anything on that menu is a reflection of anything really Australian personally.