While the city is home to half a dozen Australian restaurants, which have begun to familiarize locals with delicacies such as meat pies and kangaroo skewers, there’s been no word from New Zealand — until now.

Nelson Blue, a pub named for the owner’s idyllic antipodal hometown of Nelson, is just about as close as you can get, both geographically and aesthetically, to New Zealand without leaving Manhattan. The restaurant is located on the southernmost tip of our island, and its menu is composed of authentic dishes and drinks.

The space boasts views of the Brooklyn Bridge’s graceful span, and clean wood with curvilinear forms reminiscent of a sleek catamaran adorn the interior.

The decor is disrupted, though, by the roaring population of after-work drinkers who seem to be the primary clientele. Those of us who come to eat are marginalized, literally: The dining tables line the wall farthest from the lovely view. Arrive too late or too early, and there’s no opportunity to eat at all, as the drinkers have taken over — crowding every last table with glasses of beer and not a scrap else.

Overseeing an array of humble, but novel, fare is Eric Lind, who did marvelous things when he was chef at Flatbush Farm. A halved sausage of imported venison ($9) has wonderful juice and savor, helped along by apple-cherry chutney and a bed of tangy red cabbage. Steamed mussels ($12), in curry, tomato, or marinière broths, are the native New Zealand green-lipped variety, their shells a striking grass color and their juicy bodies averaging twice the typical small mouthful. I’m sure half of the customers who order chili salt squid ($12) expect the usual batter-fried variety, not the strongly sesameflavored salad of chewy tangles that Nelson Blue serves. The dish is speckled with sesame seeds and intermingled with shreds of carrot and bok choi, like strange noodles of the sea. The native horopito pepper is reportedly in there somewhere, but it’s hard to find.

Lamb is, of course, a specialty in the cuisine of a nation that, legendarily, has a population of 10 sheep for every human. It appears on one of the $4 meat skewers, although the best of those is a stalk of sweet, Polynesian-tasting roast pork that comes with a spicy peach jam for dipping. The lamb skewer has a chimichurri dip. Salmon and chicken round out the skewer options, which provide a healthy dose of protein to accompany some beers. There is also lamb in one of the house pies, which are liquidy, casserole-style affairs, served in ramekins capped with a golden round of crust.

The curried lamb pie ($9) has good flavor, if only a few bits of lamb beneath its lid. Better, though, is the fisherman’s pie ($12), which is generously stuffed with potatoes, spinach, and delicate chunks of fish. There are also grilled lamb chops ($22), tasty ones, as well as predictable steak, salmon filet, and a fish of the day.

Nelson Blue serves a burger ($12) — made from beef, not lamb. For an extra $2, it can be doctored with a runny fried egg on top, “New Zealand style”. Even with knife and fork, it’s a messy proposition, as the bun starts to dissolve in the gush of yolk and the ungainly structure starts to leak its traditional toppings of lettuce, shredded carrots, and pickled beets. Maybe I just haven’t mastered the art. Several other sandwiches — “sarni,” in the menu’s patois — include a lamb sandwich ($12) as well as a triple-decker production made with thin slices of meatloaf whose slight blandness is counteracted by strips of crisp fried pancetta ($9).

A bone of contention between New Zealand and Australia is which of the two nations invented “the Pavlova”: to honor ballet dancer Anna Pavlova early last century. Regardless, the simple dessert is a treat — a disc of meringue that’s crisp on the rim and chewier in the middle, topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. Nelson Blue offers two varieties: one classic white, sugary in flavor, and quick to vanish, and the other with a meringue layer richly suffused with chocolate that’s even more delicious. The list also includes a fruit-toffee tart sweetened with native Manuka honey, and “hokey pokey” ice cream mixed with toffee. All desserts are $6.

Imported Steinlager beer on tap is the beverage of choice at the pub, as a fine list of New Zealand wines goes largely ignored. There are excellent Marlborough pinots, such as the elegant, velvety 2004 Escarpment ($92), and a nice assortment of the aromatic sauvignon blancs that gave the island its viticultural reputation.

Nelson Blue (233-235 Front St. at Peck Slip, 212-346-9090).