If you are the sort of diner that notices whether the silverware is sterling and cares that there is a separate fork for salad and dessert, we suggest you pass on Pomaire Chilean Grill in north Orem.

Which is too bad, really, because the food is very good.

Interior decorators be warned that the restaurant looks as though it plopped down in the middle of a TLC “Trading Spaces” renovation. The flooring has been peeled away to expose concrete crisscrossed with dried glue. The tables are the kind you fold out and use at a garage sale; the chairs seem more appropriate for filling out government forms than enjoying a leisurely meal.

But, if you are willing to forgo formality in favor of authentic Chilean cuisine, Pomaire certainly has much to offer. In general, Chilean food draws from a hodgepodge of cuisine influences, combining spices and dishes from the native Indian population and the Spaniards, as well as an idea here and there from the Italians, the Germans and the English.

Beyond the traditional empanadas (turnovers), parrilladas (mixed grills) and asados (barbecues), the country’s considerable coastline has inspired a host of seafood dishes. Wisely for a far inland restaurant, Pomaire Chilean Grill has kept the fresh breads and barbecued meats of its homeland, but has chosen to forgo the seafood dishes.

The restaurant’s menu reads like an Atkins guidebook, with a steak and sautéed onions, breaded steak, steak stuffed with mozzarella cheese and ham, juicy steak. There are also a handful of sandwiches, combo meals and Chilean-style hot dogs. It’s the sort of place that vegetarians should enter at their own risk.

Our meal began with a basket filled with donut-sized empanadas, served with a sharp salsa made from fresh onion, cilantro and tomatoes. The empanadas were bubbly and flaky; we liked them even better as an appetizer filled with melted mozzarella cheese.

Unlike trendy American salads, which combine everything from bacon bits to dried cherries, salads at Pomaire are simple. The celery and avocado salad was a kicky blend of pureed avocado and crunchy celery, with a dash of lemon juice for punch.

The star of the evening was the parrillada pomaire, a mixed grill of steak, chicken breast, pork steak, sausage and grilled potatoes that can be prepared for either two diners or four.

Seasoning for the meats are simple — the chef simply rubs them with salt and rotates them on the grill every minute or so. The recipe makes for a smoky, tender, deeply flavorful meat feast.

Other entrees were similarly hearty. The spicy chicken sandwich here beats out the one at the fast food restaurant Wendy’s any day, although the basic construction is similar. Both have dressing, lettuce and tomato and a heavily breaded chicken breast. At Pomaire, the chicken is seasoned with red, black and lemon pepper, as well as egg and salt.

The pastel de choclo, or corn pie, is a regional favorite that combines both the salty and the sweet. The dish consisted of a layer of chicken, black olives, hard-boiled eggs and ground beef, which is then topped by ground sweet corn. Like Steve-O from “Jackass,” this is a thing you either love or hate. It was a bit greasy, and the chicken seemed redundant in a dish overflowing with ground beef.

Service was charming but slow. And if you can live with the feeling that you are in a construction zone, the food is filling enough to please any dedicated carnivore.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page F10.