Northcote’s Camus is out-of-the-gates great

VETERAN chef Pierre Khodja makes a triumphant return to the kitchen with Camus in Northcote, writes Dan Stock.

Stuffed squid and prawn bisque at Camus, Northcote.

My only experience with the work of Albert Camus comes via the lipsticked prophet of disaffected teens the world over, Robert Smith of The Cure.

The existential/absurdist French philosopher fascinated with dualism informs chef Pierre Khodja’s awaited return to the kitchen in more than just name, the Algerian-born, Marseilles-raised, Paris-trained chef having a slightly more profound relationship to the author of L’Etranger (The Stranger) than simply bouncing around mirrorballed dancefloors to Killing an Arab.

A fire in his Mornington eatery Albert St in 2002 almost killed Khodja, who spent months in hospital recovering. Stints at Canvas in Hawthorn and Terminus at the Flinders Hotel followed, but now he’s back again as master of his own domain, his month-old Northcote restaurant embodying Camusian life/death duality in physical form.

Slow-cooked goat with apricots and onion.

Downstairs, a gleaming, black-tiled open kitchen anchors the 50-seat dining room, while upstairs seats another 40-odd in blindingly stark white surrounds. Berber symbols for life and death signpost each room in neon.

Smoky glass pendant lighting complements the exposed brick walls and highlights the white-tiled bar downstairs, where Camus’s quotes are stencilled around artful paint splatters.

It’s one of the most thoughtful, stylish restaurant fit-outs of recent memory. It’s clever minus pretension, referential without turning twee. Elegant stemware, cutlery and grey linen napkins complement a procession of colourful Glenn Tebble ceramics and highlight the keen eye of a chef who’s spent his life in restaurants.

Though that doesn’t translate as inaccessible; rather, this is refined, sublime cooking without any fuss. Technique tempered with a generous heart, Khojda’s signature North African spicing dances in deft layers across a short carte where sharing makes sense.

Scallops with jerusalem artichoke and fried chilli.

A generous hunk of goat, slow cooked and falling apart, comes in a caramelised onion braise, with plump apricots adding sweetness to the meat that has its richness artfully kept in check ($36).

Equally indulgent, a b’stilla — a Moroccan spiced pie — with its flaky filo crust packed to bursting with shredded duck. A fig-and-raisin chutney is a sticky sweet counter to all that tender, fragrant meat ($32).

Sides could make up a meal and at $9 each, a highlight. Three large carrots roasted in smoky honey and dressed in caraway seeds are perfectly tender-firm and are a top match with the goat; preserved lemon adds bright freshness to an argan oil-dressed quinoa and farro salad, and, while mac and cheese might seem a little lost here (L’Etranger, perhaps) such thoughts are quickly banished after a forkful of its cinnamon-spiced, onion-strewn, corn-hidden decadence.

The short, Eurocentric wine list equally favours outsiders: a Moroccan syrah, say, or a Georgian rkatsiteli, but a very young, zippy muscadet from the Loire ($13/$64) proved the perfect partner to a dish of scallops. Four exquisite discs of pan-crusted outer, wobbly opaque inner, are embedded upon a puree of pancetta-spiked, milk-blanched Jerusalem artichokes. Raisins add bursts of personality that a sprinkle of fried chilli counters with class ($24).

A whole squid that swims in a prawn bisque is even more accomplished, stuffed with an onion and prawn mix with good pepper heat, and served with two buttery borak triangles filled with mushroom ($23).

Turkish delight souffle.

And to finish, the Turkish delight souffle that’s a Khodja signature and remains as, yes, delightful as ever, the pink-tinged fluffy cloud giving up a few sticky jubes underneath. A brilliant baklava and lovely halva ice cream accompany ($14), while blueberry ice-cream quickly melts into saucy goodness once scooped upon the cooked-to-order peach tart that’s just as lovely ($14).

A couple of hiccups — the playlist needs definite work; would’ve loved the offer of a second bread roll before the plate was whisked away before entree — but Camus is otherwise out-of-the-gates great. While Westgarth’s lucky locals can use Camus as a sip-and-snack standby before or after the flicks — date and lime duck croquettes and Estrella on tap, thanks very much — it’s certainly worth seeking out for those further afield.

“What is a rebel? A man who says no,” the philosopher famously wrote. Well, all I can say to this Camus is yes.

Camus, Northcote Pierre Khodja chef/owner Downstairs kitchen

CAMUS

61 High St, Northcote

9486 3063

camusrestaurant.com.au

Open: Fri-Sun lunch; Wed-Sun dinner

Go-to dish: Stuffed squid