Seriously good food.
No occasion required.

Close-up of a plated salad with green vegetables, foam, and red seasoning, served on a white plate.

A white plate with seafood, including mussels and fish, in a yellow sauce garnished with herbs, on a wooden table with a napkin and a glass of red wine.

Ruckers Hill is a French-style neighbourhood bistro on High St, Westgarth. Chef David Murphy is in the kitchen every night, cooking with the kind of precision that makes a Wednesday the best night of your week. With a wine list chosen for drinking, not impressing, and service that's warm without being intrusive — you're going to wonder why it took you so long.

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A plate of grilled salmon fillet with grill marks, garnished with fresh herbs, on a bed of pasta or noodles, served on a white dish with a green rim.

Close-up of a gourmet seafood dish with a piece of fish topped with herbs and sauce, surrounded by mussels in broth with herbs and garnished with fresh greens, served on a white plate.

On this week

Gnocchi Wednesday

House-made gnocchi
$20

Every Wednesday

Steak Thursday

Chef's cut steak w/ sauce
$30

Every Thursday

Oyster Happy Hour

$2 oysters

Friday & Saturday
from 4:30pm

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Sunday Roast

Chef's roast
$30

Every Sunday from 5pm

Roasted duck leg served with sweet potatoes, roasted vegetables, and sauce on a white plate with black rim, placed on a wooden table.

At Ruckers Hill, the food is the point.

David Murphy — Murph to his regulars — trained at Bistro Thierry and PM24 before taking the head chef role at Bar Nonno, then buying the business and making it his own. Ruckers Hill is what happened next: a neighbourhood bistro where the cooking is precise, the room is warm, and the prices are honest. The five-course tasting menu is $89. The bordelaise sauce takes three days to make. You'll probably want to come back on Wednesday.

The front bar is for walk-ins and wine. And it's worth talking about the wine — an unapologetically uncool list of excellent drops that won't have you reaching for your phone to Google the label, but will absolutely have you reaching for another glass. Well chosen, well priced, no apologies.

The dining room is for settling in. And if you're looking for private dining in Northcote for a group, there's an upstairs room for up to 20 and a covered back section for up to 40 — both available for private events and functions.

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Enquire about a function →

Close-up of a fork holding a piece of glazed meat topped with green pepper, with a plate of food including cilantro and bread in the background.

A restaurant table set with a pie topped with whipped cream and lemon slices, several glasses of water, and a glass of sparkling wine being poured. In the background, there are multiple bottles of wine on a shelf.

Gather here.

Got a group? Ruckers Hill has two private spaces — an upstairs room that seats 20 and a covered back section for up to 40. Birthdays, engagements, business dinners, end-of-year celebrations. David Murphy designs the menu. You just show up.

We also host wine dinners and seasonal events throughout the year — follow us or check the events page to see what's coming up.

Upstairs

 — up to 20 guests

Exposed brick, polished floorboards, an ornate fireplace, high rafters. Candlelight at night. The kind of room that feels like an occasion without anyone having to try.

— up to 35–40 guests

The Back Section

A covered, separate section of the restaurant — private, relaxed, and well suited to larger groups who want their own space without hiring out the whole venue.