Melbourne venues speak out on what diners are really stealing
Melbourne restaurant and bar operators say theft from their venues has become a stranger problem than missing cutlery, with several names going public on what's disappearing from their dining rooms and bathrooms.
Missing items include soap, lamps, antique pots and even ripening dessert fruit.
The conversation was sparked by Carlton seafood venue Cordelia, which called out guests for repeatedly helping themselves to $50 bottles of Le Labo hand soap. The venue posted a direct appeal on Instagram:
"We kindly ask, stop stealing our soap. If you love it, we're glad. Please enjoy using it while you're here."
The post struck a nerve, with other operators piling into the comments. Richmond's Ca Com Banh Mi said the problem had escalated to restricting amenities altogether. "It's absolutely shocking. We had to close off toilet access and our courtyard exactly because of such issues," the venue wrote, adding: "Theft of hand soap and toilet paper, graffiti...even fruits destined for desserts that we leave on a bench to ripen get taken and eaten while people wait for their banh mi." Armadale's Alberts Wine Bar added a knowing one-liner: "Same guests must have visited us."
At Di Stasio's three Melbourne venues, co-owner Mallory Wall says losses have run well beyond toiletries, extending to sugar dispensers, plates and cutlery and even fixtures. "We had these built-in lights in the toilets in Carlton and people removed those," Wall told the Herald Sun. "Which causes you to think:
'Are they going to come back for more? Are they eyeing off the rest?'" Even the venue's heavy 5kg St Kilda lamps have drawn attempts, though none successful. "Thankfully nobody got away with stealing the lamps," she said, putting much of the behaviour down to entitlement: "People feel entitled. They think, 'oh we are paying for a meal so maybe we should get a bit extra'. A bonus snatch."
Brighton restaurant Baix has faced similar issues, with chef Ian Curley naming his own customers among the more determined offenders. "They'll knock off everything — from Aesop soap to table lamps. We used to have these salt and pepper shakers in Baix and they kept going missing," he said. "Ashtrays, lamps, glassware and even taking the soap out of bathrooms — it's all happened here." Curley said the lamps were popular partly for their built-in charging ports: "They have a charger and USB ports in them and people just decide they want those." Even a bespoke oyster plate designed by Elise Joseph has proven too tempting, prompting Curley to start selling it outright: "We've had people ask if they can buy it, and I'd either say take it or charge them $20 or $30." He's since secured the soap dispensers, admitting the running tally is one he'd rather not calculate. "I really don't want to think about (how much money we've lost over the years)."
Wall has taken the same precaution at Di Stasio, after losing everything from napkins to garden pots. The venue once produced 4000 handpainted ashtrays stamped "stolen from Cafe Di Stasio." "The idea was for people to steal them, and they did, turning up all over the world," she said. "I remember going to a friend's house in London and seeing one there."
Jonathan Jackson, 23rd June 2026
