Cafe names alleged dine-and-dash pair on flyers as Melbourne hospo crime wave escalates
Footage obtained by news.com.au has revealed the full story behind a viral dine-and-dash incident at a Kensington café in Melbourne, after the venue printed flyers naming two of the alleged offenders and warning nearby businesses to be on alert.
The incident occurred at The Premises on Bellair Street, 4 kilometres northwest of Melbourne's CBD, when a group of four diners ordered five meals in the middle of the day before leaving without paying a bill exceeding $150. A staff member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the group had been "quite loud and boisterous" during the sitting. "They ordered quite a lot of food. Five meals between four of them, which was a bit unusual but I didn't think anything of it," she told news.com.au. "We brought them their food and the next thing we knew, we looked up and they'd gone. We were like, 'Oh God', because it was more than $150."
One of the diners left a mobile phone behind, which staff retained at the till pending payment. When two of the group returned more than two hours later to collect it, CCTV captured a further escalation: the female diner told staff, "I can't pay if I don't have my phone" and "You can't hold my phone like that" before reaching behind the till and taking it herself. A brief physical altercation followed outside when a staff member attempted to stop the pair leaving, telling one "Hello ma'am, you forgot to pay."
The case adds to a run of incidents endured by Melbourne hospitality operators.
In a separate incident, restaurant owner Sutinee Suntivatana, who is behind Humble Rays, Tori's Cafe and Midday in Carlton, said a visibly intoxicated customer threw a full glass water bottle at a staff member after being refused use of a phone, leaving the worker hospitalised with a head injury. The injured worker said he had tried to de-escalate before the attack: "I think that kind of offended him. He took one of the thick water bottles and threw it straight at my head."
Suntivatana's venues have been targeted seven times in the past three years.
Police are understood to have attended the Kensington cafe on the day of the incident.
Jonathan Jackson, 8th September 2026
