$20,000 beef heist leaves Melbourne steakhouse with no steak
The latest meat theft to hit Victorian food businesses, has robbed Basq Essendon Fields of around $20,000 of premium beef and Wagyu.
Three hooded men used bolt cutters to break into the venue’s locked coolroom on Wednesday. CCTV footage shared by the owners shows the thieves loading up cuts of beef and escaping in a car.
Police are investigating, and detectives have asked anyone with vision or information to contact Crime Stoppers.
Basq stayed open for service despite the loss. A representative of the restaurant told followers on Instagram that the theft had “devastated” the small business.
“It’s disappointing. We are trying to keep our chin up. We did have to go out and buy some more beef because Wednesday is our steak day,” he said.
“The current climate makes it really hard in general for small businesses, but then when something like this happens.
“We want to make sure that this doesn’t happen to anyone else in the local area. It’s just something that is happening in Victoria right now.
“We’re asking our Essendon Fields and Melbourne community to please share this reel and help spread the word. If you saw anything unusual in the area or have information that may assist, please report it to police.”
“We’re a little deflated but we’re still smiling and still here for service,” he added.
“Our team is still here, no-one got hurt, which is great.”
Second incident in 10 days
A similar raid happened just days earlier on family-owned butcher Ivanhoe Meats in Melbourne’s north-east on October 19, where thieves took $8000 worth of frozen meat from the freezer room and also made off with an empty cash register.
Owner Rabeeh Charif told Nine News the cost-of-living crisis and rising meat prices could be behind the surge in thefts.
“That’s someone’s grocery meat for a year or two,” he said.
Ivanhoe Meats has since strengthened its security. Victoria Police is investigating.
The thefts come as retail crime in Victoria hits record levels. Crime Statistics Agency Victoria data shows an average of 263 retail offences a day in the 12 months to June 2026.
Jonathan Jackson, 30th October 2026
