‘Devastating’: Thieves make off with $20,000 worth of premium cuts from Melbourne steakhouse
A band of hungry thieves have stolen $20,000 worth of beef after breaking into the coolroom of a Melbourne steakhouse, marking the second major meat theft in Victoria in less than two weeks.
Police are investigating after three men used bolt cutters to enter a locked coolroom near Basq Essendon Fields in the city’s north-west about 5.10am on Wednesday.
CCTV footage from the incident shows a trio of hooded offenders pilfer meat from the restaurant’s coolroom. @basq.essendonfields
Has your business been targeted by thieves?
Contact chief reporter April Glover on april.glover@nine.com.au.
CCTV footage shared by the owners shows the trio of thieves pilfering cuts of premium beef and Wagyu before fleeing the scene in a car.
In a post shared to Instagram, a representative of Basq said the theft had “devastated” the small business.
He then called on the local community to rally behind the restaurant and help put an end to the escalating climate of retail crime in Victoria.
“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.”
Despite losing $20,000 worth of product, Basq was still able to remain open on Wednesday.
“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.”
The restaurant’s owners called on the community to help police to track down the offenders. @basq.essendonfields
Detectives have also appealed to the public for help tracking down the thieves.
Anyone who witnessed the incident, with vision or information is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.
It is the second time meat thieves have targeted a Melbourne business in just 10 days.
Family-owned butcher Ivanhoe Meats in Melbourne’s north-east was broken into on October 19, with thieves making off with $8000 worth of frozen meat.
Owner Rabeeh Charif told nine.com.au thieves had rummaged through the butcher’s freezer room, taking thousands of dollars worth of frozen meat, before grabbing an empty cash register.
Charif said the cost-of-living crisis and rising price of meat could be behind the sudden surge in meat theft.
Ivanhoe Meats owner Rabeeh Charif woke on October 19 to find $8000 worth of meat had been stolen. Rabeeh Charif
“That’s someone’s grocery meat for a year or two,” he said.
The butcher has been forced to implement stronger security measures following the break-in.
Victoria Police is investigating the incident.
The thefts are the latest escalation in Victoria’s ongoing retail crime crisis.
Read more
Alistair was single, approaching his 40s and wanted to be a dad. Instead of waiting, he did it alone
Retail crime surged to a record-high in Victoria in the 12 months to June 2026, with Crime Statistics Agency Victoria reporting an average of 263 retail offences every day in the state.
The boss of Coles previously claimed that organised criminal networks were driving a spike in meat thefts.
Chief executive Leah Weckert told The Sydney Morning Herald last year that professional shoplifters tended to target expensive cuts of red meat, such as eye fillet and lamb backstraps.
Coles has begun attaching bright yellow anti-theft clips on premium cuts of meat, while Woolworths adds Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS) stickers directly to meat packaging.
Share a tip-off, video or photo with us
