A man armed with a meat cleaver has been arrested after holding police at bay for two hours at a Melbourne CBD restaurant.
The shirtless man walked out of the second floor La Trobe Street restaurant just after 3pm on Tuesday holding his bloodied hands in the air as heavily armed police rushed to him.
A number of police then escorted the man, who police believe is mentally ill, to a waiting ambulance.
What caused the incident is unknown, but police were called to the Little Ipoh restaurant just after 1pm after reports that a man clutching a knife and fork was arguing with staff.
The man charged at officers with a meat cleaver when they arrived and was sprayed with pepper spray before barricading himself inside.
News that makes sense
Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
Members of the special operations group, carrying shields and assault rifles, negotiated from the street with the man, aged in his 20s, who spoke to them through windows he smashed using the weapon.
He then threw numerous items from the window at police including apples, oranges and a mobile telephone as he screamed from the window, pleading to speak to his mum and his "missus".
At other times he lay down beside the window, put on sunglasses and appeared to take photos of himself on his mobile phone, posing and gesturing towards the waiting media as well.
Acting Senior Sergeant Adam Tanner would not comment on the man's motive for the siege but said he would be assessed for mental health issues.
"He has relatively minor injuries to his hands after glass was smashed at the premises," Acting Sen-Sgt Tanner told reporters after the siege.
"He has been taken to hospital for treatment to those wounds and to be assessed."
La Trobe Street remains closed to traffic between Queen and Elizabeth streets but trams have resumed.
