A man has been charged after he allegedly held a woman hostage at knifepoint for more than seven hours in a central Melbourne restaurant . Victoria Police arrested 35-year-old Abijath Desikan following the 7.5 hour siege at Riverside Quay . Mr Desikan was charged with one count of armed robbery , false imprisonment and assault with a weapon . The man , of no fixed address , faced an out of sessions hearing and was remanded in custody to appear in Melbourne Magistrates ' Court tomorrow morning . Scroll down for video . Victoria Police arrested 35-year-old Abijath Desikan ( pictured on a stretched ) following a 7.5 hour siege . A woman has emerged from a Melbourne restaurant where she was held hostage for more than seven hours . Victoria Police arrested 35-year-old Abijath Desikan following the 7.5 hour siege at Riverside Quay . The siege came to an end just before 5.30am this morning when police entered the restaurant and tasered the man . The 27-year-old female employee held in the restaurant emerged with police shortly afterward . Police said the man was a 'disgruntled ' former employee of the restaurant who allegedly entered a restaurant storeroom armed with a knife . Other restaurant staff members who saw the knife evacuated customers before calling police , ABC reported . Nearby areas were evacuated , and a police cordon was set up while specialist officers negotiated with the man . Last night , a police spokeswoman said the critical incident response team were on site negotiating with the man . 'The restaurant and surrounding areas have been evacuated and police are negotiating with the man , ' the spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia . Pictures from the scene show the area on the Yarra River cordoned off by blue and white police tape as officers look ready to response . Pictures show police have closed off 50 metres of the riverfront to pedestrians and they have evacuated the area . Witnesses said police descended on the scene about 10.40pm armed with shields . Police descended on the scene about 10.40pm armed with shields , witnesses told news.com.au . It came as up to 10 police cars pulled up near Eureka Tower along with closing off 50 metres of the riverfront to pedestrians . A woman who lives in the area said the scene felt like ' a movie ' . 'We were walking home and we saw the cops and we wondered what happened , ' Cristina Grimaldi told News Corp. 'It is the first time we have seen so many police . '
Woman emerged from restaurant where she was held hostage for 7.5 hours . Police were called to Melbourne 's Riverside Quay after onepm on Sunday . A 'disgruntled ' former employee entered the storeroom armed with a knife . The 35-year-old man has been arrested but had yet to be charged .