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 10pm 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 .