Woman, 52, charged after waitress allegedly left with chipped tooth in Melbourne cafe assault

CCTV captured the moment the young worker was left bloodied while serving food.

Demi Huang
7NEWS
A waitress at a Melbourne cafe was randomly attacked on Anzac Day by a woman who smashed a tray of food into her face, resulting in a chipped tooth and other dental injuries.

A woman has been charged after allegedly smacking plates out of a waitress’s hands, leaving the young worker with a chipped tooth in Melbourne.

The 52-year-old woman was arrested at Dandenong Railway Station about 10.50am on Saturday, almost a month after the alleged assault.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Melbourne cafe worker attacked with food tray

Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.

Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.

Email Us
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.

French national Anais Poupon, 19, who is in Australia on a working holiday visa, was serving customers at La Vallee Cafe in Essendon on Anzac Day when she was allegedly assaulted about 1pm.

CCTV footage shows the older woman walking past Poupon, who was carrying three plates of food, before allegedly striking one of the plates into her face, then smashing it to the ground.

Poupon was left bloodied and suffered a chipped tooth.

After the incident, La Vallee Cafe shared the CCTV footage on Instagram, asking the community to help identify the woman.

Poupon, who has been in Australia for about a year, said the woman blamed her for what happened.

“I felt very bad,” Poupon said.

“I saw my teeth broke and a lot of blood and I thought at first I could lose my teeth.”

Poupon said she called her mother after the incident saying she was OK and had already been to the dentist.

“My mum was very scared but she said she can’t do anything in France,” she said.

The Footscray woman has since been charged with recklessly causing injury and faced the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Sunday.

She was bailed to reappear at Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court on August 17.

Latest Edition

The Nightly cover for 26-05-2026

Latest Edition

Edition Edition 26 May 202626 May 2026

Senior officer ignored terror warning prior to Bondi Beach massacre.