Knife-wielding man attempts to rob Auckland restaurant, regrets it immediately

A man armed with a large knife entered an Auckland restaurant and rather impolitely asked for all the money, then quickly regretted his decision.

It was late at night on Saturday, November 10, and Vaughn and Helene Wilkinson were finishing cleaning their restaurant, Lena Urban Eatery in Sandringham, when the man walked in holding a knife.

"Give me the f****** money," he shouted to Helene Wilkinson, who was tidying up behind the café and pizzeria's counter.

The man was brandishing the knife, pointing it threateningly towards the woman.

Quick-thinking chef and restaurant co-owner Vaughn Wilkinson came out of the kitchen, holding two much bigger knives and rushed at the man, who quickly realised it was a fight he was not going to win, so turned tail and ran, chased out of the restaurant by the charging chef.

Wilkinson uploaded the CCTV footage to Facebook and added some good advice in the caption: "Never try to rob a chef".

Wilkinson uploaded the CCTV footage to Facebook and added some good advice in the caption: "Never try to rob a chef". Photo / Supplied

The incident could have ended badly but Wilkinson managed to keep his head cool and made the split-second decision to chase the wannabe robber out of the restaurant with his two chef's knives.

"I thought it was funny," he told the Herald a few days later.

Wilkinson was much taller than the robber and made a career in the military, spending eight years in the Navy, where he developed the quick-thinking skills he applied on the night.

He also praised his wife for calmly backing away from the robber, just before the chef in him sprung into action.

"It could have gone very wrong," he admits.

But it didn't.

The incident only lasted about 11 seconds before the couple went back to their cleaning and closed shop for the day.

"We were like 'oh well, move on'," he says, adding that it was the first time they experienced anything like this in the neighbourhood.

Police have received the CCTV footage and have taken fingerprints from the restaurant.