Police are searching for two armed robbers who held up a venue at the Waverley Gardens Shopping Centre in Melbourne's south-east on Friday night.

Investigators said shopping centre patrons tried to chase the two offenders into a carpark after the robbery at what police said was a licensed premises on Police Road in Mulgrave shortly before 6:30pm.

Police said the men were both armed with firearms and took an unknown amount of cash.

One shot was fired into a roof during the incident, police said, and one person was assaulted.

A spokeswoman for Ambulance Victoria said a man was taken to hospital in a stable condition with upper body injuries.

A large manhunt was underway and police said the circumstances surrounding the incident were still being investigated.

No arrests have been made yet.