A quick-thinking barman plucked a drowning man from the murky waters of Melbourne's Yarra River on Sunday before heading back to work to finish his shift.

The barkeep identified only as "Matt" was shutting up shop late on Sunday when he saw the man floating on the water.

"I was closing up at the end of the night and I saw a bloke floating down the river screaming: 'help! help! help!'

"So I just kinda took me kit off, jumped in the river and by the time I got to him he was pretty much under water and dragged him back to shore, and a couple of the lads who were drinkin', and a couple of the staff helped me pull him out," he said.

View photos The man was pulled from the river and taken to hospital. Source: 7 News More

With the man pulled to safety, Matt said he had to go "back and finish closing the bar".

But the humble barman denies he did anything heroic.

"I just jumped in the water coz (sic) he was drowning," he said.

View photos Matt the barman heard the cries for help and jumped into action. Source: 7 News More

The barman admitted he "wasn't real keen on the jump in the Yarra… I was worried it was gonna taste real bad – and I wasn't disappointed."

"Tastes pretty terrible actually," he said.

View photos After pulling the man from the 'terrible tasting' Yarra, Matt went back to work. Source: 7 News More

Despite the awful taste in his mouth, Matt said he was happy the man came to and is recovering.

The rescued man was resuscitated and remains in a stable condition but police are yet to determine how he came to be in the Yarra in the first place.