Police are speaking to two men over the death of a male student in inner Melbourne early this morning.

Joshua Hardy, a 21-year-old student from Parkville, was allegedly thrown to the ground and kicked in the head by two men, outside a fast food restaurant on St Kilda Road at about 1:00am (AEDT) on Saturday, police say.

The student was taken to the Alfred Hospital but died a short time later.

Mr Hardy was from a prominent Darwin family and was studying in Melbourne.

Earlier on Saturday, police said one man was helping them with their inquiries and they were seeking the second man.

However, the second man later handed himself into police and was taken into custody.

Sergeant Sol Solomon from the Victoria Police homicide squad said the victim was "violently assaulted".

"He lapsed into unconsciousness immediately," he said.

Attack happened across the road from police headquarters

"There's no indication that the victim knew the two males," Sergeant Solomon said.

"From what I've viewed on the CCTV footage, it was not a provoked attack.

"There appears to have been a discussion leading up to the assault, however, we're not aware what words were exchanged."

An autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.

Three people inside the restaurant came to the victim's aid.

"Two girls came out of the McDonald's restaurant and immediately went to the assistance of the victim," Sergeant Solomon said.

"Another male customer came out and also ran off in the direction that the male offenders left in, however he didn't catch them."

Sergeant Solomon described it as yet another "senseless" assault on a Melbourne street late at night.

Robert Gereige, who runs a cafe next door, described the attack as disturbing and said it was normally a quiet area because they were not far from the St Kilda Road headquarters of Victoria Police.

"Honestly speaking, anyone with any brains knows the police is across the road," he said.

"So usually things are pretty contained, usually the area is pretty safe."