One of Melbourne's most celebrated restaurateurs has been forced to repay $35,000 to staff after the Fair Work Ombudsman found St Kilda fine-dining establishment, Cafe Di Stasio, had systematically underpaid and exploited six overseas workers.

The Fair Work Ombudsman launched an investigation in March last year after Fairfax Media revealed claims that Ronnie Di Stasio had forced an Italian waitress to pay kickbacks of $500 to the restaurant once a week in order to keep her work visa, while another foreign worker had only been paid holiday entitlements after taking legal action.

A Fair Work Ombudsman investigation found that Ronnie Di Stasio's Cafe Di Stasio underpaid and exploited six overseas workers.

The investigation found Mr Di Stasio had underpaid four chefs and two bar staff between September 2015 and May last year. Workplace laws governing the keeping of employment records and pay slips had also been breached by management of the upmarket eatery on Fitzroy Street, St Kilda.

Five of the workers were in Australia on 417 working holiday visas, with the other employed on a 457 temporary skilled worker visa. Most were from Italy or India, with four of them aged under 24.