Six fire engines and around 40 firefighters were called to a fire at a restaurant and takeaway with flats above on Salusbury Road in Queen's Park.
Part of the basement and ground floor of the building were damaged by the fire and the ducting from the basement to the second floor was destroyed. Eight people left the flats above before the Brigade arrived. There were no reports of any injuries.
Watch Manager Dean Ricketts, who was at the scene, said: "When we arrived on scene there was a lot of very thick, black heavy smoke.
"Crews worked really hard to stop the fire spreading in what was quite a complex job due to the age of the building."
The Brigade was called at 0204 and the fire was under control by 0511. Fire crews from North Kensington, Paddington, West Hampstead, Hammersmith and Kensington fire stations attended the scene.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.