Firefighters have issued a reminder of their cooking safety advice following a fire at a public house with offices above on Bennet Street in Soho.
Half of a basement kitchen was damaged and the ducting was destroyed by the fire. Around 100 people left the building before the Brigade arrived. There have been no reports of any injuries.
The fire is believed to have been accidental and was caused by cooking left unattended.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: "We'd like to remind restaurant and takeaway owners to ensure they don't have dirty ducting. If you don't clean your extraction system regularly, you're at a greater risk of ducting fires.
"You should also make sure you keep the hob, cooker hood and extractor fan clean too – built up fat and grease can ignite and cause a fire.
"You can also keep safe by following our simple cooking tips such as never placing anything that can catch fire near the hob. Keep all objects, like tea towels, cloths, plastic bowls and anything flammable well away from the cooker and always check the hob is turned off when you've finished cooking. If you do have to leave the room, turn off the heat and never leave cooking unattended.
"Attempting to extinguish a fire by yourself can lead to injuries or even be fatal and can increase the risk of more severe damage to your property. Leave the room, close the door, shout a warning to others and call 999."
One of the Brigade's 32-metre turntable ladders was used at the scene as an observation tower to provide the Incident Commander with an aerial view of the fire.
Control Officers took the call at 1245 and mobilised four fire engines and around 25 firefighters from Lambeth, Soho and Chelsea fire stations to the scene. The incident was over for firefighters at 1443.