Diners at celebrity chef Neil Perry's Sydney CBD restaurant Rockpool had to be evacuated after a fire started in the kitchen of a neighbouring eatery.
Firefighters from five suburbs were called in to attend the blaze in the basement of the Fratelli Fresh restaurant on Bridge Street at just before 9.30pm on Wednesday.
The fire caused thick black smoke to billow from the restaurant, said Fire & Rescue NSW Superintendent Tom Cooper.
Bridge Street was closed in both directions as firefighters controlled the blaze.
"As a result of the fire 70 people were evacuated from Fratelli Fresh and the Rockpool restaurant," he told ABC on Thursday.
"Unfortunately they could not continue trading."
He said fire crews stayed at the scene until 1am on Thursday when the fire was extinguished and all the water was mopped up.
Barry McDonald of Fratelli Fresh said no major damage occurred to his venue and trading would resume from 5pm on Thursday.
"A cool room compressor caught on fire [but] sprinklers put it out straight away," he said.
Rockpool will re-open for trading from lunch on Thursday.
Last April Perry's Rockpool Bar & Grill on Hunter Street in the Sydney CBD was rocked by a fire that caused significant damage and forced the fine-dining eatery to close for three weeks.
AAP with Scott Bolles
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