Firefighters are issuing a safety reminder about cooking following a fire at a restaurant with flats above on Lower Addiscombe Road in Croydon.
Half of the external ducting (the extraction system) and part of the roof of a lean-to in the rear garden was destroyed by fire.
The fire is being treated as accidental and is believed to have been caused by cooking that had been left unattended.
A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: "Fires are more likely to start in the kitchen than any other room in the home.
"Cooking should never be left unattended on the hob or grill - if you have to leave the kitchen, turn off the heat.
“All it can take is for you to become distracted for a few seconds and your cooking can quickly go up in flames.
"It's also really important to keep the hob, cooker hood and extractor fan clean too – built up fat and grease can ignite and cause a fire."
The Brigade was called at 0547 and the Brigade's 999 Control Officers mobilised four fire engines and around 25 firefighters from Woodside, Croydon and Norbury to the scene. The fire was extinguished by 0706.