Michelin starred restaurant will be closed for up to a month

One of the area’s finest restaurants has temporarily closed after a fire broke out on Sunday.

The River Café, which launched the careers of TV chefs Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, was packed with diners when the fire started around 7.30pm in the kitchen.

Four fire engines and around 20 firefighters battled the blaze for two hours at the Michelin starred restuarant in Rainville Road.

The fire damaged part of the ground floor kitchen and a small amount of the second floor was also damaged in the blaze.

Fire crews from Hammersmith, Chiswick and Kensington fire stations attended the incident.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

April 8, 2008