Ten fire engines and 72 firefighters were called to the incident, which happened on Friday (22 June) evening. London Fire Brigade said there were no reports of injuries and an investigation into the cause of the fire has begun.
Yummy Pub Co managing director and co-owner Anthony Pender told The Morning Advertiser: "The fire was nothing to do with any negligence from the staff or anyone on-site.
"The London Fire Brigade were incredible and have saved all the commercial area of the business."
Plans to reopen
He added: "The staff evacuated the building in three minutes. The pub was fully booked. We also had 10 fire engines here in 10 minutes."
Pender also said they were looking to reopen the pub by 5 July.
He outlined how the business had received support from the industry and beyond to help get the pub back on its feet.
"We have had customers offering to crowdfund. This is London Fire Brigade's local pub and we will be hosting a party and fundraiser for them. I can't say how good they were. It was incredible."
Social response
The pub posted its praise to its staff and the emergency services on its Twitter profile.
Pender is also chairman of the British Institute of Innkeeping, which posted an image of the fire on Twitter, hailing pub staff as "professional".
London Fire Brigade station manager Steve Chesson, who was at the scene, said: “The pub was open and in use at the time of the fire, and a number of people left the building before the brigade arrived.
“This incident shows how important it is to ensure your cigarette is completely out when you have finished smoking it.
“If it is not, you risk causing a fire, which could not only destroy property, but could also cost you your life.”