Fire rips through Reubens again, six months after another fire forced it to close

Before the fire crews arrived, around 20 people evacuated the burning building, which has several residential flats above the restaurant and deli. One of the brigade's 32m ladders was deployed to the scene as an observation tower.

Footage from the scene suggests the inferno gutted the restaurant. A photograph shared by the fire brigade shows the front windows of Reubens shattered and the inside blackened by the flames.

Restaurant proprietor, Mr Landau, told the JC: “The whole team are very saddened by the news.” 

Firefighters were still at the sight late Friday morning and there was a police presence.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation by the London Fire Brigade's investigation team.

Eighty firefighters tackled the blaze on Friday morning (Photo: X/@TheJhonsonBaby)[Missing Credit]

This is the second fire to engulf Reubens in the last six months. A blaze in February, allegedly started by an electrical fault in a fridge, saw four people taken to hospital and forced the restaurant to close to undergo drastic repairs, which were still ongoing when the blaze on Friday took over. 

Mr Landau said it was “unlucky” that the restaurant had been hit by another fire. 

“We are waiting for the forensics team to see if it was arson,” he added. 

The establishment claims to be the “longest-running kosher restaurant in the UK” but has remained closed since the February fire. In May, Reuben’s opened a new café on Baker Street, a minute’s walk from the site of their main restaurant and the fire. The cafe was open on Friday as normal.