The owners of Coconut Rock are confident the sushi bar will be open as usual from today after yesterday’s fire.

However, co-owner Christian Herzog told The Royal Gazette it was too early to say when the main restaurant would be back in business.

“The sushi bar should be up and running but the kitchen we don’t know until they remove the equipment and have it checked,” he said. “Once they do that they will know what the damage is and what it will take to get it up and running again.”

Mr Herzog said none of the staff at the Reid Street venue had been in any danger, and that the small fire was quickly extinguished by the sprinkler system. The basement bar was flooded due to the sprinkler system, coating the floor in a mixture of water and grease from the kitchen.

Though the system quelled the flames, they are now faced with potentially costly repairs from the resulting water damage.

Mr Herzog was having breakfast with his daughter when he received a call from the building supervisor notifying him of the fire just before 7am.

He said the blaze had been extinguished by the time he arrived, but he was met with “a lot of water and a bunch of smoke”.

The Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service gave generators to the business to provide light to the dark dining room that would allow a professional team of cleaners to prepare the venue for investigation.

Cleaning was still under way later in the afternoon, with co-owner Shane Desilva saying: “It’s not pretty.”

Only once cleaning operations were completed could electricity be restored to assess the full extent of the damage.

Sergeant Russann Francis, of the fire service, said: “On our arrival there was thick smoke seen emitting from the rear doorway of the restaurant.

“Initially two firefighters dressed in breathing apparatus made entry through the front of the restaurant to locate the source of the smoke. It was discovered that the fire had been extinguished by the sprinkler system.

“With this discovery, we then initiated salvage by removing the water, which had been released by the fire alarm system.

“We responded to this incident with four vehicles and ten personnel and can confirm there were no injuries at this incident.

“There was minor fire damage and the fire is currently under investigation.”