Belco and fire officials are investigating today after a fire in the basement of the Little Venice restaurant in Hamilton.The blaze, which has been attributed to an electrical fault, broke out around 1pm yesterday and caused the upmarket Italian eatery on Bermudiana Road to be evacuated.The L’Oriental restaurant on the top floor of the same building was also evacuated and both premises remain closed today while an investigation is underway.Teresa Chatfield, a director of the MEF group, which owns the establishments, said of the damage: “Both the restaurants are fine. It’s confined to the basement. It’s an electrical problem and Belco and the fire department will be in tomorrow.”An announcement will be made when the venues will reopen for business.Smoke poured out of the front and back doors of Little Venice during the incident, and police closed Bermudiana and Par la Ville Roads to traffic.Little Venice customer Jim Davidson, who was having lunch with a friend, said: “We were having a very good meal and we were reluctant to leave our glasses of wine. A big firefighter arrived and said ‘this place is on fire, please leave,’ and we were very reluctant to leave.”His dining companion, who did not want to give his name, added: “The lights went out but no one panicked. It was very orderly.”Manuel Llames, Maître’ d’ at L’Oriental restaurant said: “When I heard the siren I had to evacuate the place. There were about 21 people upstairs. No one panicked. I just saw smoke and heard the bell.”Lieutenant Wenda Roberts, spokeswoman for Bermuda Fire and Rescue Service [BFRS] said:“At 12.59pm, dispatch received a call reporting a fire in the basement of the Little Venice restaurant on Bermudiana Road.“BFRS responded with four vehicles and nine personnel. The first fire appliance arrived on scene at 1.04pm to find smoke issuing from the kitchen of the restaurant.“Belco was called to the incident to shut off power to the restaurant, after which two firefighters entered in breathing apparatus and fully extinguished the blaze at approximately 1.48pm. Ventilation was then used to remove smoke from the area.“There were no reported injuries and the matter is under investigation.”