A BYO establishment popular among Dunedin students has gone up in flames.
Indian restaurant Taj Mahal has been damaged in an early morning fire.
Fire crews were called to the scene on George Street shortly after 3am with reports of black smoke billowing from the building.
Senior station officer Mark Leonard says the fire was well-involved when crews arrived, but was put out quickly.
No one was inside the restaurant when the fire broke out, but there were four tenants asleep in the flat above the restaurant at the time.
Witness Sam O'Hara told 1News he awoke to the smell of smoke entering through his window.
"I'm just stoked it didn't spread to us," he said.
They escaped the building, and no one was injured in the incident.
It's unknown at this stage how the blaze started.
Two fire investigators are at the scene trying to determine the cause.
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