"It's massive, the whole roof was on fire," he said.
Another witness said she could still smell the fire from Kiwitea St in Sandringham.
"Our house is still smokey, so it must have been really significant.
"We just walked down to look, and there were at least five trucks on scene with police diverting traffic from the area.
"I saw a flashlight from inside of the restaurant while two firefighters were using two cranes to hose down the fire from the roof," the witness said.
Fire and Emergency said about 16 fire appliances worked to extinguish the blaze at the two-story building.
Dominion Rd between Donald Crescent and Cambrai Ave was closed while emergency crews work to put out the blaze.
The fire was contained about midnight, with one crew remaining on scene overnight
to keep watch for flare-ups.
A fire investigator will visit the scene this morning.