Knysna's landmark pub and restaurant, Jetty Tapas on Thesen's Island on the Knysna lagoon, has been burnt down.
"Tapas is gone. Tapas is flat," a mourning witness said on Wednesday. The fire apparently began shortly after 2am.
Fire engines were on the scene within minutes but the building was made entirely of wood and burnt quickly.
The witness, who asked not to be named, was woken at his home a few kilometres away by an explosion at 2.11am.
He raced outside and heard two more explosions. "It sounded like a plane landing on the lagoon - that's the feeling I got." He then saw a red glow fill the night sky.
"I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it was Tapas," he said.
Jetty Tapas was a favourite venue for sundowners overlooking the lagoon and there was no finer setting for enjoying local beer and Knysna oysters.
The entire restaurant was gutted and nothing was saved.
"There's nothing left," a staff member said.
The owner lives in Johannesburg and was told the news this morning but could not be contacted at the time of going to press.
A spokesperson for the Knysna fire department said the cause of the fire was being investigated.