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Police are hunting suspected arsonists after a blaze at an Archway restaurant which was due to open within weeks.

London Fire Brigade and police were called to The Caribbean Shack, formerly Zias curry house, in Holloway Road just after 5am on Saturday when flats above and next to the restaurant started filling with smoke.

The doors to the restaurant were blown out and the inside of the building gutted by fire. It took almost three hours for the fire brigade to get it under control.

Just days earlier the new restaurant, offering “authentic Caribbean flavours”, had put up a shop sign above the premises opposite Whittington Park.

A resident living nearby, who did not wish to be named, said he had reason to believe it was a targeted attack.

He said he had seen CCTV footage showing the blaze exploding out of the shop doors and two people running away from the scene.

Police have been scouring CCTV footage from nearby businesses, including The Floirin pub opposite.

It is understood that the owners of The Caribbean Shack had spent tens of thousands of pounds refurbishing the shop. Thousands of pounds worth of tools have also been lost.

Attempts by the Tribune to contact the owners failed to get a response.

People living in the flats nearby, including children, scrambled from their beds in the early hours after smoke filled their homes, but no one was injured.

A Met Police spokes­man said no one had been arrested.

Islington CID is now investigating. Anyone with information should call police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anony­mously on 0800 555 111.

A London Fire Brigade spokeswoman said four fire engines and 21 firefighters and officers tackled the blaze.

“Most of the first floor was damaged by fire,” she added.

“Five residents left the flats before the brigade arrived. There were no reports of any injuries.”