Huge fire breaks out in a restaurant in a rural town's busy main street - as firefighters desperately battle to stop it sweeping through nearby shops

A raging fire has broken out on the main street of a regional town, ripping apart the restaurant where it began and threatening to spread into other businesses.

Dramatic vision from the scene in Bowral's Bong Bong street on Thursday night shows the shop ablaze with a huge plume of fire and smoke.

Fire crews tackled the blaze which also appeared to rip through the top level of the town's ANZ building.

Locals said the fire had broken out in the town's beloved Dos Hombres Mexican restaurant, which is accessible through an alleyway on the right of the ANZ.

People were asked to avoid the area while emergency services tackled the Bowral blaze , which began around 9pm

Dramatic vision from the scene in Bowral's Bong Bong street on Thursday night shows the shop ablaze with a huge plume of fire and smoke

People were asked to avoid the area while emergency services tackled the blaze, which began around 9pm.

It was extinguished by 11.30pm. 

Fire crews arrived at the blaze on Thursday night just after 9pm, with the restaurant and surrounding buildings already ablaze