However, Fitzpatrick's Irish Pub co-owners Brendan Quirke, Julian Field and Joel Le Breton were also counting themselves lucky no-one was hurt in the fire, which started about 11.30pm when there were two staff and up to 50 patrons and 10 musicians in the Helwick St bar.
''It was a busy night - it's open-mike sessions on Sunday night,'' Mr Quirke said.
The fire, which was eventually brought under control by the Wanaka Volunteer Fire Brigade, gutted the bar's kitchen area and caused major smoke and water damage throughout the rest of the premises.
''My three favourite bars have burned down in the last three weeks,'' Mr Le Breton said, referring to last month's fire in Queenstown that damaged The World Bar and Fat Badgers Pizza restaurant and bar.
''I'm definitely more gutted about this one, though.''
After trying unsuccessfully to extinguish the flames, Mr Le Breton, who was working as duty manager at the time, made evacuating the bar his primary concern.
''By the time I walked in the kitchen, there was probably six-foot flames coming out of the fryer,'' Mr Le Breton said.
Queenstown-based fire risk management officer Stuart Ide inspected the bar yesterday and confirmed the fire had been associated with the deep fryer, but he would not be able to verify its exact cause for two or three days. He praised the bar's evacuation procedure, which had gone ''very well''.
Mr Quirke was also impressed with the way staff handled the situation and the co-operation shown by patrons, who immediately abandoned their drinks and left the building when instructed to.
''I'm really, really pleased to see half-filled pints [left sitting on tables],'' Mr Quirke noted, when assessing the damage yesterday.
While there was ''hundreds of thousands of dollars'' of damage as a result of the fire, things could have been worse if not for the ''absolutely fantastic job'' of the 20 or so Wanaka volunteer firefighters who arrived on the scene within minutes.
''They were just incredible; we're so lucky to have them.''
While repairs were being carried out, all Fitzpatrick's staff would be given work at Mr Quirke's other Wanaka bars.
The bar's reopening would be ''months, rather than weeks'' away, Mr Field said.
''We'll be working very hard to get it reopened as soon as we can.''
Neighbouring interior design business Melanie Craig Design was water- and smoke-damaged, while House of Travel, two doors down, also received some water damage.
