According to cafe owner Allen Jones, the blaze is thought to have been deliberately started at just before 9 pm in the porch area to the rear of the building.
In taking hold it broke through a glass window and into the kitchen area, causing extensive damage, especially in terms of smoke.
Two fire crews - one from Alton, the other from Odiham - turned out to fight the blaze, which required the use of breathing apparatus and took just over an hour to bring under control.
The rest of the bank holiday weekend was given over to cleaning and repair work, with a team of cleaners, electricians and carpenters working flat out to make sure that the cafe was open for business at 7 am on Tuesday morning.
ÒEveryone has worked really hard to make sure that we could open. We have got a lot of good customers, so many of them rely on us for their early morning breakfast and we didnÕt want to let them down,Ó said Mr Jones.
He is now hoping that British Transport Traffic Police who are dealing with the incident may be able to gain evidence from CCTV footage taken from cameras at Alton Station.