Car crashes through front of busy Sydney restaurant

Witnesses are counting themselves lucky no-one was badly injured when a car smashed through the front of a restaurant in Sydney's Sutherland Shire.

The owner of the neighbouring pizza shop said he thought there were about 30 people, including a group of older people, eating at the Ding Hao Chinese Restaurant when the car went through the window about 7.30pm on Friday.

"Mate I was in there making pizzas and all of a sudden I just heard this bang crash and it was like 'what the hell was that?'" Pizza League owner Vince Talotta told 9News.

READ MORE: Man refused bail after nine hour Sydney siege

"Next thing I see everybody running. Everybody in the restaurant just ran outside

"Never seen anything like it. Not here."

There were reports the driver, an older woman, was taken to hospital but neither police nor paramedics were able to provide details of any injuries.

Mr Talotta said it appeared the driver had confused the accelerator and the brake, smashing through the shopfront and missing a table by "that much".

He said the lady and some of the older patrons in the restaurant were "pretty shaken up" but it was lucky no-one had been walking past at the time.

"It was just so loud eh. I just seen materials, like glass and stuff fly across our shop and I'm thinking 'what the hell's just happened there?'".