American author and gay rights activist Armistead Maupin says he is in shock after an Alice Springs bartender would not let his partner use the men's bathroom.

Mr Maupin says he and his partner Christopher have been in Central Australia on holidays, and were going to Bojangles restaurant for lunch.

He said his partner asked one of the bartenders where the bathroom was, but was told there was not one.

"I knew they had one because I'd been there the day before and I said 'what's that over there?', and he gave me a very pointed look and said 'that's reserved for real men'," Mr Maupin said.

"Neither one of us could quite believe he'd said it. And he actually repeated it. He said 'see the sign on the door. It says 'gents'. It's for real men'."

The owner of Bojangles Restaurant and Bar has refused to comment.

Maupin is best known for his Tales of the City novels which were made into a successful TV series in the early 1990s.