It's fair to say Rahul* isn't too impressed with the way he was treated by Anglers Tavern in Melbourne last Saturday night.

Rahul - whose parents are Indian - was standing in line to get into the establishment with his mate, who was also Indian. They were there for a friend's birthday party.

There weren't too many people there - it was only just past 8pm - but when they got to the front of the queue, Rahul and his mate were told they couldn't get in because the venue was too crowded.

"It was probably half full, from what we could see inside," Rahul told Hack.

"Once we were told to step aside, they just let in a group of six to seven guys behind us so it didn't seem to be a case of it being too busy."

The denial of entry caused the 24 year-old small business owner to scratch his head.

I was 100 per cent sober. I wasn't intoxicated or on drugs or anything like that."

Rahul said he wasn't rowdy or aggressive.

"I was dressed appropriately. I lined up like everybody else - I didn't push in or anything, waiting for my turn."

The pair thought they'd try again, this time with a larger group of friends.

Rahul joined a mixed group of girls and guys, thinking that'd help him get in.

It didn't.

Management has the right to refuse entry

His other friends - who were all caucasian - got in, but he and his Indian mate were still denied.

The bouncer singled Rahul and his Indian friend out.

He said you're not allowed to go in because you've already been refused and he told me to step aside."

Rahul said he gets why bouncers limit entry, and that he isn't trying to stop venues from deciding which patrons it allows in. He just wanted a valid reason for why he was singled out.

"I just put the question to him and said, 'can you give me a legitimate reason for why you pulled me aside?' And he just said management has a right to refuse anyone."

"I said, look, is it because of the colour of my skin? And he said, 'yes it is. Now that I've given you a reason you can f**k off'."

The bouncer who denied Rahul entry was himself South Asian, which made Rahul think he was following orders from above.

So the next day, Rahul went to talk to the manager of the tavern to see if the bouncer had stepped out of line. This time, he got in without any hassles, but the conversation left him unsatisfied.

He didn't really apologise once, or felt sorry for the actions of the bouncer, if anything he was backing them up."

"My aim was really to get confirmation that the views of the bouncer weren't the views of the business," Rahul said. "For me, the manager was really backing up the views of the bouncer, and that wasn't acceptable to me and I let them know."

Hack on Friday contacted Anglers Tavern to speak to the manager who had handled Rahul's complaint over the weekend. He wasn't working, and the manager who was wouldn't give out his contact details. Emails to the tavern were not returned.

The manager on duty on Friday said she was aware of the allegation, but she wasn't there and therefore couldn't comment on the incident.

'Not reflective of Australians'

Rahul said he's never experienced racism before, and he isn't convinced that it's really a massive problem in wider society.

"Ninety-five per cent of Australians are incredibly supportive and welcoming," he said.

"I don't really think [the bouncer's actions] were reflective of the views of the country or the people of Australia as a whole. It's just unfortunately a group of people share this view at this venue."

I've never had an experience like the one I had at that venue on Saturday night."

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But the Victorian Equal Opportunity Commission has been looking at this issue for at least five years.

In late 2011, it started a campaign to stop clubs and pubs from barring patrons because of their race. That came about after the commission received a massive spike in the number of complaints from revelers.

'Tip of the iceberg'

Over the last three years, 250 people have complained to the commission about being discriminated against by service delivery organisations, like bars and clubs. (Not all of these complaints are about bouncers, or about nightclubs.)

Human Rights Commissioner Kristen Hilton said that's "the tip of the iceberg".

Victorian law protects people from being discriminated against because of their race, ethnicity and skin colour in areas of public life, including in getting access to nightclubs, pubs and bars," Kristen told Hack in a written statement.

Business owners can be held legally responsible for actions of staff, agents and contractors, and for workplace incidents of discrimination and sexual harassment."

Earlier this year, Antony Kwenda Obudho (AKA DJ Kwenda) won a legal battle in the Victorian Supreme Court against a Melbourne nightclub that cancelled his African music event with just five days notice.

The club, Inflation, had claimed it would have had to put on extra security guards to check patrons for the "culturally specific event".

Back when the Commission's campaign started, spokesman for the Nightclub Owners Forum, David Butten, told The World Today that patrons have to uphold the standards of a venue or expect to be rejected.

"It is certainly not a right, it is a privilege to get inside a licensed venue and they are private premises and the owners have the right to set their criteria and maintain what, in their view, is a safe and vibrant atmosphere inside their venue," he said.