A Melbourne cafe has introduced a tax that charges men more than women for the pleasure of dining at the establishment.

The vegan cafe, Handsome Her is imposing an 18 per cent mark up for male customers while women are charged the standard amount and are also given priority seating.

It has been dubbed the 'man tax' and was created by the cafe's owner Alex O'Brien in an effort to raise awareness around the gender pay gap.

Facebook Handsome Her cafe opened in Melbourne in late July and has already created quite a stir.

O'Brien, who describes herself as a feminist, told The Mirror she thinks it's "fair if you think about the gender inequality that we have".

Would LOVE everyones thoughts on this. My friends cafe in #Brunswick, Handsom Her - is for women by women AND an has a 18% gender tax! pic.twitter.com/tVSX3PO4q8 — Paige Cardona (@paigecardona) August 3, 2017

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"We're bringing it (the gender pay gap) to the forefront of people's minds. I like that it is making men stop and question their privilege a little bit."

The 18 per cent is a reflection of the pay gap in Australia which was reported by the Australian Bureau of Statistic last year.

"If men don't want to pay it, we're not going to kick them out the door. It's just an opportunity to do some good," she says.

The surcharge isn't compulsory and operates for one week per month.

So far Handsome Her, which is a cafe "for women, by women", hasn't had a male customer refuse to pay the surcharge.

All profits taken from the surcharge are donated to various Australian charities that advocate women's health and wellbeing.

While its customers have responded favourably, people on Twitter haven't been quite as supportive.