Fatima Rajina (pictured) has accused a restaurant of 'racial profiling'

A British-Bangladeshi woman has accused a popular restaurant chain of 'racism' after they allegedly refused to give her a table.

Fatima Rajina and her friend Nasar Rahm wanted to have lunch at Côte Brasserie in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, on Sunday afternoon but said they were told by staff that it was 'reservations only' despite there being empty tables.

Unconvinced, the pair then phoned the restaurant using a 'white accent' to try and book a table - at which point they say they were told one would be available in 15 minutes.

Ms Rajina said: 'We went to Bill's first and they said they were chock-a-block because of Mother's Day.

'They were very apologetic about it, very polite, and as we don't know the area well we asked if they could recommend somewhere else and they told us to try Côte.

'We turned up and a woman told us to wait a moment at the door, before a white waiter came up and said 'sorry we only take reservations' - no hello, no nothing.'

Ms Rajina, who comes from Luton, explained that she had an 'instant gut feeling' about why they had been turned away.

Fatima Rajina and her friend Nasar Rahm wanted to have lunch at Côte Brasserie (pictured) in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, on Sunday afternoon but said they were told by staff that it was 'reservations only' despite there being empty tables

Her friend Mr Rahman, from Hitchin, in Hertfordshire, agreed: 'The man at the door looked me up and down really distastefully, and I found it rude.'

'We went outside and Fatima said we had just been victims of racial profiling.

'I couldn't believe that would be the case in 2018 but I phoned the restaurant to see if I could get a table if I put on a white-sounding voice.

'Straight away, the woman on the phone said they had tables free.'

Mr Rahman, 28, then challenged the woman as to why he was refused a table just minutes earlier and asked if it was to do with his race. The woman then apparently hung up.

Ms Rajina, a PHD student, whose work at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London focuses on British Bangladeshi Muslim identity, took to Twitter to vent about her and Nasar's treatment.

The pair have also since left reviews describing their experience on TripAdvisor, Google and Facebook, while Fatima says she wants an apology from the company.

Ms Rajina, a PHD student, whose work at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London focuses on British Bangladeshi Muslim identity, took to Twitter to vent about her and Nasar's treatment (pictured)

The 30-year-old said: 'I'd like a public apology for how we were treated. I'm aware that Welwyn and Hertfordshire as a whole is predominantly white, so I don't know if its a lack of training or what but I'd recommend better training.'

Ms Rajina, a teaching fellow at SOAS, said she felt angry and upset by what happened.

'Both of us felt a mix of emotions: upset, angry and a deep sense of not being welcome because of our racial/ethnic backgrounds.

'I have experienced this before but it was the first time my friend experienced something like this,' she said.

The chain is investigating the incident and denied there was a policy of refusing tables for any reason except when a restaurant is fully booked. It said it was taking the allegation 'very seriously'.

A spokesman for Cote said: 'We are aware of the incident and managing it directly with the guest.

The pair have also since left reviews describing their experience on TripAdvisor (pictured), Google and Facebook, while Fatima says she wants an apology from the company

'Yesterday, on Mother's Day, we had our busiest day ever, serving a record number of guests.

'It was regrettable that being so busy we had to turn away a number of people who had not made a booking.

'We are saddened to hear that someone who was turned away felt dissatisfied as a result.

'At Cote Brasserie we are proud to be an equal rights employer, counting over 120 nationalities amongst our team members.

'We have a strict zero tolerance policy against any form of discrimination, whether it be amongst our team or towards our guests.

'We strongly deny that there is a policy to refuse guests a table on any basis other than the restaurant being full.

'As such, we are taking this allegation very seriously and have also reached out to the guest in question to discuss the matter further.'