Allegations of racism against Azure colour social media blue

South Africa may well be celebrating 20 years of democracy and the end of the apartheid regime, but sadly allegations of racism still resound - the latest is against Cape Town's iconic restaurant situated at the 12 Apostles Hotel, Azure.

TimesLive succinctly sums up the gist of the complaint in this tweet:

Table for 6 please: Black person

Azure: We're full
Table for 6: White person
Azure: No problem
http://t.co/HUjksSDt1u pic.twitter.com/kqnsWlYU7F

- Times LIVE (@TimesLive) January 6, 2015

Tumi Mpofu and her family claim to have phoned to make a booking for a table of six on 27 December. Sensing something fishy about the restaurant's claim 'we're full', Mpofu got her white friend Martina Philcox to phone and make the same request. Surprise surprise, Philcox managed to secure the 'non-existent' table for six for her friend.

The 12 Apostles mountain range above Camps Bay © Suwatpo – 123RF.com

Compounding the racism rumours is the allegation that on arrival the following evening, the Mpofus were told there was no such booking, even though Philcox had phoned again to confirm.

News24 reports that the 12 Apostles general manager Michael Nel called it a 'reservations error'.

The result? Social media is ablaze with white-hot fury, dark blue depression and angry red calls to boycott the restaurant.

Click here for Philcox' side of the story, and here for the 12 Apostles' official response.

Misunderstanding? Overreaction? Valid claim? Leave your thoughts below...

For more:

• TimesLive: Blacks get blues at Azure
• iAfrica.com: Top Cape hotel in racism row
• AllAfrica.com: What Happened When a Black Family Tried to Make Reservations At a Posh Cape Town Restaurant
• News24: Posh Cape Town hotel under fire for alleged racism