Lidcombe Hotel — Restaurant in Sydney

I am writing to formally complain about the refusal of entry I experienced at Lidcombe Hotel on 12 July 2025 at approximately 10pm, I was attempting to enter the premises along with 5 other people. Upon entering as the notorious Security Guard EB/Ibby (obviously not his real name as he hid his badge) requested ID from me and my friends. We handed out our licenses and we were informed that we were not permitted to enter.

Our reaction to this was WHY? We questioned the security guard and his only answer was you seem to be intoxicated. We told him that we weren’t drunk, we came from Dooleys and only had coke zeros as our beverage. My friends and I started to get quite upset and requested to see a manager.

A second female staff approached us, she advised only 1/6 of us looked intoxicated and did not believe we were intoxicated but because we were arguing with the security and telling him that we were sober she initiated refusal of entry for the scene we caused.

The staff did not provide a specific reason that implied looking intoxicated. This refusal has caused us significant distress and inconvenience, as we had planned to gamble more as we were not satisfied gambling at Dooleys.

This could have been an easy solution if there was a VALID reason that any of us appeared intoxicated ie; loud, disruptive, violent. No reason was provided.

Another solution would have been a breathalyser in the club just like Dooleys club does.

I believe this refusal was discriminatory based on our race and in violation of the relevant Anti-Discrimination Act as he was calling us you asians and assuming we had the Asian flush.

(Asian flush, also known as alcohol flush reaction or Asian glow, is a physiological response to alcohol that causes facial flushing, warmth, and redness in the face, neck, and chest.)

I request a formal apology and a review of the venue's entry policy, but most likely won’t be able to receive this as the last we spoke to Kim in the club claiming to be the manager said that this would be lodged but no further information of how they will investigate was given.

I’ve seen too many comments regarding this specific security guard and I don’t see any replies from the manager to resolve the matter. I do hope Lidcombe Hotel staff does reach out to me as I have sent an email to them. If a manger does reach out, make it public and respond to this comment.

Please do as you have promised to investigate...

This place is a joke. Came for a beer after work and left my electric scooter tucked away in a corner where the bar staff could see it to discourage anyone from stealing it. It was completely out of the way and not stopping anyone from moving around freely or sitting at what ever table they chose . When I came in I asked the guy at the bar if it was okay just to be polite and let him know I’d left it there and said it was no dramas. About 15 mins later I was approached by a different member of the bar staff who informed me they weren’t allowed to have scooters inside and when I asked who’s rule that was she said her boss’s. fair enough if she’s just following instructions from above her but still I was quite shocked and honestly thought she was joking. I had abit of back and forth with the lady before she left me to my own devices as I wasn’t prepared to go leave my scooter out on the street. Needless to say I finished the beer I had and made my way to the other side of the station and attended one of 2 other establishments that were open and continued to drink and gamble there. I hope the boss who came up with this rule reads this and pulls his head in as the other local places and countless other venues I’ve been to have been more then accommodating when I ask if I can put my scooter somewhere out of the way and safe...

Super rude security guard with a big ego. Came in with a small group of friends to grab some drink after having dinner at a restaurant close by.

Security hard came towards us and spoke aggressively and rudely as we were looking at the menu, he pulled it out of my hands then told us one drink only and we need to leave as we look “drunk”, we came as a group of friends laughing along and chatting, that’s why we go to a pub to keep chatting and have fun amongst ourselves, the place was completely empty and we were not disturbing a one or being rude to anyone.

On my way out i said thanks to the security and he pretended not to hear me while still playing on his phone like he did the whole time he was there.

Absolutely worse customer service ever, no wonder is ALWAYS empty, looks like i’m not alone too with all the one star reviews complaining about...