A man has been left red-faced after being doused with chilli while allegedly trying to rob a takeaway in Sydney's south.

Police say the 24-year-old man had a bucket of chilli poured over his head when a female employee tried to stop him stealing money from the till at Rosebery last night.

Officers found the man lying on the floor suffering burns to his face.

Inspector Ralph Deans says police were greeted with an unusual scene when they arrived at the shop.

"It appears that she's just fought back with whatever was close at hand," he said.

"As you can imagine with a face full of chilli, he's received some burns to his face, and he was quite red-faced at the time police arrived to arrest him.

"The shop was in actual chaos, it was in a mess. Counters were pushed aside, chairs were turned upside down, the till as you can imagine was on the floor and smashed - and of course the robber was quite readily identified."

The man has been charged and is due to appear in Waverly Court today.