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✍️ Time Out Sydney never writes starred restaurant and bar reviews from hosted experiences – Time Out covers restaurant and bar bills, and anonymously reviews, so that readers can trust our critique. Find out more, here.
The food at Cotenna is served in little cardboard trays, so it’s a happy surprise that it’s here at this simple rotisserie eatery that I experience some of the best service I’ve received in recent times. I’m warmly greeted as I walk in, my every need is anticipated, and as I’m finishing eating up my already-planning-my-return good meal, the owner comes over with a complimentary shot of limoncello – the ideal antidote to a rich dinner featuring crackling pork.
The same warm attention is granted to everyone who walks in while I’m here, whether they’re sitting down for a meal or just ordering takeaway. I like the place, and I can tell that every customer who comes in tonight will be back for more.
The vibe
This roast chicken and pork restaurant, which opened in December 2025 by Amy Wheater and chef Jamie Sutherland, is low-key – it’s up a set of stairs in a Military Rd arcade, in a fairly small space that’s been home to a range of restaurants over the years. (Cotenna started its life as 'Carne' at markets around Sydney, so this is their new bricks-and-mortar home.) You order at the counter, which is next to a rotisserie with chickens and pork roasts that look (and smell) mouthwateringly good. Potatoes sit under the spits, catching the cooking juices from above. If I wasn’t starving before I walked in, I am now. Thankfully they bring me a serve of complimentary popcorn, coated in their porchetta crackling seasoning, which keeps me happy ’til my meal hits the table.
The food
I kicked off this write-up with praise for the service, but the food is the real drawcard. I order the ‘market porchetta roll’ ($19) and it’s honestly one of the best things I’ve eaten this year. I can sometimes find roast pork with crackling too rich, but the fat in the well-seasoned, slow-cooked meat is so perfectly rendered, and it soaks into the fresh ciabatta roll. The sandwich has sweetness and depth from onion jam, sharpness from garlic sauce and bitterness from rocket, which together cut through the deliciously crunchy fat.
I also order a side of ‘rotisserie cauliflower’ with miso tahini sauce ($9), which is served topped with tangy pickled onion. I sit there munching away on my meal and recalling a childhood rhyme: yum yum pig’s bum.
The only thing wrong with this picture is that I’m dining solo so I can’t also taste the rotisserie chicken roll ($18) as well – their chicken is stuffed with Parmesan and lemon rice, and the roll comes with mozzarella, garlic sauce and pickles. See you next time, chicken.
They also serve the rotisserie pork ($14 for 150g) and chicken (quarter $14, half $25 and whole $35) with your choice of sauce (pineapple and chilli, onion jam truffle gravy, green herb). Other sides include salt and vinegar onion rings ($9), rosemary salt chips (from $7) and fried chicken bites with curry leaf mayo ($13).
Their whole-chicken meal deal is good value – as well as the chook, you get a large chips, large slaw and your choice of four sauces for $45.
The drinks
They have a decent selection of tinnies – the perfect pairing with a roast-meat roll. I go for a Hawke’s Lager ($10), but they also serve beers from $8 (Mountain Culture APL and Stone & Wood Easy Pale Ale), plus Brookvale Union Vodka Lemon ($12), Archie Rose Whiskey & Smoked Cola ($12) and Young Henry’s Cloudy Cider ($11). Their alc-free list includes Heaps Normal Hazy and Orange Sour ($8), Bundaberg Ginger Beer ($5), as well as the usual fizzy drinks.
Time Out tip
If you live on the southern side of the Harbour Bridge like I do, you’re unlikely to make a trip to Cremorne for a roast meat sandwich alone (though you should). To maximise your journey along Military Road, combine a bite to eat here at Cotenna with a film at the Hayden Orpheum like I did. It’s one of the world’s great cinemas, according to Time Out’s global movie buffs.
Also note, the restaurant is only open Wednesday to Saturday, in the evenings. Otherwise, you can find still find Carne at various markets around Sydney: at Le Marche French Market on the first Sunday of the month (Entertainment Quarter, Moore Park), at Woolwich Dock on the second Sunday, at Laurelbank Cottage (Willoughby) on the fourth Sunday, and at Northside Produce Market (North Sydney) on the first and third Saturdays of the month.
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