Great Taste Chinese Restaurant in Baltimore: Cantonese Dim Sum and Roasted Meats in Fells Point

Great Taste Chinese Restaurant is a Cantonese spot in Fells Point that specializes in roasted duck, pork, and chicken hung in the front window, paired with dim sum service during lunch hours. The restaurant occupies a modest dining room with around 40 seats, making it smaller than the Cantonese palaces in other cities but substantial enough for family gatherings or group dim sum orders.

What Great Taste actually is

The restaurant operates as a traditional Cantonese kitchen, which means the menu splits into two modes: daytime dim sum (typically 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on weekdays, extending later on weekends) and evening à la carte service. The roasted meats are the calling card. Whole ducks and pork belly hang in the window daily; customers can order them by the pound or request a half or quarter bird served with steamed rice and a side of gravy. This is not Americanized Chinese takeout. The kitchen does not advertise; the menu is in Cantonese and English, and many dishes reflect what cooks prepare for themselves rather than what focus groups prefer.

Menu and pricing

Dim sum costs $3 to $6 per basket or plate, with items like har gow (shrimp dumplings), siu mai (pork dumplings), chicken feet, and turnip cake rolling out on carts. A typical dim sum lunch for two runs $20 to $35 before drinks and tax. Evening à la carte entrées range from $12 for congee or noodle soups to $22 for roasted duck or live seafood preparations. Roasted pork belly (char siu) and roasted chicken cost $16 to $18 per pound; a half duck runs around $20 to $24. Prices fluctuate with ingredient costs; confirm the current rate when you order.

How it compares to other Cantonese options in Baltimore

Fogo de Chão, which dominates the rodizio category in Baltimore, serves grilled Brazilian meats at table in an entirely different format and price tier ($50+). Fukuda, a Japanese spot in Harbor East, does not overlap. For Cantonese roasted meats and dim sum, Great Taste competes primarily with larger Cantonese establishments in the Washington suburbs and with takeout-focused shops that lack the dining room experience. Within Baltimore proper, it is the only full-service Cantonese restaurant offering both dim sum cart service and sit-down roasted-meat service simultaneously. Hong Kong Kitchen in Dundalk offers dim sum but operates as a more casual cafeteria format. Great Taste occupies a middle ground: casual enough for walk-ins, formal enough for reservations.

Who it suits and who it does not

The restaurant suits people who have eaten dim sum before and want the genuine version, groups larger than four who want to share roasted meats and multiple dim sum baskets, and anyone in Fells Point seeking lunch that is not a sandwich. It suits Cantonese speakers who can read the full menu posted in the back. It does not suit those seeking modern decor, table service from servers who anticipate orders, or a menu engineered for broad appeal. It does not suit solo diners on a tight budget at dinner, when entrée pricing assumes sharing or a small appetite.

What the first visit involves

Arrive during dim sum hours (lunch, especially weekends) if you are new. A server will seat you, bring tea (usually complimentary oolong or jasmine), and a dim sum menu. Carts roll slowly through the room; flag down pushers for items you recognize or ask your server to recommend seasonal specialties. Order 3 to 5 baskets per person for a full lunch. If visiting in the evening, expect a more typical restaurant experience: menus at the table, longer waits for cooking, and primarily roasted-meat and noodle orders. Roasted meats arrive carved and plated with rice. No table turnover pressure; the crowd thins after 8 p.m.

Hours, parking, and logistics

Great Taste is open 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday, closed Mondays. Dim sum service runs 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekends. Street parking on Fells Street and Eastern Avenue fills quickly during lunch; the closest lot is two blocks away on Broadway. The restaurant does not take reservations for dim sum; arrive before noon on weekends to avoid waiting. Dinner reservations are accepted and useful for groups over six. Cash and major cards accepted.

Great Taste has sustained itself in Fells Point by staying true to Cantonese technique and a neighborhood that still values authentic dining over novelty. It is the place to come for roasted duck that tastes like it was cooked to be eaten, not photographed.