We weren’t planning to stop at Polpetta. But we did, and it was the best decision.
It’s an Italian stall that sits inside Baltic Market, a converted industrial space on Stanhope Street. all exposed brick, high ceilings and the kind of layout that makes you want to walk the full loop before committing to anything. Wood-fired pizza, Nashville buttermilk chicken, Middle Eastern kebabs, Thai, burritos. The kind of place where every stall is doing something different and doing it properly. It’s built for everyone, which sounds like a marketing line until you’re actually standing in it watching families, couples and groups of friends all find their corner at the same time.
But what stood out to us was Polpetta, we love Italian food, and we’d been walking all day so this was the perfect hearty meal we needed. They had no Google Maps page, just a stall, and an Instagram page but that was enough to make us stop mid-scroll and think yeah, I need that.
Which resulted in us ordering the Lasagna and their Sunday Special Roast Beef Sub.
Roast Beef Sub
A Sub that's stacked so high it cannot be contained
The roast beef sub arrived on a metal plate, paper underneath, sauce already starting to ooze at the edges. The bread was fluffy with a good crust, soft enough to get through easily but sturdy enough to hold everything together, which given how stacked it was, was doing some serious work. Beef can be dry and tough in a sub if it’s done wrong, but this wasn’t that. Moist, a nice bit of pull, working well with the crispy parmesan and herb potatoes alongside. The mustard mayo gave it a good kick. I’d have taken horseradish personally, but I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
It’s a good sandwich. Hearty, comforting, exactly what you want on a cold afternoon.
It just never really had a chance.
Because then there was the lasagna.
Beef Lasagana
The Best Lasgana In Liverpool
I could tell before the first bite. it had the look of an authentic Lasagna, perfect pasta sheets the subtle cheesy burnt edges, a rich tomato-heavy ragù that’s taken over the plate, a sharp nutty béchamel with parmesan and oregano. And then the bit that takes it somewhere else entirely is the truffle alfredo and gremolata.
My partner took a bite first I saw her face light up, I took a bite, and my face lit up too. You shouldn’t be able to get Lasgana this good unless you’re in Italy. Then after every bite after the first somehow got better than the last. Not fair that we didn’t have time to order another one.
It’s the dish you order without looking at the menu.
It’s the dish you travel to eat.
It’s the dish I saw for the last time.
My partner looked at me after the first bite. Then I looked at the lasagna. Then back at me.
“Can I have that?”
I said yeah, sure.
We didn’t plan on having the best Lasagna, at Polpetta in Baltic Market but we did and so should you.
