We weren’t planning to stop.
But we did.

And it ended up being the best decision we made that day.

There’s an Italian food stall tucked inside Baltic Market called Polpetta, and it might genuinely do the best lasagna in Liverpool.

It’s a stall rather than a restaurant, and doesn’t even have a Google Maps page. Their Instagram does the heavy lifting instead and honestly, I probably would’ve missed it if it wasn’t for that.

It’s exactly what you want it to be. Close-up shots, ridiculous layers, plenty of cheese pulls. The kind of food content that makes you pause mid-scroll and think, yeah… I need that.

We went in on a cold Sunday afternoon after wandering around the docks and Red Brick Market, before heading to see Iron Lung.

The kind of cold where you’re not freezing, but you’re definitely thinking about food the whole time.

Inside, Baltic Market was warm. The footie was on, but not too loud. People dotted around with pints, trays of food landing on tables, that low-level buzz of a place doing exactly what it’s meant to do.

It felt like somewhere you could stay longer than planned without really noticing.

We were starving and short on time, so we said screw it and ordered the roast beef sub and the lasagna to share.

Or at least that’s what I thought we were doing.

Everything’s ordered through an app, which usually feels a bit impersonal, but it worked well here.

You order, find a table, and just wait it out while everything around you carries on. It gives you time to actually take the place in instead of hovering at a counter.

It came out in under 30 minutes, which felt like a solid turnaround given how busy it was.

And when it landed, it actually lived up to it.

The roast beef sub was stacked.

Beef can be dry and tough if it’s done wrong, but this wasn’t that. It was moist, had a bit of pull, and worked properly well with the crispy parmesan and herb potatoes which were way bigger than expected. The mustard mayo gave it a good kick too. I’d still take horseradish, personally. Beef just works better with it. But that’s me. It’s a great sandwich. Just not why you end up here.

And then the lasagna arrived.

You could tell straight away this was the one.

Before even taking a bite, it had that look about it. The kind of dish you already know is going to deliver.

Perfect pasta sheets.

A rich, tomato-heavy ragù.

A sharp, nutty béchamel with parmesan and oregano.

And then the bit that takes it somewhere else entirely truffle alfredo and gremolata.

It shouldn’t work as well as it does. But it really does.

Every bite somehow better than the last.

This is the one. The one you think about later. The one you come back for.

This was also the last time I saw most of it.

My partner asked, “Can I have that?” I said yeah.

That was that.

At £14.95 each, it feels fair for what you’re getting. The sandwich holds its own but it never really had a chance.

We’ll be back. Just not to share next time.

If you’re looking for more places in Liverpool, you can find everything I’ve written here.