La Corte, Leyland is now doing takeaway, and we tried it out

A stylish refurbishment of the old police station in the town saw clever little touches with nods to the restaurant’s former practice, including being able to book seats for up to 10 people in one of the original prison cells.

Ever since its welcome arrival around four years ago, La Corte appears to have gone from strength to strength, adding tempting offers like ‘Silly Tuesday’, ‘Wine Wednesday’ as well as Saturday Italian afternoon teas.

The latest addition is that a selection of their extensive menu has been made available to the take-away audience, for collection only. But would it prove to be an arresting proposition?

I’m very fond of these established restaurants offering take out; my recent visit Papa Luigis in Euxton was a big hit, with their entire menu up for grabs, literally.

La Corte’s take away menu is slightly more diminished from their main restaurant fayre, but it’s still reasonably sized and features a good selection and variety, and they say they’ll try and accommodate any additional requests.

But we were happy with our lot, as all the P’s were all here; pizza, pasta and even panini.

I phoned in with an order of Pollo - a pan fried breast of chicken with a choice of sauce, pepper with cream and brandy, or my favourite; cream, white wine, onions and mushrooms (£7.00).

It came with an optional roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables of the day (£2.00).

My dining partner opted for Penne Arrabbiata, which was a combination of penne pasta in a tomato and chili sauce with onions and spicy salami. (£5.95)

Once I arrived I was treated to a small tour by my very congenial host and shown upstairs to a magnificent dining hall, which he informed me was the old court room.

Once paid my food arrived promptly and I found I was disappointed to be on my way, having greatly enjoyed the courtesy of my hosts and their pleasantly refined surroundings.

So to the food, which was still suitably hot on arrival home.

Mine was a hunking chunk of deliciously tender chicken in a divine white sauce bursting with mushrooms and onion.

The seasonal vegetables - carrots and cabbage, which could so easily have suffered from a prolonged journey from chef’s kitchen, were perfectly done and still just the right side of cooked, and the roasties just made for a delightful midweek Sunday dinner feel.

The penne arrabiata had just the right amount of chilli for a tongue-tingling warmth that didn’t overpower the rest of the dish and the salami made a delicious change to the more usual chicken version of the meal.

Apparently it’s against the law to have pasta without garlic bread, so my companion managed to convince me she needed to eat the majority of a Mexican inspired 12 inch version, complete with cheese too (£4.10). Her case rested.

So to sum up your honour, I’m happy to testify that the food here is excellent, and I’ll have my day in La Corte again soon.