With a fragrant warmth emanating from the tiled, wood-fired pizza oven and a pale November sun streaming through the north-facing windows, illuminating the burnished wood of the restaurant’s homey yet airy interior, Pizzeria Magpie is a setting in which I could happily while away many an hour. Add to this a divinely simple concept featuring little more than pizza and oysters and, as my pal observed, "a wine list as long as the food menu," and the place had me at "Ciao."

Tucked on Maguire St. (is "Magpie" a clever pun about pies on Maguire?), just steps away from the hustle of St-Laurent and sister restaurant The Sparrow (some neighbourhood ornithological fascination?), Pizzeria Magpie offers some truly stupendous pizza, thanks to a strong foundation of good crust, great sauce and toasty flavour from the wood-fired oven.

Crust is usually what makes or breaks a pizza. Magpie’s dough, made from Italian "00" flour (finer and lower in gluten than regular bread flours), is wonderful. It offers some resistance without undo amounts of chewing. Pillowy-soft on top with a lovely crispness on the bottom, the crust was just the right thickness around the rim, but could have stood a little more structure in the centre of the pie to support some of the heftier ingredients and the homemade tomato sauce.

And oh, that sauce! San Marzano tomatoes (the finest sauce tomato) make for a rich red spread that is the perfect balance of sweetness and acidity – a perfect complement to the toppings on both the pizzas we tried. A daily special with little peppery nubs of merguez sausage, roasted cherry tomatoes, shards of salty Pecorino Romano, fried sage leaves and candy-sweet caramelized onions was stellar. A menu selection of prosciutto, arugula, cherry tomato and bocconcini was bright and flavourful, thanks to the right move of throwing the verdant tangle of impeccably fresh arugula on the pie post-oven. The prosciutto was also added after cooking, although I’m never averse to a little crisped edge on my pork products.

The tender meatballs beckoned as an app, but we ultimately went for the seasoned breadsticks, served with marinated artichoke hearts and a pretty piquant aioli dipping sauce. The sticks of pizza dough, freed from topping-support duty, showed the dough at its finest: pure comfort food. I could have sworn the dusting of "seasoning" was Maggi salad seasoning; maybe another sly connection to "Magpie"? Whatever it was, it worked.

My pal’s Valpolicella was warm, round and lightly spicy – perfect pizza wine. I couldn’t resist trying the house version of an orange julep. What I ultimately craved was a cold glass of milk to accompany the oversized chocolate-chip cookies for dessert. From oysters to warm cookies, let alone pizza and wine this good, Pizzeria Magpie’s stylish comforts are multitude.

Pizzeria Magpie

16 Maguire; 514-507-2900

Dinner for two, before tax, tip and beverage: $24-$45