"The short winter's day was drawing to a close. It seems to me sometimes that these are the only days I have ever known, and especially that most charming moment of all, just before night wipes them out."
first time trying magpie, ordered a margherita pizza for takeout, entered the cozy confines and a waitress at the bar promptly noticed a patron looking dazed and confused so she greeted me and gave me a menu to gloss over. while propped up at the bar, another waiter asked me if i wanted a glass of water while i waited for the dough to become pizza. standard things are often overlooked so i appreciated the attentiveness given for a mere take out order on a very busy saturday evening, i would fancy they're just as good in full sit-down mode. if you like bustling places/people packed in like sardines, you'll like it here, however if you're a little claustrophobic or prefer quieter quarters while having lunch/dinner, i'd recommend a weekday or afternoon.
on to the pizza - really loved the sauce and crust (though slightly thicker than i had hoped for), and you can taste the quality of the ingredients, but it felt like they were too generous with the olive oil and too frugal with the basil/bocconcini, all too often (like over 1/2 the time ), my bites consisted of just bread and tomato sauce. some of the time i was eating a great margherita pizza, a good deal of the time i was eating a marinara sauce pizza, which wasn't what i ordered.
4 sprigs of basil attempting to be strategically placed around the center and bocconcini that needed two dollops per quadrant instead of one for a premium price ($14.95 taxes in, cheapest on the menu) may get you capital punishment in some other countries. okay, maybe a slightly less severe sentence, but i seek swift justice for all those 'just sauce' bites!