The firehouse vibe is apparent and welcoming as soon as you walk into Burano’s Wood-Fired Pizzeria in Scarborough.

The casual pizza restaurant opened in a former Scarborough fire station last fall. Just off the dining room is a great big wood-fired oven, so you can see actual fire. Exposed brick walls on all sides give the place a cool, casual feeling. Wooden ladders, no longer used for fighting fires, hang overhead.

As soon as I walked in on a recent Friday night, I thought, “This is the kind of place I’d like to have a pizza and a few beers in.” But since my underage daughter, Dinah, was with me, I only had one of each – a pizza and a beer.

The pizza menu, in my opinion, was more creative and sophisticated than the average pizza and beer place. We didn’t have to look further than the first pizza on the menu for something out of the ordinary that sounded like it would hit the spot. It was the Burano Specktacular, so named because it features a smoked prosciutto called speck. It also has a garlic olive oil base, a Gruyere and mozzarella cheese blend, fire-roasted cremini mushrooms, red onions, truffle oil, oregano and arugula.

The Burano “Specktacular” has garlic olive oil, Gruyere and mozzarella cheese blend, smoked prosciutto, roasted cremini mushrooms, red onions, truffle oil, oregano and lots of arugula. Photo by Ray Routhier

There was so much arugula on the pizza that I thought when it was first delivered it might be a salad, by mistake. But I found that the arugula worked really well with the other flavors, especially in countering the very rich truffle oil. I was also glad there was no red sauce, because the mushrooms and speck were wonderful and I think a sauce would have drowned them out.

The pie was $17.50 for a 12-inch, the largest on the menu, which was cut into six pieces. It was plenty for Dinah and me, partly because we each had an appetizer of a giant meatball in a chunky marinara sauce, for $3.75. Though I thought our pizza was great without red sauce, I still craved some.

I was very happy to find the beer menu included lager from Sacred Profane in Biddeford, which I had been meaning to try since the brewery opened in September. The Czech-style lager was great – light but with great character and flavor.

An appetizer of meatball and marinara sauce at Burano’s Wood-Fired Pizzeria in Scarborough. Photo by Ray Routhier

There are several other pizzas on Burano’s specialties pie menu that bear mentioning because of their creative taste combinations. One is the Spicy Soppressata, with red sauce, Picante Soppressata salami, mozzarella and asiago cheese, red pepper flakes, arugula, freshly grated parmesan cheese, and drizzled with spicy olive oil. Another is the Pestoria, with a pesto base, mozzarella, chicken, artichoke and red onions. There are also interesting variations on Greek and Hawaiian pizzas on the menu.

The toppings available to build your own pizza go beyond extra cheese and pepperoni. They include artichoke, arugula, broccoli, eggplant, scallions, spinach, zucchini, bacon, scallop, shrimp, spicy capicola, soppressata and prosciutto.

Burano’s is located on Route 1 in Scarborough, in the former Oak Hill fire and police station. The building is also home to the combined Harbor Fish Market and Rosemont Market & Bakery store. So it’s a convenient place to stop for a pizza and maybe some groceries and fish as well.

A slice of the Burano “Specktacular” pizza. Photo by Ray Routhier