An Argentinian Restaurant's Empanadas by the Bay: El Porteño

Not every argentinian restaurant near me search should end at a white tablecloth. Along the Embarcadero, the answer is a counter: El Porteño Empanadas, a kiosk inside the Ferry Building Marketplace at 1 Ferry Building, close to the main Embarcadero entrance. Zagat described it as the stall right by that door where you face the hardest decision in the building, mushroom and Parmesan or a classic beef. The empanadas are baked, flaky and buttery, and Argentine expats line up for them alongside commuters waiting for a ferry.

The business belongs to Joseph Ahearne, who was born and raised in Napa, and his wife Teresa, who runs the front of house while he handles the kitchen and operations. Ahearne started El Porteño in 2008, selling empanadas at farmers markets and from food trucks before winning a permanent spot in the Ferry Building. A second counter followed at the Oxbow Public Market in Napa, and the company now also runs a SoMa outpost on Second Street.

The dough is a family project. According to the company, it combines Ahearne's mother's empanada recipe with pastry techniques from his sister, who trained as a pastry chef in France. The team adds a little wine vinegar to limit gluten, keeps the dough below 60 degrees and presses it gently rather than kneading it, which is why the crust shatters like a croissant instead of chewing like bread.

Start with the Carne, the house classic. It uses grass-fed beef from Keller's Crafted Meats with sautéed onions, green olives, raisins plumped in broth and hard-boiled egg seasoned with a little cinnamon and brown sugar, the sweet-salty balance of a Buenos Aires family recipe. The Pollo uses organic Mary's Free Range chicken, roasted and paired with raisins, roasted onions and green olives.

The one regulars recommend most is the Fugazzeta, the empanada version of Ahearne's favourite food, the onion-and-cheese fugazzeta pizza of Buenos Aires. It is packed with aged white cheddar, white onion and oregano, and it made a well-known list of 100 things to eat in San Francisco before you die. Get it hot, because the cheese is the point.

Several fillings go beyond Argentine tradition. The Camarones is the shop's take on the Chilean dish machas a la parmesana, with Bay shrimp standing in for clams, plus Parmesan and green onion. La Maradona, named for the footballer, turns his favourite caprese salad into tomato, basil and mozzarella. The Champiñones uses a seasonal blend of mushrooms from Far West Fungi with shallots, aged Parmesan and crème fraîche.

Seasonal fillings rotate through the year. In spring, the Espárragos uses asparagus from Zuckerman's Farm with smoked Gouda and roasted red peppers. The Acelga combines organic Swiss chard, garlic, toasted pine nuts and gruyère in a white wine glaze, while the Cordero braises lamb in Malbec with tomato, basil, parsley and oregano. The Humita, made with sweet corn, milk and a roasted red pepper and onion purée, is the one children usually pick.

Do not leave without dessert. The Banana y Dulce de Leche folds mashed banana and caramel into the same flaky crust, and the alfajores, two soft cookies sandwiched with dulce de leche, are the snack every Argentine grew up with. The house chimichurri is sold for spooning over the savoury empanadas, and a Yelp reviewer quoted on the company's website called the Jamón y Queso, with salty prosciutto and sweet Fontina, the perfect bite to start the day while walking the market.

The Espinacas is another regular favourite, with local organic spinach, smoky bacon from Keller's, a little house-made maple syrup and Parmesan. Ordering three or four different fillings and splitting them is the best way to get a sense of the range, and each one is small enough to eat standing up.

There is no table service. You order at the kiosk from the glass case, pay and take your empanadas to go, either to the benches inside the long hall or out to the waterfront behind the building. Lines form at lunchtime on weekdays and through the morning on market days, and a Yelp reviewer quoted on the company's website described a small line that was easy to wait out. Ordering ahead online for curbside pickup is the way to skip it entirely on a busy Saturday.

For larger orders, the company offers catering and empanada platters, with discounts for schools, non-profits and bulk orders. Hot delivery in San Francisco runs through Uber Eats and DoorDash, and curbside pickup at the Ferry Building avoids delivery fees. El Porteño also ships frozen empanadas across California and the West Coast, so you can bake a batch at home.

The Ferry Building is one of the best starting points for a walk in the city. Its 245-foot clock tower has marked the foot of Market Street since 1898, and the marketplace hall inside is full of local cheesemakers, bakeries and oyster bars. Several days a week the CUESA farmers market sets up around the building, and Saturday is the busiest.

From the back of the building, the waterfront promenade runs north past the piers to the Exploratorium at Pier 15, about ten minutes on foot. Heading south, you pass the 1889 Audiffred Building at 1 Mission Street, one of the few waterfront buildings to survive the 1906 fire, and a block inland Rincon Center at 101 Spear Street keeps Anton Refregier's WPA-era murals of California history in its old post office lobby. Back on the water, the walkway passes Rincon Park and the Cupid's Span bow-and-arrow sculpture on the way toward the Bay Bridge, which glows with its Bay Lights after dark.

El Porteño Empanadas, Ferry Building Marketplace, 1 Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 94111, at the foot of Market Street on the Embarcadero. Founded: 2008 by Joseph Ahearne, run with his wife Teresa. Other counters: Oxbow Public Market in Napa and a SoMa location on Second Street. Getting there: Embarcadero BART and Muni Metro station is a short walk up Market Street, F-line historic streetcars stop outside, and ferries from Oakland, Alameda, Sausalito and Larkspur dock behind the building. Service: counter ordering, takeaway only. Must-try: Carne, Fugazzeta, Champiñones and an alfajor.