There’s been no shortage lately of prominent fusion cuisines — born not of confusion, but of history.

Nikkei cuisine originated when thousands of Japanese immigrants settled in Peru at the end of the 19th century. Indian Chinese food developed when Chinese immigrants for work to Kolkata. And Italian and Spanish influences began to flavor Argentinian cuisine in the 19th and 20th centuries with a wave of immigrants from those countries.

Morella, which opened in the Marina District last November, is one of the city’s first of late to celebrate that melding of Argentinian, Italian, and Spanish flavors.

It is the newest concept from the Proof Positive group that owns and operates such San Francisco establishments as Thriller Social Club and Wilder.

It’s a restaurant with a decided Miami-esque look with plenty of floral patterns, potted palms, gleaming brass, and flamingo pink and green banquettes, as well as an eclectic assortment of different chandeliers hanging in the dining room.

Last week, I was invited in as a guest of the restaurant to try the menu, which is overseen by Executive Chef/Co-Owner Jesus Dominguez, who spent a decade as sous chef at the Michelin two-starred Campton Place in San Francisco.

Cocktails come in tall glasses that give them real presence. The “Smokin’ with Passion” ($15) is tangy and sharp with an edge of bitterness in all the right ways, thanks to mezcal, ginger, passion fruit, lime, cucumber, and agave. A salt and pepper rim cascades down the glass for a final flourish.

Argentinian empanadas come two to an order ($15), and you can choose all beef, chicken or pork or a mix of two. The half-moon pastries are light, crisp and golden. The chicken one is filled to bursting with shredded meat. The other with ground pork is seasoned with warm spices. Two dipping sauces accompany them, one red, the other green. They’re mildly spicy, and taste not that dissimilar with the red one a tad sweeter and the green one just a smidge tangier.

Asado de pulpo ($25) contrasts warm chunks of tender and slightly chewy octopus, potatoes and olives with cool fennel, arugula, and grapefruit and orange supremes.

The Argentinian-style sausages ($8 each) may not be made in-house, but they are crafted by Fremont’s Newport Meat to the restaurant’s specifications. They are served with grilled bread, pickles, and grain mustard. Cooked on the wood-fire grill, they are juicy and snappy. The pheasant mushroom one is earthy tasting while the duck apple brandy one has a wonderful touch of fruity sweetness.

The chicken Milanesa ($29) is a huge portion with two pounded, breaded breasts stuffed with smoked ham and mozzarella, then fried, smothered in marinara sauce and showered with fried shallots.

Shoestring fries ($12) are pretty delicious dipped into that marinara sauce, too.

But they’re even better dragged through the sauce for the Dungeness crab sorrentinos ($31). This is the star dish. Sorrentinos are Argentinian raviolis that are larger than standard Italian ones and round in shape. These plump beauties are stuffed with ricotta, fontina, parmesan, and crab. More crab — in large chunks — get piled over them. The whole dish is napped cleverly in a velvety crab bisque sauce that has a deep crab taste.

Unfortunately, we had to skip dessert, as we had only 5 minutes left on our 2-hour, metered parking space. Service can grow harried once the dining room fills up. Although there appeared to be two servers, with a couple of back waiters picking up dishes from tables, one clearly was doing much more work, and seemed stretched to the limits. So, if you’re jonesing for dessert, plan accordingly and be sure to allot more time on your meter.