Gilda
Photo: Centenoyespelta · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

The gilda was assembled in 1946 at Casa Vallés on Calle Reyes Catolicos by the Vallés family, who named the dish for Rita Hayworth's character in the 1946 Charles Vidor film of the same name, a femme fatale 'salty and slightly piquant' like the skewer itself. The first version stacked one anchovy, one olive and one guindilla pepper. Modern San Sebastian gildas now run to two anchovies and two olives, sometimes a third guindilla. The dish became the structural opener of the Basque pintxo crawl and the canonical first bite in any Donostian bar. Antonio Bar in the Centro and the gilda counters around the Old Town all build on the Valles 1946 template.

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Common allergens: Fish

Make it at home

Yield 6Hands-on 5 minTotal 5 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 12 anchovy fillets in olive oil (Cantabrico if available)
  • 12 pitted green Manzanilla olives
  • 12 to 18 Ibarra guindilla peppers in vinegar
  • Extra virgin olive oil (Arbequina), to drizzle
  • 6 cocktail sticks
  • Optional: a quartered pickled onion per skewer

Method

  1. Pat the anchovies and the guindilla peppers dry on kitchen paper to remove excess oil and vinegar.
  2. Take a cocktail stick. Thread on one folded anchovy, then one olive, then one guindilla.
  3. Add a second anchovy and a second olive on top; finish with another guindilla.
  4. Place the six gildas on a small plate. Drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil.
  5. Serve at room temperature with a glass of Txakoli or a cold cana.

Tip from the editors. Use Cantabrico anchovies and Ibarra guindillas; both are protected origin products and the gilda depends entirely on their quality. The dish should be assembled within an hour of serving.

Where to eat gilda

Gilda in San Sebastián

Antonio Bar ★ 4.6

€€ Spanish tapas

Antonio Bar on Bergara Kalea in San Sebastian's Centro skips the Old Town queues and pours the city's best tortilla and a canonical gilda at the counter.

Why locals goCentro neighbourhood counter the Old Town queues skip, with the city's best tortilla and a canonical gilda.

TipTortilla finishes by 14:30; arrive earlier on weekends Word-of-mouth is the only marketing.

Directions

Bar Sport ★ 4.3

€€ BasqueUntil Mon-Sun 24:00

Bar Sport on Fermin Calbeton in San Sebastian's Old Town runs the foie-and-txipiron pintxo counter daily until midnight, the late-evening reliable.

TryFoie a la plancha and txipiron stuffed with crab

TipCounter standing only; weekends from 11:00.

Directions

Atari Gastroteka ★ 4.4

€€ Spanish tapasUntil Sun-Thu 01:00, Fri-Sat 02:30

Atari Gastroteka on Calle Mayor in San Sebastian's Old Town keeps the pintxos counter and the Txakoli pour going past midnight, with the church-step terrace.

TryPintxos and Txakoli on the church-step terrace

TipCounter and terrace open until 02:30 at weekends. No reservations.

Directions

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