The gilda is San Sebastian's defining pintxo: a single toothpick skewer of anchovy from Cantabrico, a green pickled olive and one or two Ibarra guindilla peppers, briny and sharp, eaten in two bites.
Where to eat it: 3 restaurants across 1 city.
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.
Common allergens: Fish
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.
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 love it: Centro neighbourhood counter the Old Town queues skip, with the city's best tortilla and a canonical gilda.
Tip: Tortilla finishes by 14:30; arrive earlier on weekends Word-of-mouth is the only marketing.
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.
Try: Foie a la plancha and txipiron stuffed with crab
Tip: Counter standing only; weekends from 11:00.
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.
Try: Pintxos and Txakoli on the church-step terrace
Tip: Counter and terrace open until 02:30 at weekends. No reservations.
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