What makes a perfect gilda?

The gilda is the original pintxo — born in San Sebastián in the 1940s and named after Rita Hayworth's film character: salty, green, and a little bit spicy. It has exactly three ingredients, which means there is nowhere to hide.

The anchovy does the heavy lifting. It should be a proper Cantabrian salt-cured anchovy, thick and meaty, not a sad sliver from a supermarket tin. The olive must be a manzanilla — firm, briny, never mushy. And the guindilla pepper needs genuine bite: vinegary first, then a slow warmth.

Assembly matters more than you'd think. The classic build threads the guindilla in loops around the anchovy, with olives capping each end so nothing slides. Eat it in one bite — always one bite — with something cold and slightly bitter alongside.

Rating gildas across different bars is one of life's great small pleasures. The differences are subtle but real, and finding your city's best is a quest worth taking seriously.