Gaetano Williams brings casual-upscale dining to Hamilton at Tano Bistro
Some chefs may order from only a few large vendors, but Gaetano Williams has made it his mission to get to know the food he wants to serve and its quality at the source. This extends to literally visiting the farms, walking through the meat processing sites, and sourcing unconventional items if they taste better than the norm. The result is the unique flavors and foods of Tano Bistro, which opened its second location in Hamilton in 2019.
“Our commitment to quality is our hallmark, and we really try to live out that commitment,” says Williams, chef and owner at Tano Bistro.
Williams and his wife Gina first started Tano Bistro in Loveland, OH. He brings over 40 years of background as a chef to the work he does, and opening a second location in Hamilton has expanded the ability to share their unique restaurant concept.
With each season, different vegetables, fruits, grains, and meats are more plentiful and fresh in the market, so Tano Bistro changes the menu to take advantage of whatever is the most flavorful and ripe at the time.
“I’d say we change at least 30 to 35% of the menu seasonally, if not more,” explains Williams. “We also run specials frequently.”
Tano Bistro is located among other restaurants and shops below the Marcum Apartments. It is well-situated for foot traffic from Marcum Park, the Courtyard Marriott, and the Riversedge Amphitheater.
While Williams considers the Spooky Nook development an exciting part of Hamilton’s near future, he chose Hamilton for this second location because of the wider movement of growth here.
“It was certainly part of it, but it wasn’t the end-all,” says Williams. “One of the reasons why we came up here is because this city has a vision. Everybody is on the same page: the city government, the charitable foundations, and City Council. Spooky Nook is a big piece, but there’s more to it when you talk about the revitalization of Hamilton.”
In addition to the carefully-selected dinner entrees, Tano Bistro offers a variety of lunch options and the weekends bring an exciting mix of brunch dishes. You’ll just have to try the biscuits and gravy, which are made with sausage that is prepared in-house as well as goetta, a Cincinnati favorite.
Other unique items include the water buffalo burger, which Williams discovered as a cut above other burger blends by having a blind taste-test with his fellow chefs.
“Water buffalo is highly-nutritional, grass-fed product, and it has a great neutral taste, like a regular burger,” says Williams. “It was so delicious that I was hook-line-and-sinker sold.”
Williams points out that they strive to offer the kind of service and food you’d get in a fine dining establishment, but in an approachable atmosphere.
He credits their early success in the Hamilton location to their opportunity to deepen the expertise of their management team.
“Finding good people is the biggest hurdle, but we’ve gotten our prayers answered with some great people,” says Williams. “Our management team was able to spend so much time in Loveland while this building was being built. We brought them in early; they were able to really develop what we do and how we do it and why we do it. That was a major part: the management was so comfortable when we opened that it went a long way.”
He also sees a real exchange of gratitude between the guests of Tano Bistro and his whole staff.
“The feedback is overwhelmingly positive,” says Williams. “One of the happy surprises has been that I get the genuine feeling of ‘thank you for being here,’ a very heart-felt thank you from our guests.”
Learn more about Tano Bistro at their website, https://foodbytano.com/tano-bistro-hamilton/