Wine and Dine

Michael Ratté operates an award-winning Springfield restaurant, the culmination of almost 30 years in the food-service business.

But the co-owner of L’uva didn’t start anywhere near the top; his first foray into the business was busing tables at Springfield Country Club at age 16.

“I’ve been in fine dining almost exclusively ever since, in many places in this area and elsewhere,” he said. And when it came time to actually own a restaurant, Ratté soon decided he was better off following his own instincts.

“At first, I was with a few other guys with their own concepts, and none of them were in the restaurant business,” he said. “When I pointed out the inadequacies of their ideas, they got afraid. So I bought them all out and did it on my own.”

Well, not quite.

Ratté partnered on the venture with chef Joseph Groth, who remains co-owner and head chef today, and earns credit for the eclectic nature of the expansive and ever-changing menu.

“The idea was fine dining, a big menu, and lots of wines,” said Ratté; indeed, L’uva is a French word for grape, and the wine list features more than 60 selections by the glass, 350 by the bottle, “and there are probably another 75 to 100 that aren’t even on the list.”

In this issue, BusinessWest visits what is quickly becoming a Springfield destination for food fans and wine lovers alike.

Creative Touches

Ratté has described Groth’s food creations as having Asian, French, and Italian influences, but with a distinctly American twist.

There’s an element of adventure in the menu, from a Caesar salad topped with semolina-fried oysters to entrees including maple-crusted scallops and duck with sun-dried cherries. L’uva also offers creative cheese plates, a selection of desserts all made in-house, and petite entrees that leave room for … well, salads, cheese, and desserts.

“My chef is outstanding, and this is a family venture, so everybody involved cares about what we’re doing,” Ratté said. “We’ve all been together for so long, we work really well together.”

Even though Ratté and Groth’s earliest concept, something resembling a sandwich shop, morphed into the fine-dining establishment L’uva is today — “this is a much fancier look than what we were originally going to do,” Ratté said — even then they intended to include plenty of beer and wine selections.

And L’uva has certainly forged a reputation for wine, hosting wine clubs, private wine tastings where people can learn more about different varieties, and even “wine flights” — sample servings of four different wines, offered on their own or with a meal. Just a year after its 2003 opening, L’uva was earning ‘best wine list’ honors in the Valley Advocate’s annual Best-of-Springfield poll — in addition to ‘best restaurant,’ ‘best creative American cuisine,’ and ‘best service and waitstaff.’

That latter honor is no accident; L’uva is staffed by professional waiters, some of them seasoned industry veterans — “not college kids working for extra money,” Ratté said — and customers are greeted with the option of valet parking on Friday and Saturday nights.

Ratté is pleased by the way his restaurant has become a noted part of the downtown dining and entertainment scene. “I don’t think this area is underserved by restaurants,” he said, “but I don’t think many places pay as much attention to detail as we do.”

That attention to detail is evident in the way Ratté restored the brick walls and tin ceiling of L’uva’s 1850s building. “We feature art by local artists on the brick wall on the bar side, and that changes every month, so it changes the look in here and also gives plenty of locals an opportunity to show off their works,” he said.

Forward Thinking

Ratté’s plans to open a second location in Belchertown, at the site of the former state school, fell through last year, but he continues to keep his eyes open for other opportunities to expand. “Many opportunities have arisen, but I’m waiting for the perfect fit for what we want to do.”

In any case, he said, locals who patronize L’uva at its current location don’t have anything to worry about.

“A lot of people heard about Belchertown and thought I’d leave the downtown location completely,” he said. “But that’s not true. We have a following down here, and there’s no reason to leave Springfield.”

In fact, he said, many people don’t believe that a pleasant dining experience can exist in that area of Main Street, close to the Hippodrome and the entertainment district — until they stop by for the first time.

“There’s so much negativity about the downtown, but we’ve never had any problems,” he said. “Things that happen miles away are not what the downtown is like, and any negatives here are things that happen at 2 in the morning, so it’s nothing that affects my customers.”

In fact, Ratté said all the news outside his front window lately has been positive, including the city’s installation of new sidewalks, pavement, and streetlights on Main Street. “A lot of people from the suburbs are afraid to come to downtown Springfield,” he said, “but I don’t think that’s founded.”

Changes are constantly afoot inside L’uva as well, as Groth produces a new menu four times a year, keeping some favorites but always introducing new items.

“It’s a huge menu, but our regular customers still often wind up trying everything, so it’s important to change it for them,” Ratté said. “It also allows us to take advantage of seasonal items, so we get things when they’re at their best. And we’ll go a little heavier in the winter, which is nice.

“Besides,” he added, “I have to vary it for myself. I eat here all the time.”

Joseph Bednar can be reached at[email protected]