Union Grill + Bar awarded AAA Four Diamond rating

An early-morning email asking for comment was not how Union Grill expected to learn it had earned one of the restaurant industry's notable distinctions.

At about 7 a.m., Union co-owner Paul Slijper checked his inbox and found a message from a local journalist asking how the restaurant felt about receiving a AAA Four Diamond rating.

There was just one problem — Slijper didn’t know Union had won.

“It was Monday and we had the day off,” he said, adding that he then checked with AAA and he got the confirmation he needed that the Camana Bay restaurant has indeed earned Four Diamond status.

“All hell broke loose as we bounced around the apartment with joy,” the restaurateur recalled fondly.

The official inspection report followed several days later, awarding Union an A-minus score, which Slijper described as "exceptional."

The recognition followed six months of preparation by Union's 25-member team. Throughout the year, AAA inspectors make unannounced visits to hotels and restaurants across North America, the Caribbean and Costa Rica, assessing establishments on cleanliness, comfort, cuisine and consistency.

For Union, preparing meant everything from food and drink quizzes and practical role-playing exercises to examining individual recipes and ingredients to maximise flavour and presentation.

"Reaching Four Diamond level is all about detail. The minutest detail," Slijper said. "From meticulously polished glassware to the perfect guest welcome. A restaurant is a machine with a thousand cogs — all interrelated and connected."

Slijper said he and co-owner Tania Slijper developed their strategy around AAA's criteria, with more than 100 individual checks potentially forming part of the inspection.

"It is certainly not one single thing that we all do well, rather hundreds of things by 25 employees every day," he said.

Maintaining those standards, however, requires constant attention.

"Consistency is so hard to maintain," he said. "We constantly check and double check everything."

The award also marks another milestone for a restaurant Slijper said has matured considerably since opening during the COVID era.

Rather than adapting Union to every new dining trend, he said its owners have remained focused on the original concept: a "big-city fine dining restaurant with the best steaks on island."

"We were always very focused on the brand identity, and we stuck to it," Slijper said.

With Four Diamond status secured, Slijper said the restaurant still has ambitions for further recognition, particularly for its wine programme and from international travel and leisure organisations.

For now, however, success can perhaps be measured more simply.

"A guest once told me that we were the 'happiest' restaurant they had ever dined at," Slijper said. "I'll take that all day.

"We just want guests to leave with fond memories and a big smile."