Is it possible to be too popular for your own good? So well known for excelling at one thing that people think that’s all you can do? The Seinfeld curse?
The “unpigeonable” Shawn Soole has proven that curse a fictitious one. Lauded internationally for his cocktail prowess (including numerous mentions on the pages of Sip Northwest), it would be easy to write off the tall Aussie-come-Canadian as a one trick wonder. When Soole arrived in Victoria nearly nine years ago, he was already one of the most recognized bartenders in Australia. Finding Victoria full of potential and beauty, but lacking the professional know-how in the mixology world, he spearheaded the city’s craft cocktail revolution. His name and influence was cemented locally during his time at Victoria’s Clive’s Classic Lounge, where he was twice nominated by Tales of the Cocktail for Best Hotel Bar in the World, and where Soole himself garnered a nomination for Best International Bartender—the only Canadian bar ever to be nominated in any category at that prestigious event. Soole has hosted, emceed, judged, organized and competed in almost 50 cocktail competitions internationally, bringing a worldview approach on both the classics and the trends to Victoria.
So last year when word broke that he was opening his own place for the first time, everyone naturally assumed it would be solely Soole’s kick ass cocktail bar. Soole, however, had other plans. Serious plans. For a restaurant. His commitment to Little Jumbo is obvious when you see the prominent elephant logo tattooed on his forearm. “This restaurant is not just a whim, not just a flash in the pan,” Soole says. “I’m as committed to this as I have been to anything, and when I put my word on something, there is nothing stronger.”
Don’t get me wrong, the beautiful Fernet-stained, western maple bar is stunning, as is the library of spirits standing perfectly at attention in the massive wooden shelved back bar. The concise cocktail list changes often, and the sharp bar team adept at the classics plus a full volume of creative drinks. But I never go to Little Jumbo for the drinks, as expert as they are. I go for the food, the wine and the comfortable, unpretentious atmosphere.
As unique to Victoria’s dining scene as could be (open on Sundays!) the cozy room down the end of the hall in a heritage building in downtown Victoria was completely gutted and rebuilt last spring/summer, though with period fixtures, industrial lighting, well-worn wood and the patina of experience, it feels like its been around for decades. Chef Justin Hardiman worked closely with Soole at Clive’s and the two friends planned out the menu for months prior to opening. Now six months into operations, Chef Hardiman has the breathing room and skill on his small brigade to make the majority of items in house (they grew their own beer-based starter for their house made bread) with the balance coming in from local farms, producers and suppliers—many of them small, family-based and sustainable, befitting Little Jumbo’s philosophies.
The comfort-laced menu is comprised of share plates, and the kitchen will plate depending on what you order and how the food rolls out. Fernet-spiced nuts are a must for me, as is the grilled kale with red wine gastrique, though I’m currently crushing on the seared west coast albacore tuna. I’m gleeful when someone at my table orders the duck fat frites, because if I ordered them solo, I’d eat every last one (Duck. Fat. Frites.). Someday I’ll save room for the house made donuts with bourbon cream and cherry sugar, but my dessert of choice is always liquid, and from the alluring list of Amaro and Digestifs.
I daren’t get too attached, since the menu—like the beverage program—changes up frequently, as they work with small lots, fresh ingredients and boutique producers. I may have threatened to picket if the grilled kale were to leave the menu.
Little Jumbo recently won a Silver Award from the Vancouver International Wine Festival, as well as Best New Entry for Victoria—quite the honor for such a new restaurant and list. Heavily BC focused, the list dotes on small, boutique producers from the Wine Islands and Okanagan, with the remaining spaces filled in with interesting international selections – all at accessible prices and presented accordingly. A small, four tap wine preservation machine (The Vault) is always rotating, allowing guests the chance to sample a couple of ounces of something curious—like the 1985 Porta Dos Cavaleiros from Dao, Portugal, or the 2004 Chateau Musar from Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, for instance.
Soole, Chef Hardiman and team are heavily active in industry education and community events, with nearly every week seeing Little Jumbo hold a class, participate in an outside event or welcome a visiting principal. “The Dean’s Academy” is Soole’s ongoing series of classes for spirits education for trade, and often consumer. Recently Soole invited the team from Dead Rabbit over from NYC for a trade tasting and public dinner (both sold out almost immediately). Clientele ranges from young families in the early evening (they are a restaurant, after all) and the après work crowd to the passionate food-centric and wine geeks (like me) through the later evening industry folks looking for tasty, unfussy food and a cold craft beer. No reservations and a casual menu—with hopping staff—mean guest turnover is swift and the room flowing. Jazzy beats, cushy banquettes, satisfying small plates and grower Champagne by the glass make it a pretty easy choice for an easy night out.
Just a bar guy? Tell a driven person they can’t do something and you provide them the impetus to push twice as hard. I’ve told this story about Shawn Soole a few times, but it sums the man up well, and bears repeating. It starts, as many do, with a man walking into a bar. He pulls up a stool, sits at the wood. “Surprise me,” he says. The barkeep asks if there’s anything that the man does not like. “I hate gin.” So the barkeep gets to work, using barrel-aged spirits, a dash of housemade bitters, syrups reduced that afternoon, precisely sized crystal cubes of ice and passes it to the man. “Best drink I’ve ever had! What’s in it?” Gin, replies the barkeep—aka Shawn Soole—with a smile.
Little Jumbo || Down the Hall, 506 Fort St., Victoria || littlejumbo.ca
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