It’s not a club, it’s 'social dining.' We’re elevating the Sunset Strip with a refined izakaya experience that respects the food and the vibe equally.
The h.wood founders are terrified of the 'club-staurant' label because everyone hates it, yet they’re basically reinventing the wheel for a demographic that has money to burn but no patience for bad service.
Executive Chef Erik Idos is a Per Se alum. The bar features 4,000 vinyl records. Beverage Director Kevin Lee also runs Bar Shishi in Miami.
The Sunset Strip is trading bottle service for dry-aged wagyu, and if you call Little Luck a 'club-staurant,' you’re probably not getting a table.
The Sunset Strip has officially traded its thumping bass for the quiet clink of sake cups, and the h.wood group is leading the charge. John Terzian and Brian Toll, the duo behind the now-shuttered Bootsy Bellows, are reopening the iconic space as Little Luck, a modern izakaya that they insist is *not* a "club-staurant." That term, according to Toll, is "universally hated," yet it perfectly describes the middle ground they are trying to occupy: a restaurant with a vibe, where the music is present but not overpowering.
They are positioning this as a sophisticated evolution of nightlife, targeting the older, wealthier crowd from neighboring Beverly Hills who want exclusivity without the chaos of a traditional nightclub. At the helm of the kitchen is Erik Idos, a Los Angeles native with a resume that would make any restaurateur jealous. Idos spent nearly two decades in Michelin-starred kitchens, including New York’s Per Se and Jean-Georges, before moving on to the Nobu team.
He helped open Nobu in San Diego and ran Nobu Hong Kong, where he eventually launched his own restaurant, Chino, in 2014. When Idos returned to the States, a friend connected him with h.wood. "They were looking for an executive chef," Idos recalled.
"So I did a tasting earlier this year, and then they’re like, 'Okay, when can you move back? The sooner the better'." Toll claims Idos "blew us away," promising a menu that is "phenomenal and different," featuring quail karaage instead of the standard chicken, and fish flown in daily from Japan to be dry-aged in-house. The beverage program is equally ambitious, headed by Kevin Lee, who also runs Bar Shishi in Miami.
Lee is crafting cocktails that pair specifically with Idos’ food, including a lychee martini and an old fashioned featuring Yamazaki whiskey and nori bitters. For those with a sweet tooth, the menu includes boozy kakigori—Japanese shaved ice—in flavors like negroni and passionfruit with silver rum and shochu. This isn't just about getting drunk; it's about a curated sensory experience that h.wood believes is missing from the current L.A. dining scene.
The physical space itself is designed to feel intimate rather than industrial. Expect dark wood elements, hanging lanterns, and nods to Ophiuchus, the Serpent Bearer, which serves as the restaurant’s namesake zodiac sign. The bar will feature a staggering 4,000 vinyl records played on rotation, with a live DJ on Friday and Saturday nights.
There are also two private dining rooms equipped for karaoke, allowing for that specific brand of high-end escapism that the h.wood group has perfected. While the Sunset Strip may have matured since Terzian and Toll first started promoting events twenty years ago, Little Luck suggests that the appetite for a "vibey" restaurant is far from dead—it’s just become more expensive and more particular about its labels.
