Sumo Lounge at Raw

Get to to the Chase:
Pros:
1) Depends on the night, event nights hosted by nightlife entertainment like DNA Nightlife can be exciting, as there are go-​go dancers, a large and upbeat crowd
2) Music is good if there is a proper DJ (again only if it’s an event night)
3) Has 2 floors, and it is one of the few establishments in Philly with decent décor, clean floors (not the usual sticky, vomit-​ridden, or cracked walls)
Cons:
1) It is small for a nightclub and can get packed really easily
2) Drinks and admission together aren’t worth it sometimes
3) Crowd can be heavily Asian (that can be a positive or negative depending on what you prefer)

As stated before it’s similar to most clubs. Bouncers, a $ 5 cover, expensive cocktails, and packed packed packed. (Seriously, it was a ten minute elbow-​filled side step to the bathroom.) Oh, and then there’s the little side of sexual harassment for any of your female friends who appear to be single. The DJ was pretty good doing quick mixes of a lot of pop/​rap hits. Though I couldn’t figure out if it was funny or annoying when he would yell «Sumoooooooooo!» every couple of minutes (ironically) like an announcer at a wrestling event. It had lots of people into dancing, but nothing made it stand out above other clubs for me.

The only reason I cannot give this place more stars is the fact that it was an empty space with a DJ, two bars, and 10 dollar and up drinks (Yes, beer too). The music was great, the crowd energized and everyone danced as thought the world would end tomorrow. Nobody cared about what anyone else was doing or wearing. I would go back, but I don’t know when I’ll be able to come to terms with spending $ 50 on three drinks.

As the aggregated review states, this is a solid 3 stars. Not great by any means, but not bad. It’s what you’d expect from a club or lounge. Fairly expensive drinks (8 – 10 for a normal cocktail), some dbag bouncers (and some nice ones), not enough bartenders for the amount of people, typical 90’s and 00’s hip hop and pop. The crowd, when I was there, was a mix of 20 somethings to early 30s, and all kinds of ethnicities, which was nice.
Just do a couple shots when you first get there and you’ll be loosened up to deal with the crowd and the nonsense that ensues, but isn’t that the case with any club?

Fun as hell

Not the best place in philly to club, but beats out MANY OF THE «regular» spots. it’s just so hard to find awesome, consistent hip hop/​dance beats, esp with an affordable cover.
DJ here was a little horn-​heavy and talked more than he played, but it was still danceable, and the décor is awesome! Would come back., just not on a Saturday!

Sumo Lounge is the back end of Raw. It’s a club. It comes with many of the expected club trappings, though it caters to a very different audience than most of the clubs that I’ve reviewed (which incidentally appear on my «Whitest places u kno» list.
Sumo, for lack of a better phrase, is the «Asian club.» Kinda like Mint, but at the border of the gayborhood instead of Old City. I have no problem with this (see my profile pic), but my racism spider-​sense told me I should probably mention this for my readers of non-​Asian persuasions.
For what it’s worth, because this place isn’t frequented by white 20 somethings, you’ll never hear «Don’t Stop Believin’,» «Sweet Caroline,» or any of those other songs that white people sing in the club to let you know who’s boss. No offense, whitey.
Anyway, with all that said, I want to like Sumo more, but there are some things that just incense me about going there, now and then. In full Asian analytic form, I’ll be presenting the rest of my opinions in bullet points.
Pros:
— Reasonable drink prices
— To the bouncer’s credit, they DO keep it from getting TOO too crowded
— Fun bathroom
— Attached to Raw
— Generally fun music
— Repeating video of some chick swimming while topless. Classy!
Cons:
— High cover
— Dress code designed more to screw people than to keep it classy. It’s a Japanese Restaurant’s lounge, not the Borgata. Loosen up, Sumo.
— Am I related to all of these people?
— Damn, really, am I allowed to hit on this girl? Do her parents know me?
— A line? Really, Sumo? A line? With stanchions and velvet rope?
So all that averages out to a 3. I’d come again, and I’m never opposed, but it’s never my idea — especially since Time is right around the corner, has a lower cover, cheaper drinks, and better music.
Pro tip:
If it’s past 12:30am, don’t bother going. There will be a line, and you’ll spend 30 minutes of precious drinking time waiting before you even get inside.

Best part of Sumo is the decent music and the fact that it has Raw attached to it.
The bouncers tend to give people a hard time and are not the best problem solvers. For example, I was here on a Saturday night so there was a nice sized crowd. A woman partied a little too hard and threw up next to the seating area along the side of the wall. Two bouncers stood around the mess to protect others from stepping in it but weren’t paying attention, and it took too long for someone to come and clean it up, resulting in this poor lady stepping right in it and spreading the mess even further :(eww…
The décor is cool though, especially the huge screens inside and the animé projections on the front window of Sumo itself. Also, the crowd isn’t too diverse (it’s mostly Asian), which is not necessarily a bad thing because they were definitely dancing and that always makes a good time. However, they could use a better promoter to help get the place a little more mixed and attract a more well-​rounded clientele.

Similar to other reviewers of this club, I would NEVER EVER come back to this place and would strongly urge everyone to visit any other bar/​club in Philly as I’m certain your experience anywhere else will be much butter.
A couple of my friends were also refused entry due to invalid IDs that I will never understand. I still have no idea why having a California ID with a Philadelphia address makes your ID invalid. Especially when ANY passport would work DESPITE THE FACT THAT YOUR PASSPORT HAS NO ADDRESS. Furthermore, a large student group at my school was throwing an event here in which we brought over 200+ guests. With that kind of turnout, the management could of at least done something to alleviate the situation. They could have brought a scanner to verify the ID, which they didn’t. They could have used common sense, which they didn’t. At the end, they simply refused entry simply because my friends had a CA license with a Philly address. As if they were the first two students to ever come from out of state to attend school in Philly.
If I could ever give zero stars, this would be place.

I’m dusting off my Unilocal retirement for this review! If I could I would give them ZERO stars because this is literally one of the worst places in Philadelphia. My friends who are both 26 tried to get in with valid IDs, but because SUMO doesn’t know basic laws, they refused to let either one into the venue. Please never plan any events at this place because this is possibly the worst-​run establishment I’ve ever come across in my life!

Tucked in the back of Raw is this moody lounge. The ambiance is all amber lighting and intense visuals, with a modern feel. Contrary to their name, it’s not that big. It’s about the size of two and a half sumo wrestlers. (It should be no surprise that this venue can get crowded.)
There was no cover last I was there (but can vary depending on the event), and the music — a mix of pop and old school hip-​hop — wasn’t bad. If you get thirsty, they have two bars.
Not a bad place to start the night.

This location is the first place in years where I was not a dance floor atrocity.

i have to say. i am a fan.
but i also have to say i only went to the lounge.
we strolled in at 10 for a friends birthday to find some awkward nakedness on the screen and an awkward display of people crowding only around the walls.
we were hesitant at first. but after the rave and trance music ceased. we heard some good music we could dance to.
the bartenders were friendly and you could easily get their attention
i say go a little later to avoid any awkwardness and their mixed drinks are a thumbs up and the music is a little inconsistent but fight it… you know you can!