Theeee best you will find for everyone's palette! I've been here many times and I finally took pics! Wings are excellent, fries are amazing... sushi- muah! The inventive combos. They have Casamigos MEZCAL which I love and often not found in bars. They handle large groups well and there is a nightclub on the other end. Don't forget the patio area. This is a must. Crispy wings, delicious not too salty rice dishes, service is always top shelf and you cannot go wrong with any meal choice. I pick something different every time and still have a hard time choosing. However, the octopus was a little chewy for my liking. I would steer away from that but go back again and again The tuna poke bowl was phenomenal and I don't even like steak fries but these are amazing. Just go! But chewy octopus-- good flavor though but just go read more

See all

Just getting out of work and stumbled across this place, what caught my eye was the interior decorating through the window. It looked like such a dimly lit, modern sushi fusion place and of course, my favorite food being sushi, I decided why not. I headed in, and they directed me towards the back for their happy hour bar lounge. Overall great atmosphere, great music taste at a nice volume, enough to jam but also enough to have intimate conversations. The food came out so quickly and the happy hour specials are a steal! Drink specials are decent, food specials are even better. Come hungry, leave happy (I think that's also a motto elsewhere but it is fitting here) Have to say, one of my new favorite happy hour places in Center City! Highly recommend and will be returning soon. read more

Sumo Lounge at Raw - Dance Clubs Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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. read more

Sumo Lounge at Raw - One of the bars in the rear - Dance Clubs Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Decided to stop by here to grab a few quick bites before we went to do an escape room. Very good choice and very fast service. The place has a nice atmosphere with a few seats throughout. We got seated quickly and our server came over a few moments after we were seated. We looked over the menu and we wanted to grab a few items to share that weren't going to take long to prepare. So we ordered edamame and shrimp shumai, spicy salmon sumo buns, and the sushi burger sampler. The shumai was soft and tasty, I enjoyed them. The spicy salmon sumo buns were absolutely amazing. I could have had more of those. The buns were super soft and the filling was flavorful. I would go back just to have those. The sushi burgers were interesting to me. It was A lot of rice. It was too much rice for me. The idea is unique but I feel as though could be executed differently. The different fish filling was decent. Im glad they give enough to complement the amount of rice. We had to deconstruct them to make them work for us. With it being a quick bite, again for us it was great. I would come back again to try other items out. read more

See all

One of my favorite happy hour spots in the city. It previously became my back-up whenever Graffiti Bar was too packed because it's so close, and it's always dead when I come into Raw. It became a reliable happy hour spot. However, don't let what I said about it being " dead" when I walked in deter you. I honestly don't know why more people don't come here for happy hour... I even selfishly didn't write this review for the better half of a year because I didn't want my best kept secret to become swamped. For one- they have happy hour EVERY DAY OF THE WEEK, yes including weekends! I've always sat at the bar - and all of the servers and bartenders have been very fast, friendly and I've always had positive encounters. During happy hour they feature $4 drafts, $6 cocktails and numerous food options such as sushi rolls, tacos, dumplings and more (I'll post a photo the next time I'm back!). The sushi is A-OK - I'll be honest, nothing amazing but it is fair for the price. I don't love their wasabi, but again - it's fine for what it is but is not up to par with higher quality sushi spots. I'd definitely recommend stopping by for happy hour if you're in the neighborhood, it's a great option. I haven't been by for dinner so I can't comment on the quality or prices - but for happy hour I'm very pleased overall. read more

WE LOVE IT THERE!!! The vibes from the decor the lovely bartender and waitress nothing beats their lunch menu and drinks.. We had 2 shots of sake, about 2-3 drinks a piece and it was all worth it. The food WAS IMMACULATE!!! The soft buns with Salmon made my tummy sing and the rock shrimp with the two sauces ( I think one was wasabi) was perfect. We did get the lemon pepper wings and the Cali Katsu/Gree...forgot the name sushi and it was all divine. We will be back! read more

This place is fantastic. Love the interior design, very modern and the comic strip wallpapers are very clever. The service is excellent; waiters are constantly checking in on you and asking if you need anything. I ordered a bunch of things the bought I went. First was there Maki; I order spicy tuna since it's my favorite. I loved it. I think it was one of the best I had in Philly. The rice portion to the fish was 1:4 making the spicy tuna flavor stand out. Second thing I ordered was there sashimi salad. The fish was very fresh and juicy and with the red hot paste on the side to give a little bit of extra kick, it was delicious. I then ordered the skewers since they had a late night happy hour going on. The chicken skewers were very tender and good. Scallop was also very good. Beef was ok, good but I would choose the chicken and scallops over the beef. I was still hungry so I ordered the ramen. I got my fill but... In terms of taste, I would just go elsewhere in the city for the ramen. Overall, experience was good read more

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. read more

I would give this place a 3.5 stars instead of 4 strictly because of service. A few of us were looking to have a drink and some appetizers outside since the weather was so nice! The city was packed and we were having trouble finding an outside table. A friend of mine suggested that we check this place out, so we did. They have an outside area between their building and the adjacent one that is like a hidden oasis. It makes you feel like you are in a different country, which is really nice. We were able to walk in and get an outside table, which was great! We were there during happy hour, but our waitress didn't acknowledge that it was happy hour. She brought us some water and said she would be back to take our drink order. She did come back, but 20 mins later. Conveniently, happy hour was then over. We still decided to order cocktails and some appetizers, despite the poor service. For drinks, we ordered the lavender lemonade and the drink made with wasabi (forget the name of it). For food, we got the edamame, the house salad, and the tiny dancer roll. The sushi roll and salad were awesome. The edamame, which we got with salt, needed more salt. Overall, the ambience is nice and be food and drinks are great. The service was lacking and needs to be improved. read more

See all

Raw Sushi and Saki Lounge is great for a romantic dinner, dinner with a group of friends, or a private party. There is indoor and outdoor seating. The food is delicious and the service is excellent! We come here a lot to have dinner with friends. The sushi is so fresh and the hot dishes are tasty, too! The seafood fried rice and/or grilled squid are must tries! It is a very convenient spot in center city and I highly recommend eating here for Japanese cuisine. read more

See all

I've been here twice. Once a year ago and the second time was about a week ago. The first time, it was pretty empty & it was just my friend and I and another couple at a table. We just got our appetizer when we hear one of the waitresses asking the boss (assuming he's the boss because he dressed out of uniform & was telling people what to do) a question and he starts cursing at her in Korean. I'm not Korean but my friend is & she said he was calling her pretty inappropriate things. The waitress seemed really upset & he kept going at her. It was uncomfortable to witness. Then he starts yelling from the bar to the back where I think the kitchen is. He walks back there and We could hear him cursing and screaming. And he was really screaming. The other couple in the restaurant kept turning around and it was just a really awkward atmosphere. We didn't finish our appetizers and left. The second time, the most recent time, I just flew in from TX & met up with a few of my co workers. We were originally going to go to Sampan but it was too crowded so we walked around till we arrived at Raw. I didn't want to go in because of how awkward it was before but majority voted to so I went in. We're greeted by a really nice hostess and our waiter comes and gets our order. Once again, it seems pretty empty. Just a couple of tables. Everyone seemed in good spirits though until the boss comes in 30 minutes after we did. Everyone's faces change and the vibe changes. He's walking from the sushi bar yelling at his employees, just really being open and not really caring for the loudness/tone of his voice. But it's his restaurant, I guess. Then he reaches the bar area and starts yelling at the bartender, starts shaking his head and pointing his finger at him. His face is getting real red and he has this really scary face on. Our table starts to notice the weird tension forming in the place. Then again, he walks to the back to the kitchen and he's yelling. We heard him say and I quote "I don't give a f***, do as I say or get the f*** out" and starts screaming at whoever is back there to not talk back and etc. it was just so loud and we were seated by the front door, next to the sushi bar. Our group decides to cut the dinner short because honestly, treating your employees like that is not what we stand for. We work for a company that treats us with respect and I really couldn't believe a "professional" nonetheless a manager would treat his employees with such disgusting behavior. I truly can't put into words how awkward and bad the vibe was in there. I will never come back here because I can't support this unprofessional guy and I can't support how he openly verbally abuses employees. I wasn't even going to write this but it's been bothering me. I feel so bad for his employees and I really hope they find other employment where their boss isn't cursing at them and making them feel scared. read more

Great happy hour!! Got to pick our cocktails because we were the first to order that day. We chose the lady dragon and it was delicious! Ordered a spicy tuna roll and a salmon avocado that were great. Tried a tuna Zushi and it was interesting but not great for sharing. Don't thing I'd order that again. read more

Sumo Lounge at Raw - Tuna Zushi - Dance Clubs Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Having traveled around the us extensively for work. I've had the pleasure to test many sushi places and enjoy a wide variety of atmospheres. This restaurant is at the peak with such style to include a manga/anime stickerbomb wall and the value on food and quality was superb. read more

See all

had some drinks but the visit fell short the waitress messed up both our drink order and the sushi we ordered, bar management made it right but it still ruined it for me, its been years simce i came into center city for sushi but i decided to give it a shot and for what we paid it was not worrh it, plenty of new sushi bars in and out of the city limits that can do sushi and drinks alot better than Raw. read more

Sumo Lounge at Raw - Dance Clubs Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Went during happy hour. Got the Zushi with tuna which was pretty good, but the service was pretty awful. The bartender took a long time to take our orders and was talking to this one female patron the entire time and almost ignoring everyone else. It was difficult to get his attention without being rude. I wouldn't go back. Oh and to top it off, after the female patron left, the bartender proceeded to bad mouth her to her friend. read more

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 decor, 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) read more

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 decor is awesome! Would come back., just not on a Saturday! read more

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? read more

This used to be one of the best sushi restaurants in Philly when it was named RAW. Now they only answer the phone "RAW" and then serve canned salmon on their "Sumo Tacos" (see photo). The squid appetizer is a hard chew. The staff is nice. They didn't charge for our squid appetizer. We won't be back. read more

Sumo Lounge at Raw - Dance Clubs Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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 decor is cool though, especially the huge screens inside and the anime 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. read more

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. read more

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

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. read more

Stumbled upon this place last night while looking for a place to go for dinner. Very cute decor. We sat outside in the courtyard. We drank the Pink Ranger.....had 3 rounds....delicious. Then had tuna carpaccio, pork dumplings and of course sushi rolls. It wasn't the best sushi I've ever had.....but it was delicious and the perfect start to our night. read more

My husband and I love it here. We always sot at the sushi bar and typically come for happy hour. Just can't beat the prices! I go for sushi but my hubs goes for the drinks and Korean style wings. read more

Came on the recommendation of a friend and we are SO glad we did. One of the best sushi places we've been to, and the prices are phenomenal considering what you get. Happy to find a sushi place that actually knows the definition of "spicy". Do yourself a favor and save room for the green tea fried ice cream. read more

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. read more

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! read more

Was in Philly on business from New York, NY. asked at the hotel bar " where is a good sushi place". A resounding " RAW" echoed from the bartenders and the waiter who happened to be standing behind me. Place was spot on. Bar was great, service was awesome and the food was great. Best spicy salmon roll I have had. 5 STARS! read more

Had the shrimp tempura and the tango roll. Food was amazing. Perfectly prepared and beautiful to look at. Service was good and nice atmosphere whether you are eating alone at the bar or as a couple or group. For sushi the price was reasonable and portions generous. I will definitely make a return trip. read more