Summary
- Dave The Diver offers a unique blend of underwater exploration and restaurant simulation, featuring over 100 fish and recipes.
- Top dishes like Marlin & Soybean Paste Roast and Vegetable Sushi bring in hefty profits without requiring deep dives.
- Players can unlock new mechanics, areas, and dishes in Dave The Diver, making it one of the best indie games of 2023.
2023 was an impressive year in gaming for indie titles, with multiple releases already gaining global attraction and well-deserved attention. Developers MintRocket added to the incredible roster of indie games with their release Dave The Diver, which combined an underwater adventure with a restaurant simulator. The game's title character is a diver by day who catches the very product that is used in the restaurant he helps run by night.
Indie Games That Became Major Success Stories
Though most only see a modest amount of success, some indie games have etched their way into video game history by becoming must-have titles.
One of the most impressive components of Dave The Diver is its surprising depth in both culinary and aquatic inclusions. There are over 100 fish species that can be caught and used in the game, which equates to even more recipes that can be plated up to impress. Combining fish, home-grown vegetables, and chef Bancho's culinary skills, these are the top recipes in Dave The Diver that can be recreated regularly in the restaurant.
Updated on February 2, 2025 by Stephen LaGioia: Dave the Diver quickly became renowned over the last few years, with its inventive blend of roguelike exploration, fun action, and satisfying sim gameplay by building the best sushi restaurant possible. Since the restaurant portion of the game is such a deep, integral part of Dave the Diver's gameplay and progression (and given the teasing of new DLC that's sure to add more satisfying content), it seemed fitting to take a revisit and take a deeper dive into this list. It includes a few more of the best, most beneficial recipes (mostly mid-late game) that can be served at Bancho Sushi or its branch location. Sale price will be the main factor here, but also the relative ease and resourcefulness in procuring the ingredients.
24 Mianbao Xia
Base Sale Price: 375 Gold
Ingredients:
- 5 Black Tiger Shrimp
- 5 Whiteleg Shrimp
- 2 Wheat
- 1 Olive Oil
While it may seem to have a laundry list of ingredients, this shrimp-laden comfort dish is usually worth the investment. Hunting all these shrimp may indeed take a bit of time in the middle and late portion of the game, though gathering them with one's net isn't particularly tough, at least. Plus, players can milk a hefty seven dishes from one set of ingredients.
Busting out this dish can churn out some nice profits by default, but using them for a Shrimp Party event can really have the gold rolling in — along with several happy customers. Players will need to complete the Chinese Cuisine Contest to gain access to this feel-good meal.
23 Deep-Fried Eggplant Shrimp Meatballs
Base Sale Price: 400
Ingredients:
- 3 Black Tiger Shrimp
- 3 Whiteleg Shrimp
- 3 Eggplant
- 1 Olive Oil
This complex dish is quite a mouthful in more ways than one, as it requires several items to cobble together. But between the small, weakling shrimp that pose no fight, and the fact that players can grow eggplant at their farm, assembling this meal is simpler than it looks. Just be sure to train Yusuke to level 15.
Dave The Diver: Every Charm, Ranked
Charms will grant Dave abilities that will increase his odds of survival in the deep blue sea.
Taste-wise, these unique meatballs are more middle-of-the-road, but they do yield great rewards of 400 gold (baseline), and an impressive 1,480 when max-upgraded to level 10.
22 Crimson Fish Roll
Base Sale Price: 400 Gold
Ingredients:
- 3 Clown Frogfish
- 3 Red Bream
- 3 Rhinochimaeridae
These tender, delectable fish rolls are somewhat easy to prepare in bulk, as players can simply hunt throughout the Blue Hole (Medium) Depth to gather all three fish needed in the recipe. It also helps that these fish don't exactly put up much of a fight, aside perhaps for the pointed-nose Rhinochimaeridae.
The end product is a tasty dish that customers will be content enough with — given its 400 gold haul per dish (six can be made for one set of ingredients as a base).
21 Dried Stingray
Base Sale Price: 400 Gold
Ingredients:
- 3 Starry Skate
- 3 Stingray Meat
- 3 Marbled Electric Ray Meat
- 1 Salt
Stingrays can certainly be a pain in Dave the Diver, but taking the time to fish for them can really pay off in the end — especially with this dried dish. Just be sure to spend some time preparing for the Blue Hole Shallows and Glacier Zone to procure these exclusive fish.
Players will also need to ensure they've trained their employee Carolina to level 15. Taste-wise, there are slightly better options, though the ability to churn out eight dishes for one set of ingredients proves resourceful. Prepare several of these dishes and watch the big bucks roll in.
20 Seadragon Onigiri
Base Sale Price: 105 Gold
Ingredients:
- 1 Seadragon
Seadragon onigiri is a simple, one-ingredient dish that can bring in a decent amount of money. Since seadragons are easy to catch with the right loadout, the time and effort it takes to bring this dish to the menu is less than many other options as well.
Since seadragons can be used in seahorse races in the Sea People Village, players need to make sure that they aren't accidentally serving up their favorite racers. With a maximum price of 388 gold, this dish is not the highest return on investment in the game, but it is not bad as a low-effort meal that players can lean on when they have been busier exploring than catching new fish.
19 Hyalonema tuna sashimi
Base Sale Price: 765 Gold
Ingredients:
- 3 Bluefin Tuna Ootoro
- 3 Yellowfin Tuna Ootoro
- 1 Hyalonema
Hyalonema tuna sashimi is a great dish made from two kinds of tuna and a rare seaweed called hyalonema, which is the slowest-growing plant in the game. Players can grow it in the Sea People Village over four days or find it growing inside the Glacial Seaweed Cave. Given the difficulty of obtaining this key ingredient, it makes sense that players can make a lot of gold from it.
8 Best PS5 Games Under 5 GB
These great smaller PS5 selections run the gamut, from RPGs to co-op brawlers.
Taking the time to find the tuna and grow or forage hyalonema can make players a good amount of money since it sells for between 765 Gold and 1,683 Gold.
18 Truffle Shark Sandwich
Base Sale Price: 775 Gold
Ingredients:
- 3 Frilled Shark Meat
- 3 Megamouth Shark Meat
- 1 Truffle
The Truffle Shark Sandwich is a combination of two different sharks and a truffle. While these ingredients can be difficult to find, particularly the truffle, the work pays off very well. With a base sale price of 775 Gold and a maximum price of 1,705 Gold, players can make a good amount of money from just a few sharks and truffles.
Given the rarity and value of truffles, players may find themselves forgoing this sandwich to save them up for even more expensive dishes. That being said, this dish can definitely boost funds if those other recipes aren't available.
17 Porbeagle Shark Sushi
Base Sale Price: 165 Gold
Ingredients:
- 1 Porbeagle Shark Meat
While 165 gold may not seem like a lot to players who've progressed far in the game, Porbeagle Shark Sushi brings in good money for a single-ingredient dish. Porbeagle Sharks can be found in the Glacial Area and are the easiest sharks in that area to defeat. For players to venture to that zone a lot, Porbeagle is an easy catch to bring home.
Dave The Diver: 16 Best Fish, Ranked
In Dave the Diver, catching the following fish will yield significant profits.
Porbeagle Shark Sushi caps out at 610 gold, which is still a great price for a dish with one ingredient. Plus, Porbeagle Sharks are common enough that leveling the recipe up is very easy. There is also a Sea People notice board quest that asks the player to get rid of several Porbeagle Sharks in the Glacial Area, which will help them gather a good chunk of meat.
16 Greenland Shark Sushi
Base Sale Price: 186 Gold
Ingredients:
- 1 Greenland Shark Meat
Another great single-ingredient dish is the Greenland Shark Sushi. Greenland Sharks are the biggest sharks found in the Glacial Area and are usually located near the bottom of the map, just above the control room entrance. Greenland Sharks drop a lot of meat, especially when the drone is used, and it isn't particularly fast or difficult to defeat.
The fully upgraded Greenland Shark Sushi sells for 688 gold, but selling any shark dishes during the Shark Storm Party will make players an absolute fortune. Greenland Sharks are one of the most reliable sources of meat in the Glacial Area and bring in a good price for little effort.
15 Yellowfin Tuna Steak
Base Sale Price: 305 Gold
Ingredients:
- 3 Bluefin Tuna Chutara
- 3 Cherry Tomatoes
- 1 Olive Oil
Going for an alarming 305 per plate at level one, the Yellowfin Tuna Steak is a prime example of why Tuna is one of the best fish to keep high in stock in Dave The Diver. Combining Yellowfin Tuna, Cherry Tomatoes, and Olive Oil, this dish is relatively easy to acquire and will not require Dave diving any more than 100 meters.
The biggest challenge in putting this dish together is catching the tuna, primarily as they travel in schools of five and are incredibly agile. However, for the patient diver with plenty of storage space, coming across a school of tuna can be a very valuable endeavor. Just be sure to use the Steel Sensor Trap, as it makes this endeavor far easier.