Toad Hall is a beloved, award-winning café and food destination in Motueka housed in a historic building dating back to the 1850s. Originally a school house and later used as an Anglican Diocesan Hall (the origin of its name—The Old Anglican Diocesan Hall), the building now serves as a family-run hub for fresh, wholefood cuisine and local community gathering. The café began as one of the region's most iconic real fruit ice cream stops for generations of beachgoers heading to nearby Kaiteriteri, but has evolved into a true food lover's destination. A large organic market garden on the premises supplies much of the fresh produce used in the café and sold in the store—many garnishes and salad greens are grown mere metres from your table. The store overflows with artisan foods including house-made sourdough bread, local cheeses and meats, handcrafted chocolates, and curated giftware. Ready-to-go meals, salads, and snacks cater to those on the move. The café itself is a relaxed, welcoming space where families feel genuinely valued—inside, a log burner creates warmth and coziness, while outside, mature heritage-listed trees provide shade. A spacious, quirky playground keeps children entertained while parents unwind. Founded on principles of hospitality with soul, Toad Hall is deeply committed to sustainability, using solar power, implementing zero-waste practices, composting food scraps, and using only recyclable and compostable packaging.
Toad Hall occupies a building with genuine history. Constructed in the 1850s as Motueka's first school house, it was later donated to the Salvation Army by early settler Dr. Greenwood and served as their Sunday School Hall for over a century. After a period with St Thomas's Anglican Church, the building was relocated in 1998 to its current High Street location, where it was renamed The Old Anglican Diocesan Hall—TOAD Hall for short.
For decades, Toad Hall earned its reputation as one of the region's most iconic real fruit ice cream stops. Generations of beachgoers heading to nearby Kaiteriteri would make it a pilgrimage site, stopping for a scoop of house-made ice cream on a sun-soaked summer day. That simple offering—quality ice cream made from fresh local fruit—created memories that lasted lifetimes.
What began as an ice cream stop has evolved into something richer. The founders, raising four children and frustrated by the lack of genuinely family-friendly places serving healthy food, envisioned a café that didn't force families to choose between hospitality and nutrition. They created Toad Hall as that refuge—a place where energetic kids wouldn't disturb other diners or be made unwelcome.
Today, Toad Hall is much more than ice cream. The store overflows with fresh local produce, artisan foods, house-made sourdough bread, local cheeses and meats, handcrafted chocolates, and thoughtful giftware. The café serves fresh, healthy meals and salads. Ready-to-go options cater to travellers. The real innovation, though, is how much of this comes directly from the ground beneath your feet.
The on-site organic market garden is central to Toad Hall's identity. Growing much of the produce they serve and sell, the team has built what amounts to a working farm adjacent to a café. Many of the fresh garnishes and salad greens on your plate are grown metres away—food that goes from soil to table in hours, not days. This commitment also extends to their relationships with local growers and producers, trading fairly and directly to ensure freshness, quality, and community connection.
Beyond the food, Toad Hall has built something cultural. The space itself invites lingering. Inside, a log burner creates warmth and coziness. Outside, mature, heritage-listed trees provide natural shade and character. Most notably, a spacious, quirky playground keeps children genuinely entertained, meaning parents can relax without guilt—the café embraces families rather than merely tolerating them.
The team consciously selects staff to reflect their values of inclusion and diversity. They invest in young and unskilled people, offering training, skills development, and genuine career pathways. The message is clear: this is a place where everyone belongs.
Toad Hall's sustainability practices are embedded, not performative. They operate on solar power for the majority of electrical needs. Composting transforms food scraps into garden nutrients. Only recyclable and compostable packaging is used. They pursue four-day work weeks for staff and have honest conversations about mental health and well-being. The philosophy underlying every decision: it must nourish people, nourish community, and nourish the planet.
This is what they mean by "hospitality with soul"—it's not a slogan but a daily commitment. They won't serve anything to customers they wouldn't serve their own children. Every product in the store is produced ethically and often comes from someone they have a personal relationship with.
Toad Hall remains what it has always been: a beloved institution. But now it's one that nourishes in every sense—nutritionally, culturally, and ecologically.