Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 20/06/2026 18:27:00

A community local in the Kirkby suburb of Liverpool, the New Johnny Todd is a pub on Whitefield Drive that combines an everyday neighbourhood bar with live music and televised sport. Recently refurbished, it serves the surrounding residential area on the city's northern edge. The pub takes its name from Johnny Todd, a traditional Liverpool folk song best known as the tune adapted for the theme of the television series Z-Cars, tying the venue to the city's long musical and cultural heritage. Inside, it is a straightforward, friendly local, praised by regulars for its clean, welcoming feel and attentive staff. A capacity of around 200 makes it large enough to host functions while keeping the atmosphere of a community pub. Entertainment leans on live music and big-screen sport, with the bar acting as a gathering point for match days and weekend gigs, alongside the darts, drinks and conversation typical of a Merseyside local. An outdoor drinking area gives the pub a beer garden for warmer days, and its function space has been used for family celebrations and private events, with staff noted for looking after larger bookings. Set among the housing of Kirkby and within reach of local transport links, the New Johnny Todd plays the role of a dependable neighbourhood pub, trading on familiarity, value and a steady diet of music and sport rather than passing trade. Kirkby grew rapidly as a postwar overspill town for Liverpool, and its community pubs have long served as focal points for an area with relatively few other amenities. The New Johnny Todd fits firmly into that tradition, prioritising affordability, familiarity and a packed calendar of music and sport over the polish of city-centre bars. Its recent refurbishment signals an effort to keep the pub viable at a time when many suburban locals have closed, and its loyal regulars suggest it remains an important social hub for the surrounding streets.