Pub inspectors' high praise for Market Porter and Royal Oak Pub

Alisdair Aird and Fiona Stapley, who have been working together for over ten years on the Good Pub Guide, are now highlighting just 291 pubs out of London's 5,000 as worthy of a visit. They claim that sixteen are in SE1.

Their findings appear in the Best London Pubs and Bars just published in the Pocket Good Guide series. SE1's high standards leave some areas once well-known for attractive pubs, such as Blackheath, with just one entry.

Borough Market's Market Porter is described as having "perhaps London's best range of real ales".

Although the award-winning Royal Oak in Tabard Street is said to be "slightly off the beaten track" it receives high praise for decor, lack of music, food and Harvey's beers which "you won't find anywhere else in town".

• The Pocket Good Guide Best London Pubs and Bars by Alisdair Aird and Fiona Stapley is published by Ebury Press (£5.99).