Here is food for thought for gastronomes in Paris – and art collectors flocking to the 43rd edition of the Foire Internationale d’Art Contemporain.FIAC comes at a time that new bistros and neighborhood eateries have been coming back into favor and flavor in Paris, sometimes eclipsing the best-known restaurant names. FIAC takes place at the Grand Palais, 3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris, between October 20 and 23, featuring galleries from 27 countries.Our guide starts with fine restaurants to excite the palates of art connoisseurs within a short walk of FIAC. We then survey locations further away but definitely worth the journey.Gourmets hardly need multiple trips from London on the Eurostar to appreciate that the French capital has upped its game in 2016 in the face of exciting new openings on the other side of the English Channel, Brexit or not.The timing is right to survey some of the hottest places in fall 2016 – both for Paris locals and visitors – and revisit a few old favorites.1: Mini PalaisThis restaurant is only a couple of minutes’ walk from FIAC, in the same complex as the Grand Palais itself. Bookings are obviously at a premium during FIAC, which makes this an ambitious choice.The Mini Palais salle à manger, redesigned by Gilles & Boissier a few years back, is impressive but the main attraction is obviously the French food, still produced under the eye of the Michelin-starred chef Eric Frechon of Épicure, Le Bristol Paris’s restaurant. The seasonal menu ranges from hearts of lettuce at €9 to braised veal at €39. The giant Rum Baba for two people is a signature dish at €9 a person.Address: 3 Avenue du Général Eisenhower, 75008 Paris.Phone: +33 (0)1 42 56 42 42.2: HanawaThis Asian stalwart is just five minutes from FIAC. It has been opened nearly a decade and serves a variety of Japanese fare including sashimi and sushi. Insiders recommend the small sushi dishes such as its smoked eel and scallops. The décor is plain and Zen-like, possibly all the better to contemplate whether or not to make an offer on that minimalist Fontana you have just seen at FIAC.Address: 26 Rue Bayard, 75008 Paris.Phone: +33 (0)1 56 62 70 70.3: ChampeauxOf the old-school restaurants, many serious FIAC collectors will appreciate the art-on-a-plate at the three-Michelin-starred Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée. Now is the time to also check out Ducasse’s new local eateries, Allard and Champeaux, which aficionados say promise real value for money.Champeaux is the modern version. The city of Paris, in revitalizing the Halles area, called for tenders to create “the brasserie of the 21st century”, at the entrance of the new Canopée development in Forum des Halles. Ducasse, with Olivier Maurey, creator of restaurant Mini Palais and other Parisian haunts, got funky and contemporary in response and won the competition. This is pure industrial chic: an open-plan diner with an amusing display, like an old airport departure sign. Its clicking “boarding now” letters show the specials of chef Bruno Brangea and the latest creations to emerge from his ovens. His top suggestions are duck foie gras with autumn vegetables at €38 and lobster with black truffle at €48. Not everything is as pricey: an excellent French onion soup is just €10. The venue, with a capacity for 180 inside and 80 more on the terrace, is an artwork in itself.Address: Forum des Halles, Port Rambuteau, 75001.Phone: +33 (0) 1 53 45 84 50.4: AllardMore from Ducasse. This brasserie is far more old style and in Saint-Germain-des-Près, still within an easy Metro ride of FIAC from Saint Michel to Notre Dame.It’s worth making the journey. Allard was founded in the 1930s by Marthe Allard, hence the name, and later the cooking was done by her daughter-in-law Fernande Allard. Its kitchen is now run by Laëtitia Rouabah after the recent takeover. “Guests do not come to us to make culinary discoveries, they come to us to meet old culinary friends,” Ducasse said in a press statement at the time of the opening. The traditional menu does a fine job in doing the best bistro food and varies from a lunch set menu at €34 to a €48 for poached turbot.Address: 41, rue Saint-André des Arts, 75006.Phone: +33 (1) 58 00 23 42.5: Monsieur BleuA riverside cab ride or walk is a well-trodden route for FIAC fans heading for the modern-art museum at Palais de Tokyo. While its Monsieur Bleu restaurant may be familiar to many, with its 200-seat terrace commanding views across the River Seine to the Eiffel Tower, it has been upping its game. Nearly every place likely to get tourists will offer some form of frog’s legs, snails, onion soup, Croque Monsieur and so on, Monsieur Bleu has always offered a range of French classics therefore, with comfort food of the burger type, but now the menu offers some wider-ranging options such as caramelized black cod.Address: 20 Avenue de New York, 75116 Paris.Phone: +33 (1) 4720 9047.6: Clown BarThis is a little trek across Paris from FIAC. The Clown Bar has been developing a great reputation. It is alongside Cirque d’Hiver, opened by Napoléon III in 1852, and it originally served as canteen for the performers. The wall tiles and frescos showing clowns gave it the name and it reopened after years of restoration by the team behind the Saturne bar. The chef Sota Atsumi is Japanese but the cuisine is French with a twist. Being an all-day place, it’s good from breakfast through to late drinks.Address: 114 rue Amelot, 75011.Phone: +33 1 4355 8735.7: Les AntiquairesThis traditional bistro/ brasserie is an easy Metro ride from FIAC to Rue du Bac - René Char station. It is cozy, as in small and busy, and the menu has just about everything you would expect on a French list: it looks deceptively run-of-the-mill but many things are done very well. Meat lovers are likely to be impressed by the steaks. Insider tip: while in the area, check out one of Paris’s best patisseries, Des Gateaux et du Pain in Rue du Bac.Address: Antiquaires, 13 rue du Bac, 75007 Paris.Phone: +33 1 42 61 08 36.8: La Tour d’Argent and moreJust to round off, a few usual suspects.If you really are prepared to break the bank, there is always La Tour d’Argent. Its views remain spectacular, its prices high and its food Michelin starred. Its new owner André Terrail is uprating it, part of the process being a sale of part of its cellar and old fixtures and fittings earlier this year. Three more of note out of many: the Dome, seafood at its best in an historical setting beloved by intellectuals for years; Cinq Mars in Rue de Verneuil, d’Orsay; and Italian restaurant Il Carpaccio at Le Royal Monceau.Click here to view Culture & Travel’s pick of Paris dining for FIAC and after.  Read more