I would lose the bulkhead from a aesthetic point of view.

However bear in mind it's currently carring your lighting,also it may contain vent for micro hood.

All of which would have to be rerouted which drives up cost.

Ed

It doesn't involve venting, but would impact lights

I can see removing the structure and adding some interesting lights, maybe a few cans in the ceiling and some drop lights over the countertop.
However! I would go the other direction and embrace the idiosyncrasy of the structure. I would paint it a really wild contrasting funky color; install some strip lights on the top of the structure; hang photos or artwork on the leading edges. I would reflect the color in the structure down on the headboard.

Dust shelves, as I refer to them, left with the 90's break your kitchen free! "Opening the space up" is the trend and well worth the investment

Thanks for the ideas! It is a dust catcher for sure, and hard to clean. If I remove, I'll lose 4 lights and keep one pot light in the ceiling. Does anyone know of any type of lights that can be hidden in the top of the cabinets? Would the pendant lights look O.K. coming from so high. I think the ceiling over the counter is about 15 feet. Picture of the one recessed light I'd still have.

Some of this structure looks loadbearing so before doing anything you will need to get blueprints and also permission from the condo association if load bearing.I agree it looks huge in such a small space just exercise caution.

I would hire a contractor and look at your options.