I don’t think it’s required to use an exhaust. Ours is in our island and there’s no exhaust near it. We also have a large walk-in pantry and while it would be nice to have ours in there, we use ours multiple times per day to make popcorn, heat up soup, leftovers, etc. I cannot imagine having to walk into our pantry to use it each time... but I guess it all depends on how often you use yours.

I have a microwave in my pantry, but my pantry is not a walk-in. The shelf it is on has open space to the sides and above the microwave. When the microwave is on, I leave the pantry door open, but when the microwave is not in use the door is closed. When I have cooked smelly foods in the microwave, I clean the MW plate, and spray around the inside and wipe down all the interior walls, just like I would clean with pans and cooktop if I were cooking something on them. Occasionally the smells linger a bit, but not too much.

It's not quite the same as your arrangement, but I hope my experience helps. One thing you must have is landing space near the microwave to put down the boiling hot and potentially sloshing dishes. I have a counter right outside my pantry. Make sure you have thought through the nearby landing space.

I really like having my microwave in the pantry, out of sight and out of the way. We are not frequent microwave users. If I had kids still at home using the microwave all the time, I might locate it differently, but with our use, the pantry location is ideal.

Too inconvenient of a location. It’s used far too much to hide it away.

I think it's personal preference. We just updated our kitchen and pantry and on my list was to move the microwave from the kitchen to the pantry. Our microwave gets minimal use, so putting it in the pantry made sense for us.

Thanks everyone for your feedback, i appreciate it!!