Functionally I'd consider it a wine bar. If that's the intention and you don't want to use it for anything that might be better off not on display, it doesn't need doors but you would want to make sure that it's all visually appealing, maybe with a rack for glasses above the counter, glass shelves with lighting, plus some racking for unchilled wines below the counter. For a full bar you might want an undercounter refrigerator or icemaker, and a bar sink. Actually, I'm not sure why it would be recessed. Would it make sense to move the counter forward and give the extra space to the mudroom?

I would definitely get rid of the doors and make it a beautiful nook. Add a sink for a wet bar.

Our new build has a similar adjacent pantry/wine room, wine room is all glass and opens into the dining room, pantry has “hidden cabinet” doors that look identical to the kitchen cabinet doors and open outward (like a cabinet would), and they’re technically cabinet doors so much thinner than regular doors. It all works. Here is a floor plan and also the best picture I could find to describe it.

the nook seems unnecessary; @K R's example has the nook with 3 walls of shelving, but if you'll only have 1, why not just continue it along the run as cabinetry (maybe a different color or molded out differently, whatever your style is), then reclaim the space behind for the mud room.

​I agree with the mudroom comment. Continue the cabinets in the kitchen (full height pantry cabinets perhaps? Or a coffee/ wine bar) and give the space back to the mudroom. I'd relocate the built in storage behind the mudroom door too so you have more space on the swing side of the door as you step into the room.

Thanks everyone! We really appreciate all the input.

If we get rid of the nook concept and continue the cabinetry with full height pantry cabinet, do you think that would be intrusive into the dining room? Would it be better to turn this into a shallow pantry with a traditional 8' swing door?

There is one kitchen which we love on Houzz that kind of does what we are talking about in that it dead ends into a full height pantry cabinet - https://www.houzz.com/photos/livable-luxury-traditional-san-francisco-phvw-vp~166348495 - but it is not open to the dining room.

Definitely think it’s too small to walk into or have doors.

Chris, good question, I don't think it would intrude on the dining room. There are a couple of ways to make it suit a dining room too. If you replace the nook with 24"deep lower cabinets  and glass door uppers you can make that last bank look like a bar. If you go with a 24", 18", or 15"  deep full height pantry you can make it look like a china cabinet by using glass in the top half of the pantry. Both of those items, bar and china cabinet, fit with dining room design language.

The only other thing you could do if you really wanted to keep that space is cut down the opening and install double pocket doors. The door swing you have now makes the closet unusable and wasted space. With pocket doors you could add shelving to each side. You could then put a wine fridge under a counter with storage for bottles above. The space is useful if you want to organize a wine collection.

IMO you do not have anything even close to a butlers pantry so if that is what you want then a complete redo of the kitchen design is needed A butlers pantry is always a space between the kitchen ans DRfor the "butler " to move plates of food from kitchen to ding table , clear way dirty plates mix a drink , make coffee etc the whole point was to keep the kitchen from being seen from the DR but allow serving to take place . What you show is a completely useless space that can really not be used at all. Get an actual independant kitchen designer to do this space right and not your architect. All you have now is a space too small to move in and you would be much better to have an actual bar insted which BTW Iaslo think would require a new kitchen layout. You need much better larger pantry storage inside the kitchen and all 48" walkways a way to get to the exterior spaces from the kitchen all in all a mucg better kitchen .