Unless you're holding banquets for hundreds in your dining room, the amount of moisture created by carrying food through the space will be minimal. I also assume the pantry doors would be shut which would further keep out any moisture.

I suspect most pantries built in houses in the last 40 years are the same temperature as the rest of the house. It's just like storing food or household supplies in a kitchen cabinet.

I would go with the walk through pantry because I find an awkward kitchen/dining room access frustrating. If the route to the dining room is long, windy or detached from the kitchen, it just increases the chance that the dining room won’t get used and become an expensive unused room. Focus on pantry details that will optimize a dish storage area and a food storage area, keep all food prep in the kitchen and I wouldn’t be too concerned about generating excess heat in the food storage area.

I agree with the two previous posts. If you still have concerns, add a bathroom-type ceiling vent.

Definitely the walk through. You can use it as you describe, and if/as your needs change, you can change how you use the space. And all along, you added traffic circulation to your house, which is a good thing.

IMO if you plan to use this as butlers pantry , I agree a good idea, then I would install a sink and use this space exactly like a real butlers pantry ,. Have you foor storage on one side with doors a simple set of sliding doors to make access easy. On the other side a nice set of base cabinets some glass cabinets above for all your dishes you use for entertaining and glassware , liquor and the sink is IMO a must . Set that side up as the service area for the DR and you have a perfect set up and please there is no reason to worry about moisture

Sink if you intend to use it as a wet bar. A wet bar has a host of other needs that are not compatible with a dining room, such as ice, small refrigerator, implements and accessories very different from dinner table needs, assortment of bar glasses as opposed to wine and water glasses. It sounds like you will be using it as storage and handy use of special tabletop, so no sink is necessary.

IMO all the items in a wet bar are compatible with a DR in fact that was part and parcel of the purpose of a true butlers pantry .

Walk-through! If you need a pantry, make it a pantry.

Well, &^%(.

There are two sinks and a dishwasher where I store my food.

Really, do make it a walk-through. Call it whatever you want. :)

A butler's pantry definitely would be preferable to winding route between kitchen and dining areas. Depending upon the width, you might put "butler's pantry" cabinetry with a 16"-18" countertop between base cabinets and upper cabinets on one side and shallow floor to ceiling cabinets with no countertop on the other side. It will make for a much less cluttered pantry, too. You could use cabinets to match your kitchen cabinets ... just not as deep.

The big question: what functions do you see this space serving? Be very specific and list out all your desires -- for example, do you see this as a place to prep dessert so it's quick to get to the table? or do you see yourself setting out self-serve drinks for guests? do you want to store just food, or do you also have a collection of cookbooks or large serving pieces that need to be stored? Be specific, and then you can design the space.

As for moisture, no big deal.