It’s a common dinner party phenomenon: No matter how spacious the living room or how sumptuous the upholstery therein, your guests will always gravitate toward the kitchen. Maybe they came to see if they could lend a hand, refill a drink, or steal a piece of cheese from the plate you’re preparing. Either way, the sight of guests squeezing into a cramped kitchen, drink in hand, is such a familiar scene that there are plenty of tips to be found online for tactfully shooing them out. But when you have an open-style, epicurean kitchen like the ones inside EVGB’s East Village apartments, you can welcome your guests in. There’s plenty of room for friends to gather and chat while dinner simmers.

Perhaps the feature of the kitchen most conducive to the cooking and hanging out dynamic is the breakfast bar. Ten feet of white quartz doubles as both a kitchen workspace and an area for gathering, so you can julienne your veggies and still be able to reach over to refill a few glasses of wine without skipping a beat. There’s room for both seating and milling around that’s safely out of range of stovetop splatters. You can set out hors d’oeuvres before an elaborate dinner or arrange a few place settings for a casual pancake breakfast. The setup is ideal for hosts who like to stay in the loop — cooking, chatting, and chopping at the same time.

And then, there’s the cabinetry. Custom-made, wood-paneled cabinets come in two finishes at EVGB: light and dark. Each lends a different feel to the kitchen. The dark finish creates a stark contrast between the cabinets and quartz stone countertops, while the light finish brings an airy, bright atmosphere to the room. And despite their unassuming profiles, these cabinets don’t sacrifice storage for style — they provide a surprising amount of space for all the kitchen gadgets you’ve come to depend on. The upper cabinets are faced with fogged glass, achieving a modern look while hiding any mismatched items that might detract from your otherwise flawless kitchen. And for that favorite mug, kitschy timer, or set of matching storage containers, there are a few open shelves that hang below.

Lastly, don’t underestimate the value of capable kitchen appliances. They are, after all, the backbone of any kitchen. At the end of a long night, when you find yourself faced with an insurmountable pile of plates, glassware, and cutlery needing your attention, you want to be able to trust that in the morning you won’t be met with the dismaying sight of cloudy, speckled glasses and spotty spoons. Luckily, the kitchens at EVGB all have appliances made by Miele, the German company whose domestic products have become the standard for luxury living. According to Tasting Table, Miele is “leading the charge to the kitchen of the future.” The cooktop is powerful but not at all bulky, and is seamlessly dropped in to the quartz countertops.

So, even at EVGB’s East Village luxury apartments, a motto from a folksy old kitchen wall hanging can sum it up for you: “No matter where I serve my guests, they seem to like my kitchen best.”