Perhaps smaller tiles same colour as your countertop, open shelving just above tile may look good.

The taupe countertops are nice. Have you seen all the new choices of backsplash tiles that are available currently? There are so many beautiful ones, there isn't a need to settle on white subway tiles. Venture out to the big box stores or flooring showrooms and take a look...

There are tile caps of all sizes to finish off the ends. A nice one is called a tile liner, and it's about 1/2"-wide. There's also metal strips that can be laid in to finish the tile, it looks very nice. They are called: Schluter Systems 0.375-in W x 98.5-in L Aluminum Commercial/Residential Tile Edge Trim and can be found at Lowe's. They come in different colors.

I can see why they thought to finish the tiles at the end of the breakfast bar and it really doesn't look that bad so if you do intend to change it, I would use the subway tile but instead of taking it to the end of the breakfast bar I would continue the tile to the wall and then run it down to the floor and maybe consider tiling under the bar where the stools are down to the floor.