Skip to Content
L.A. TACO home
L.A. TACO home
Log In
Food

From Highland Park to High-End Steakhouse: How a Linebacker From Franklin High Became the Master of Mastro’s

L.A.-born Walter Mayen worked his way up in the kitchen, from shucking oysters to running one of the most legendary steakhouses in the country. And even has the scar to prove it.

11:01 AM PDT on April 24, 2025

Walter Mayen, executive chef at Mastro's Steakhouse, standing with his arms crossed in a black shirt in front of a large gold G surrounded with plants

Walter Mayen, executive chef at Mastro’s Steakhouse. Photo by Hadley Tomicki.

L.A. TACO is taking a look at the stories of our hometown heroes who run L.A.'s best restaurants. Join us in celebrating the talented Angelinos who keep our restaurants running and our bellies full.

Chef Walter Mayen is a born-and-bred Angeleno who began his career shucking oysters and building shellfish towers at the seafood station at Mastro's Steakhouse in Beverly Hills 20 years ago. Today, he's the restaurant's executive chef, overseeing the Southern California locations of this legendary chophouse chain.

Through the years, no matter how many stars he sees packing Mastro’s dining room or the number of accolades he receives, Mayen sounds most awed by the people he works with.

“Everyone comes up to me and says, ‘Oh, chef, I love your food. Oh, everything's so great,” Mayen tells L.A. TACO. “But I always tell them I'm just the orchestrator of the orchestra. It's my team back there that is making the beautiful symphony of food. And it takes a good team to believe you and be behind you and to execute the food the way you want.”

Spoken like the team player he’s been, at least since his days as an offensive lineman on Franklin High’s football team.