I've been to the Watermark once before and it was a great experience at that time. The location and ambiance are second-to-none, but the restaurant relies too much on that.

The food is nothing special, typicaly West Coast dining at slightly higher places, most likely due to the location. I ordered the prime rib, and a quarter of it was fat.

The service is atrocious. From the moment we got to the restaurant, it all went downhill. The hostess took several minutes to greet us, even though the restaurant was empty; a bunch of staff were joking away in the lounge area; the server didn't even greet us until 10 mins after we were seated, plus he got my order wrong; and came by once with the typical line "how's everything going". For a place of such reputation, you'd expect better, more personalized service. A tip for service should be deserved, not expected.

Finally, the nail on the coffin: he screwed up my surprise birthday dessert for my girlfriend, thereby ruining the surprise and the effort to arrange it in the first place. We had considered this place for our wedding reception, but after last night, this is definitely one less place we'll consider.