The home side looked like they might get off to a good start as early as the first minute. Irish midfield dynamo Andy Reid went on a run through the heart of Watford only for his shot to lack power.
Scott Fitzgerald came close for the visitors on ten minutes. He controlled the ball from outside the edge of the box and shot, but his effort just missed the post.
Forest had the ball in the net on 11 minutes. Reid shot and scored but the goal was disallowed for offside.
That proved to be the best of the action until early in the second half, with the first goal of the game arriving in the 52nd minute from Eugen Bopp.
Forest had a free-kick. The quick thinking Reid took it early. His pass was flicked on from Marlon Harewood to Bopp. He cleverly jinked past two Watford defenders and drilled a low shot past the Hornets keeper Lenny Pidgeley.
The closest the visitors came to an equaliser came on 65 minutes with Forest keeper Darren Ward diving at full stretch to save from Neal Ardley. The former Wimbledon man let rip with a blistering shot from 30 yards which the Welsh international tipped over the bar.
The visitors did get on level terms on 84 minutes. Ray Lewington, the Hornets manager, sent on young Lee Cook and took off Ardley on 80 minutes.
The young substitute Cook scored his first senior goal for the Hornets. Danny Webber had the original shot, Ward parried it and Cook was on hand to slot in the equaliser and his first ever goal for Watford.
Paul Hart must wonder where his next win is going to come from. Nottingham Forest has tough games coming up against opposition in the top four of this division and with David Johnson injured until the New Year, he must wonder where the goals are going to come from.
Hart said: "We battled well, stuck at it and were determined to get the win. So I am disappointed we didn't. We had players on their sick beds until yesterday."