A 63-year-old Indian restaurateur, Vikas Nath, has admitted to spiking a woman's drink at London's Mayfair private members' club Annabel's on January 15, 2024. But he claims it was to "relax" her, not for sexual intent. Nath, who has a portfolio of high-end restaurants in the UK and Spain, used a straw to add gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) to the woman's spicy margarita while sitting on the rooftop garden bar, according to court proceedings.
The woman, whose identity has been protected for legal reasons, told jurors at Southwark Crown Court on February 3, 2026, that she felt “betrayed” by Nath. According to a report in the BBC, she said that Nath warned her about the risk of drink spiking days before the incident, stating, “I recall him forewarning my friend and me about drinks being spiked.”
The court heard that the woman had met Nath “roughly six times” before January 15, mainly for lunch at locations, including the Beaverbrook Town House hotel and Nath's Michelin-starred Mayfair restaurant, Benares. She said that Nath had a habit of testing drinks with “a little straw” during these meetings. “I always found it quite strange, he would put a little straw in to try it,” she said, adding, “I became acclimatised to seeing him doing it.”
The woman recounted attending Annabel's with Nath on January 10, 2024, and then visiting “a really dodgy club” called Cirque Le Soir. The next morning, she sent Nath a text, saying, “I don't think I will be drinking today.” Nath replied, “I think you should drink, but be aware of the people around you. My biggest concern last night was someone spiking your drink.”
On January 15, staff at Annabel's observed Nath dipping a straw into a small bottle of Madagascan vanilla extract he had brought from his pocket, before transferring the liquid into the woman's margarita, BBC reported. Staff managed to swap the drink for a fresh one before the woman consumed it. Nath reportedly threw the GBL bottle into a toilet cistern.
The woman told the court that a staff member had warned her before she returned to the table. “They advised me that they were concerned that he put something in it,” she said. Initially, she did not believe her drink was spiked. “I remember vividly defending Mr Nath, saying ‘There is no way he could do that',” she said.
The woman met Nath while she was going through a divorce and a “very big falling out with my father.” She described Nath as attentive during their early meetings, saying, “He seemed genuinely concerned about my welfare, where I was going to be living.”
Discussing her relationship with Nath, she said, “He came across as if he cared for me, and it was nice. I never thought he would have made a physical move on me. So, I felt safe with him. He never spoke of anything of a sexual nature.”
When asked about her boyfriend, the woman said Nath was aware of him but that she did not discuss him often. Prior to January 15, interactions between the two were “never inappropriate.”
