Indian-origin restaurateur admits adding drug to woman’s drink in London club

A 63-year-old Indian-origin restaurateur, Vikas Nath, has admitted in court to adding a chemical substance to a woman’s drink at the exclusive Mayfair members’ club Annabel’s in London, though he insists his actions were not sexually motivated, according to a BBC report.

The incident occurred on January 15, 2024, at the club’s rooftop garden bar. According to evidence presented at Southwark Crown Court, Nath used a straw to transfer gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) into the woman’s spicy margarita. Prosecutors said Nath had carried the substance in a small bottle disguised as Madagascan vanilla extract.

The woman, whose identity remains protected, reportedly testified on February 3, 2026, that she felt deeply “betrayed” by Nath. She told the jury that only days earlier he had cautioned her and a friend about the dangers of drink spiking, a warning that made the alleged incident particularly disturbing.

Court proceedings revealed that the woman had met Nath around six times before the January 15 incident, mostly for daytime lunches at venues such as the Beaverbrook Town House hotel and Nath’s Michelin-starred restaurant, Benares, in Mayfair. During those meetings, she said Nath frequently sampled drinks using a straw, a behaviour she initially found odd but eventually accepted as routine.

The woman also described visiting Annabel’s with Nath on January 10, 2024, followed by a night out at Cirque Le Soir. The following morning, she messaged Nath saying she planned to avoid alcohol that day. Nath responded by encouraging her to drink but warned her to remain alert, telling her he was worried someone might spike her drink.

On January 15, staff at Annabel’s became suspicious after seeing Nath dip a straw into the small bottle taken from his pocket and then place it into the woman’s cocktail. Before she could drink it, staff replaced the beverage and alerted her. Nath is alleged to have disposed of the bottle by throwing it into a toilet cistern.

The woman told the court that she was initially unwilling to believe Nath had tampered with her drink. She recalled defending him when warned by staff, insisting there was “no way” he would do such a thing.

She also spoke about her personal circumstances at the time, saying she was dealing with a divorce and a serious family dispute when she met Nath. She described him as caring and attentive in their early interactions, adding that he never made sexual advances or spoke inappropriately.

“He made me feel safe,” she told the jury. “I believed he cared about my wellbeing. I never imagined he would do something like this.”

Nath, who operates a number of high-end restaurants in the UK and Spain, has maintained that he added the substance to help the woman relax and not with any sexual intent. The trial is ongoing.