A Knightsbridge restaurateur was caught red-handed spiking a woman's drink with a date-rape drug at exclusive private members' club Annabel's, a court has heard.
Vikas Nath, 63, used a straw to put gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) into the woman's spicy margarita drink while sitting in the rooftop garden bar at the Mayfair club.
Southwark Crown Court heard staff at Annabel's noticed Nath dipping the straw into a small Madagascan vanilla extract bottle he had retrieved from his pocket, to suck up liquid before transferring it to the margarita.
Staff managed to switch the drugged drink for a fresh one before the woman drank from it, and Nath threw the bottle of GBL into a toilet cistern when police were on the way, the court heard.
Nath, who has a portfolio of top restaurants in the UK and Spain, including two with Michelin stars, admits spiking the drink, but says it was to "relax" the woman rather than as part of a plan to have sex with her.
Jurors were told Nath had a camera in the bedroom of his home in Knightsbridge, which was activated by motion sensor and footage was automatically recorded and stored.
He admits using it in the past to "covertly" record sexual activity.
Tim Clark KC, prosecuting, said Nath had also exchanged texts with a friend before the spiking incident, which happened on January 15, 2024, showing he wanted to have sex with the woman and was "frustrated" that it had not yet happened.
"This case is unusual because there's no dispute Mr Nath spiked her drink," said Mr Clark.
"His acceptance is not surprising, he had little choice because the spiking was captured on CCTV at Annabel's.
"Due to the actions of quick-thinking staff, the spiked drink was retrieved, and (she) was warned.
"Staff replaced it with a fresh one, and police were called to the club."
The court heard the woman had invited Nath to Annabel's, where she was a regular member, and they went to the rooftop bar where she ordered a spicy margarita.
The woman left the table to show two friends around the club, and Mr Clark said two members of staff then saw "rather strange actions" by Nath, who had been left alone with the group's drinks.
"(They) watched Mr Nath put a straw into (her) drink, sticking his finger over the top", the prosecutor said.
The staff members spotted a small bottle in Nath's hand, which he appeared to be "hiding", and then witnessed him putting the straw into the bottle and appearing to "suck up liquid".
"He then put the straw, put it into her drink, and took his finger off the top, and any liquid transported would go into the drink."
The staff members alerted senior managers who checked the CCTV and alerted the woman that her drink may have been spiked, jurors heard.
While police were on the way, the woman returned to the table and a bar worker switched the spiked margarita for a fresh one. Nath was told it was because it "tasted a little watery".
"Prior to the police arriving, Mr Nath clearly worked out that he had been rumbled," said Mr Clark.
"He tried to hide the evidence of what he had done, going to the lavatory and throwing that little bottle into the cistern, and it was floating about when police recovered it."
The court heard the bottle had traces of GBL, and two bottles of the drug were later found under his sink at home.
In police interview, Nath said he got the GBL as a cleaning fluid for a high-performance car, and had been told by a friend that it could also be drunk with alcohol as a "relaxant".
"He stated that he only spiked her drink to relax her," said Mr Clark.
The prosecutor said Nath told officers he had been suffering from a mental health breakdown at the time, blaming it on a divorce from his wife.
The court heard he says he did not realise GBL at his home was an illegal substance.
He claimed he disposed of the vanilla extract bottle in the toilet because he believed the club would not approve of his activities.
The court heard Nath messaged a friend on the day of the spiking incident, writing: "I'm at Annabel's. This is probably the last evening with (her). She ain't biting."
The friend then replied: "Action time I hope."
Before that day, Nath had told his friend in November 2023 "I want to get laid, not hold hands", and the following month he suggested he would "need to play the long game".
The court heard Nath made comments in messages about the woman's body, and told his friend he would need to do "old fashioned seduction....the issue is do I have the patience for it".
Mr Clark told the court Nath was "impatient with lack of progress", and he suggested the evidence shows the restaurateur "wanted to have sex at his house where there was a camera and it could record it".
Nath denies attempting to administer a substance with intent and possession of a Class B drug.
The trial continues.
