SOMEONE’S birthday had suddenly hove into view and caught me on the hop.

So I was in the doghouse, having to ‘fess up that the handbag I had ordered for Mrs B’s big day wasn’t going to arrive on time – and then it turned out it was the wrong one to boot. Oops.

But there’s one surefire way to thaw a frost in Stoney Towers ... a gang of four night out.

So a trip to family favourite, Chiquito, was called for – especially when it could be billed as a “night-before-your-birthday tea”.

Besides, it was an opportunity to check out the latest addition to this Mexican food chain, at Union Square.

First impressions were impressive. It was all ceramic tiles, wooden shelves, beams, funky and fun. A good mix of customers – families, older couples, groups of younger folk – had the place buzzing.

The boy and I were ravenous so decided to share a superb dish of meaty, sticky, salty, spicy chicken wings in a tequila sauce (£5.10). They were melt-in-the-mouth zingy.

At this point I have to single out our waitress, Cornelia, for praise for her consistently excellent, friendly and efficient service. She had the sense to get our mains order under way as we were tucking into the wee starter so there was a seamless whisking away of one plate ready for the immediate arrival of the rest of the food.

It was worth it, even without the wait. The boy’s chicken fajita (£12.75) was a sizzling mound of excellence, with tender breast, crunchy peppers and onions ready to be slapped on to warm tortillas and slathered in salsa, sour cream and guacamole. His silence as he munched spoke volumes.

The birthday girl, meanwhile, was yumming over her delicious chicken quesadilla (£10.15), while noting it wasn’t quiet as fiery as she could have handled.

Neither was my beef burrito (£11.25), a phenomenon no doubt explained by the need to cater for the average palate, not asbestos-proofed ones belonging to old chilli hands.

But the lack of fire didn’t mean a lack of flavour in my burrito. The tender meat had been slow- cooked with herbs, giving it a more-ish flavour. Less rice and more meat in the tortilla would have been welcome though.

Through all of this, our littlest one munched quietly on her tender, chunky and fabulous fish bites meal (£4.95), gleefully awaiting the big moment we had planned in secret.

Right on cue, Cornelia and the Chiquito cast brought out our surprise cake and sang Happy Birthday to a blushing Mrs B, her smile meaning my doghouse tenure was over.

It was a treat for her ... just like the whole meal was a treat for all of us.