Icelanders keep this up in the dead of winter, too — queuing outdoors for soft-serve in freezing temperatures is treated as completely normal in Reykjavik.
Soft-serve ice cream, often topped with chocolate, licorice pieces, or a syrup called toppings, is served through walk-up windows at stands around Reykjavik, meant to be eaten on the spot or taken on a drive. It's less about the ice cream itself than the ísbíltúr custom of piling into the car for a treat, any night of the year.
Why it's made this way: With long winters and few gathering spots after dark, driving out for ice cream became a genuine year-round social ritual in Reykjavik rather than a fair-weather summer treat like it is most places.
Roughly what's in it
250kcal
4gprotein
34gcarbs
11gfat
Estimated per typical street-vendor portion — not lab-tested.