Ísbúðin litla Valdís — Restaurant in Reykjavik

!!!Strong Complaint Regarding Racial Discrimination and Unprofessional Service at Valdis Ice Cream Shop in Reykjavik

I am writing to file a serious complaint regarding the discriminatory and unprofessional treatment I experienced at your Valdis ice cream location in Reykjavik today, Sept. 21.

At approximately 19:00, I visited your store and waited at the counter for service. A blonde female employee, after finishing with the previous customer, deliberately ignored me despite my clear presence and patient waiting for at least five minutes. She intentionally avoided making eye contact or acknowledging me. Subsequently, when new customers (who were white) arrived, she immediately proceeded to serve them, while I continued to be overlooked.

As an Asian person, I am certain that I was subjected to overt racial discrimination. This unacceptable behavior is not only unprofessional but also deeply offensive. Every customer deserves to be treated with respect and dignity, regardless of their race or ethnicity.

I demand a thorough investigation into this incident and appropriate action taken against the employee involved. Furthermore, I expect a formal apology and an explanation of the measures you will implement to ensure such discriminatory practices do not occur again.

I will also be sharing this experience on public platforms, including Google Reviews, Xiaohongshu (Rednote) to inform other potential customers of the treatment I received.

I am extremely angry! What makes this situation even more outrageous is that this is not an isolated incident. Attached as Image 1 is a review I captured from Xiaohongshu (a Chinese social platform) written by another customer in May, who experienced the same racial discrimination at your store. It is utterly unacceptable that no improvements have been made despite previous similar complaints.

What saddens and infuriates me most is that this happened on my very first day in Iceland. The employee’s behavior has ruined my mood and my first impression of Iceland—now I am led to believe that Iceland is a country deeply plagued by racism!

Attached as Image 2 is a photo of the blonde female employee who discriminated against me.

I expect immediate and serious action as soon...

We couldn’t leave Reykjavik without getting some ice cream from Valdis! You can’t miss this shop with its fun blue and pink exterior.

I got two scoops in a cup (1400 ISK) - one scoop of Rye Bread and one Raspberry Skyr, which were both really tasty. The Rye Bread tasted like a cross between caramel and molasses with some graininess from the bread crumbles. The Raspberry Skyr had the tartness of yogurt with bursts of sweet raspberry jam. Neither flavor was too sweet, the scoops were pretty generous and the ice cream was fairly creamy.

When we visited around 5:00P, there was a constant stream of customers in and out. That said, seating is fairly limited and primarily outdoors, but we were lucky to be able to grab the bench under the sign claiming “It’s ice cream time”!

The price for the two scoops equates to $11.50 USD, which is very steep, but it was worth stopping by to try these Icelandic flavors that I wouldn’t be able to easily...

This ice cream is one of the best in Iceland by far! The ice cream is delicious and smooth! And they have the renowned Rye Bread ice cream (which is amazing)! This is our second visit and I can say that I would come again and again! The servers were super nice and made sure we had a great experience. But beware, you have a limit of 2 samples per person so use wisely! Anyways, for what I ordered, I ordered a double scoop waffle cone with the Banana Marshmallow on top and some Rhubarb Skyr ice cream on bottom. And they paired nicely together. The banana marshmallow, a sweet, fluffy-tasting ball of blue ice cream with coconut sprinkles on top. And the Rhubarb Skyr, a sweet, fruity ice cream that compliments the thickness of the banana marshmallow’s taste. This shop is delicious, and I...