Football Is (Real) Life! Ted Lasso's Coach Beard Reveals All the Places from the Show You Can Visit in London

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A short tube ride from central London, the town of Richmond has become a pilgrimage site for fans of Ted Lasso, who can easily visit many of the characters' favorite haunts in an afternoon.

Ahead of season 3 (premiering Wednesday, March 15, on AppleTV+), PEOPLE chatted with Brendan Hunt, who plays Coach Beard and is an executive producer on the series, to learn where exactly its filmed and where it absolutely isn't (hint: some highly prized greenery.)

Richmond, Really

The beloved fictional soccer team at the heart of the series, nearly went by another name. "When we first wrote the pilot, it was called Greenwich FC as a placeholder," Hunt says. But when he, Jason Sudeikis (who plays the titular American college football coach tasked with turning around a floundering English Premier League team) and their location scouts set foot in Richmond, with its narrow lanes and centuries-old watering holes, they were instantly charmed—and AFC Richmond was born.

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"I got to sit on Richmond Green for the first time on a sunny Friday afternoon just killing time before our flight [home] and I was just immediately enchanted by the place," says Hunt of the park, where Ted watches some young local players early on in the show, and where he and Coach Beard find their favorite bench.

The Crown & Anchor Pub

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The Crown & Anchor is really the 300-year-old pub The Prince's Head, and it was one of the first places the showrunners saw, confirming Richmond was the place for them.

"The Prince's Head just seemed like a perfect English bar," says Hunt, who recalls their initial visit there was a very Lasso-ian experience: "It was a Friday afternoon, but there were clearly regulars already starting their weekends in there. [Jason and I] both simultaneously realized that these English people were being polite and waiting for us to give the signal that it was okay to have a drink on a Friday afternoon. We were like, 'Hey, you guys want to get a beer?'" The locals immediately agreed and the stars were easily adopted by the pub's genial patrons.

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Three seasons on, Hunt reveals the Prince's Head has become a bit too popular for the cast to hang out at. But for fans, "It has a Ted Lasso shrine in the back now that our production designer Paul Chris put together and it's pretty cool," he says.

Hunt also shared his other favorite Richmond bars, including the nearby Cricketer, the Marlborough, the Victoria Inn, and the Roebuck, which overlooks the spot where Keeley Jones (Juno Temple) has her Lion-themed photoshoot in season 1.

Ted's Street

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Steps from The Prince's Head is the narrow pedestrian lane known as Paved Court, where the front door to Ted's flat (number 9 1/2 on the show, but 11A in real life) is located. Visitors can browse the street's tiny mom-and-pop shops, including one selling AFC Richmond swag.

Hunt says filming there has become a little busier recently. "We didn't really feel it until season three, but we'd show up and there'd be 20 or 30 people," he says of fans paying the set an unexpected visit. "But everyone is very polite. And it's a public place, they're welcome to it."

Chango Empanadas

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Ted and Coach Beard's go-to take-away spot, located on Paved Court, is the very real Argentinian cafe, Chango Empanadas. Hunt says the tasty pastry pockets stuffed with beef, chicken or less traditional fillings like pumpkin and goat cheese "organically worked their way into the plot of the show" simply because they were a favorite of the cast and crew. "All we eat is empanadas when we're on Richmond Green," he says.

Chango is a chain in London and has locations in Richmond, Wimbledon, Highgate, Wandsworth and Parsons Green.

The restaurant that tops Hunt's must-eat list, however, is even closer to home: immediately to the right of Ted's front door. "You don't really see it in the show, but there's an Italian restaurant called L'assaggino and it's my favorite restaurant in Richmond. It's a really authentic place."

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Gaucho Steakhouse

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Another favorite local eatery that made it on screen is the Argentinian steakhouse where Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein), Keeley, Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) and Rebecca's date have dinner — and where Roy tells Rebecca to let the underwhelming love interest go.

"The Gaucho Steakhouse is really, really good," says Hunt, who recommends "their version of bruschetta. We just call it red pizza." It's located on the Thames, just a seven minute walk from the Green.

AFC Richmond Practice Pitch

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The Richmond players — including Roy, Jamie Tartt (Phil Dunster) and Dani Rojas (Cristobal Fernández) — had to film around the schedule of Hayes & Yeading United Football Club, whose home field, SkyEx Community Stadium, stands in for Richmond's practice pitch. "They're not using it every day by any means, so they were happy to have us," says Hunt.

SkyEx is located in Hayes, about a 20-minute drive north of Richmond and visitors can attend a professional match there from August to May for around $12 for adults. (It's also accessible via the tube.)

Nelson Road Stadium

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The Greyhounds' stadium, Nelson Road, is actually Selhurst Park, the true home of the Premier League team Crystal Palace. While the actors had unlimited access to the field at SkyEx, the rules were a bit stricter at Selhurst.

"That first scene where we see Nate in the pilot yelling 'Get off the grass, get off the grass!' That's true to life," Hunt reveals. "Every single Premier League stadium we visited [they told us], 'Do anything you want, but if any one person sets one foot on this pristine, beautiful Premier League pitch, you're all gone.'"

As a result, any scenes on the pitch at Nelson Road or the Wembley Stadium were filmed at SkyEx and had the background digitally altered to look like the famous sites.

Season 3 of Ted Lasso premieres March 15 on Apple TV+.